|
|
|
Keyboarding is replacing handwriting for instant communication as the Internet and EMail become household services. While people of all ages need to acquire this skill as early as possible, it is essential for those with poor handwriting and who need help with organization. Today the computer facilitates modern day communication and can accomplish any number of feats for its masters -- provided they have keyboarding competence.
Most computer lab programs and software packages rely on rote practice of meaningless letter-combinations. Based on learning methods designed for typewriter technology that are not appropriate for modern computers, they stress eye-finger coordination dressed up in the worst aspects of Nintendo-type software. At best, students make plodding progress through weekly lessons that do little to motivate young beginners or encourage them to persevere -- especially those who are sensitive to failure. At worst, they drive students to distraction and promote the rehearsal of bad keyboarding habits! And finally, these programs ignore the need to develop finger consciousness and concepts about the visual-spatial arrangement of the keyboard and correct fingering prior automatic key placement.
The term Kinesthetic Keyboarding is used to replace the old term Touch-Typing and refers to automatic keyboarding on a computer versus typewriting which has more in common with handwriting. This system employs multi-sensory learning, visualization and emphasizes learner self-awareness. It emphasizes accuracy and good habits while developing the mind-body consciousness essential to learning a new motor skill. Tuning students into the visual- motor sensation of their finger tips, i.e. their kinesthetic sense, not only helps them screen out the dominant visual sense that causes them to look at their fingers, but is also therapeutic for people with weak finger recognition and poor fine motor coordination. Students move beyond the single finger/letter association and learn frequent letter patterns. From the start, this program establishes three different writing modes -- (1) looking at the screen for functional writing, (2) looking away from the screen in order to copy and (3) looking but not seeing the screen for brainstorming where thought is allowed to flow without the interruption of corrections.
How the computer is used by a coach/teacher to engage student interest and self-motivation is more important than what a program claims to teach. This system inculcates the use of the computer as a tool not a toy. Live teachers act as coaches, motivators and encouragers. The varied approach promotes self-monitoring and personal control of learning as it requires increased attention, training students to become responsible for daily practice procedure and for spell checking and formatting their documents. Thus, it integrates word processing with the ability to follow directions. It may serve as an alternative to or a preparation for other programs already being used in the institutional setting.
Students who have taken the course experience increased self-esteem and a happy sense that they are in control of their own learning process. They are "learning how to learn" as they follow directions that lead to competence in keyboarding, but also to building computer literacy skills.
How is KeyBoard CoachÆ more than a software package?
|
|
|
|
© Elspeth Sladden 1997
