Productivity List

Based upon the alphabet and D and K centers, the following QWERTY programs eliminate the need for the home row system that takes so long to complete. Even very young students can learn to type the entire keyboard in a just a few hours.

Extreme Keyboarding with the KeyBoard Coach^®: The Learning Studio. (212) 874-2427; $50.00
Fax (212) 580-7759. www.thelearningstudio.com/productlist.html (Manuals Only)
A multisensory approach to learning keyboarding that incorporates teacher training instruction. The entire alphabet is taught through an Orientation that addresses visual-spatial organization and eye-hand coordination. Followed by 12 Introductory Sessions which build finger independence and develop automatic skill through copying and generative writing. 20 additional Extreme Keyboarding Sessions are also available. Includes ergonomic equipment: exercise putty, wrist rest, color-coded key caps, copy clip, and Herzog Hub^® Key Sensors for D and K centers. Available for single-handed keyboarders. For software version, see below. (See website for full product and price list.)

Keyboarding Skills: Educators Publishing Service. (800) 225-5750. $12.15
http://www.epsbooks.com
This spiral bound manual was developed for dyslexic students by Diana Hanbury King in 1986 and has established the alphabetic language-based method as a powerful way into keyboarding.

The Herzog System^® of Keyboarding: Herzog Research. (520) 792-2550. $10.00
http://www.herzogkeyboarding.com
Developed in 1990, this has a typewriter copybook feel. It is a comprehensive system of copying exercises based upon the alphabet sequence. The Herzog Hub^® Key Sensors (available separately) are a critical aid for dysgraphic students to center their middle fingers kinesthetically on D and K rather than anchoring eight fingers on the home row. Therefore they provide a more comfortable range of motion for hand and finger movements.

The following edutainment software should be used in the context of a program that TEACHES keyboarding with a live coach who understands proprioceptive and visual spatial issues. Games should be user-controlled and motivate conscious practice rather than rote drill. It is best to ascertain which piece of a program works for each student; time spent playing a keyboarding game should be short and sweet.

Tutorial Software. Orientation, Introductory and Extreme Keyboarding Sessions. $40.00
(Macintosh/Windows)
Step-by-step software tutorials to be used by student together with a coach or parent. Generative writing component interfaces with word prediction programs.

Robochase^® Practice Game. For all the Keyboard Coach^® exercises. $35.00
A fun easy-to-use simple practice game that permits the user to increase speed pressure from 0 to 60 words per minute (wpm); it avoids anxiety while providing the fun of winning. Attractive user interface with a font that can be enlarged–works with screen readers and text-to-speech. Fully customizable for use with any keyboarding system or student’s content area words.

Typing Instructor Deluxe. CD ROM (Windows), Individual Software. (800) 822-3522. $39.95
This customizable multimedia typing tutor uses a travel theme. Students travel to countries of the world and choose from a wide variety of musical accompaniments. It provides a customizable Rock Climbing game–the speed can be lowered to 5 WPM. There is a non-threatening tomb maze activity that appeals to younger students. Most suitable for teenagers and adults who have already established correct fingering and habits.

KidKeys! Davidson Software. (800) 545-7677 (Macintosh/Windows) $19.99
Suitable for children, grades 1-3, whom have learned correct fingering for the whole alphabet. The "Let Me Out!" jail game has a slow pace and provides spoken feedback–which motivates some young students, but can irritate others!

All The Right Type. Ingenuity Works. (604) 412-1555 (Macintosh/Windows) $49.95
For grades 4–12. This program’s simple and uncluttered interface has the feel of a word processor with large a font. Teachers can enter their own exercises and the rowing game is motivating for some students. The company has a school site license ($600) policy whereby parents can purchase the program for home use for $15-$25 depending upon color/black and white number being ordered.

These and other creative writing programs encourage students to practice keyboarding within the context of generative writing. This is a more effective way to build speed than entertainment Typing Tutor software.

Secret Writer’s Society. Panasonic Interactive Media, (888) 726-2543. $19.95
www.panakids.com
This is a complete writing process program for Grades 3-8. It starts out with six mechanics modules each of which teaches a basic skill: punctuation; a complete sentence; sentence order for paragraph structure; editing/proof reading etc. Each module has an introductory song and then presents a game to practice the skill. These units are excellent for providing short keyboarding exercises within a complex task that helps students to integrate their new skill with the simultaneous processing required by real writing. The final phase takes students through the writing process, from brainstorming to final draft, through short writing assignments around themes that are popular with children.

StoryBook Weaver. MECC, 6160 Summit Drive North, Minneapolis, MN 55430. $14.95
(800) 685-6322.
StoryBook Weaver helps students write and illustrate their own storybooks, using words, pictures, sounds, and music. People and objects can be added and scaled to create a sense of proportion–a spelling feature drops in the word of every available object There are 650 images/objects taken from universal fairy tales, 48 colors and 468 scene combinations for kids to use as backdrops for their stories. It includes 36 sounds, 12 songs, 12 page borders, and 5 type styles. This is an excellent way to stimulate generative writing for "real" keyboarding practice.

My Own Stories. MECC, 6160 Summit Drive North, Minneapolis, MN 55430. $19.95
(800) 685-6322.
Same as StoryBook Weaver–has modern day pictures and scenery.

Imagination Express. The Learning Company. (617) 761-3000. $_____
Electronic storybook maker. Rain Forest, TimeTrip USA and Pyramids.

*Co:Writer. Don Johnston. (800) 999-4660. $290.00*
Word-prediction program that interfaces with any word processor or program text field. Grammar-based prediction. Student-entered words are given priority and teachers can enter content area words to support student writing.

*Write Out Loud. Don Johnston. (800) 999-4660. $99.00*
A talking word processor designed to work in conjunction with Co:Writer. It has many options for scanning and reading text by word, sentence or paragraph and is a full word processor. A unique feature is the talking spellcheck.

*Co-Writer and Write-out-Loud Combined. $350.00
Ultimate Reader. Universal Learning Technology. (617) 538-0036. $300.00
Text-to-speech utility:scans/highlights individual words as they are read to the student; invisible text that may be read out loud for self-testing of spelling words; pronunciation that may be customized; ability to set speaking and/or highlighting to parse by word, chunk, line, sentence, paragraph or document; ability to change background and font color to suit student preference.

TextHelp. Lorien System. (Windows right now but Mac version soon) $_____
www.loriens.com
Works in conjunction with any text entry program. Features: talks as you type; abbreviation expansion; speaks selected text; word prediction; customizable spellchecking; homonyms to supply ambiguous word support; screen magnifier for the visually impaired.

Spell it Three. Davidson & Associates, Inc. (800) 545-7677. $49.00
Uses animated games to reinforce spelling knowledge. Comes with excellent lists that follow spelling rules. Teachers can add their own word lists in English, French, German, or Spanish For one-on-one tutoring, students may enter their own words and sentence and then play them in the games.

Studentworks. The Learning Studio. (212) 874-2427. $145.00
www.thelearningstudio.com/productlist.html
The individual file WordWork permits students to enter words and sentences for rehearsal as an on screen or printed cloze quiz and flash cards. A full version of related files incorporates graphic study organizers for Note-Taking, Bibliographies, WordBanks and Sentence and Paragraph Structure.

Speaking Language Master. Model LM-6000. Franklin Learning Resources. $169.00
(800) 525-9673.
Hand-held dictionary with speech technology: identifies commonly confused words; works with a headphone; provides word origins; allows storage of personalized word lists; adjustable type size.

Now Up-to-Date. QualComm Eudora. (800) 2EUDORA. $99.95
Calendar and ToDo List Generator. Permits user to block out periods of time graphically.

In Control. Attain Corporation. 48 Grove Street, Somerville, MA 02144. $_____
Fax (617) 776-1110.
Powerful To Do List generator with auto enter and definable value lists. Good for managing school assignments. Could be used for note taking and a variety of tasks.

Calendar Creator. Softkey International, Inc., 201 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139. $49.95
(617) 494-1200.
Simple and flexible calendar creator which has a variety of formats. Ideal for printing blank or partially completed calendars for filling in by hand. Has a unique 6 week period format.

Inspiration. Inspiration Software, Inc., 7412 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Highway, $300.00
Suite #102, Portland, OR 97225. (503) 297-3004.
Semantic mapping and outlining–permits the user to switch between the two. The Education version has expanded features. Any outline or map may be viewed in a variety of structures: tree chart, web etc. Template feature supplies ready made compare/contrast, character sketch, history cause/effect, vocabulary concept graphic organizers etc.

Bibliocite. Daedalus Group, Inc. (800) 879-2144. http://daedalus.com $28.00
Simple bibligraphy maker. Macintosh and Windows

TakeNote. Academix Software Corporation. 701 Welch Road, Suite #323, $_____
Palo Alto, CA 94304. www.Academixsoft.com
Research note-taking and citation tool for high school and college students. Elegant and simple index card note-taker provides unlimited categories. Citation feature permits choice of Harvard, APA, MLA and Chicago formats. Exports to text file for printing.

Studentworks The Learning Studio (212) 874-2427. $145.00
www.thelearningstudio.com/productlist.html
Graphic Study Organizers for Note-Taking, Bibliographies, WordBanks and Paragraph Structure. Elementary and Middle School level. Integrates process and cognitive training.

Thinking Maps. Innovative Learning Group. (919) 469-8744. $_____
Visual maps for higher order thinking skills.

Mathpad. IntelliTools, (800) 899-6687. $79.95
Formats numbers automatically so that students can do arithmetic problems on the computer.

Graph Paper for the Blind. The American Printing House for the Blind (502) 992-1094.
Large squared paper with raised gridlines helps students line up rough math work

TypeIt4Me. Riccardo Ettore. Attention TypeIt4Me, 37 Wine Road, London, $15.00
SE12 9EX, United Kingdom, (44) 181 857-1372. 72277.1344@compuserv.com.
Abbreviation expansion.

Sassoon Fonts Monotype Typeface Library. Monotype Typography, Inc., $22.00
(800) 666-6897, www.monotype.com and in the United Kingdom (44) 1731 765-959. (Per Set)
Designed by Dr. Rosemary Sassoon for early readers. Sans serif fonts that make text clearer for all ages. (Windows and Macintosh).

MathMaker Fonts for the Macintosh. Mountain Lake Software, Inc. (800) 669-6574. $_____
Fonts for Math.

School Font Collection. (Macintosh Only). Mountain Lake Software, Inc. $_____
(800) 669-6574.
Three fonts that match school handwriting: SchoolText, SchoolSlant and SchoolScript.

Mac Trak and PC equivalent (MicroSpeed) $65.95/$49.95
Available from MacWarehouse and MicroWarehouse
Oversize trackball. Holds the click while you drag.

Hub Key^® Sensors. Herzog Research, 1433 Broadway, Tucson, AZ 85719. $18.00
(520) 792-2550.
These are a vital kinesthetic reminder to return the Middle fingers to the central D, K 3 & 8 keys. The middle finger pad rests comfortably within a circle of raised dots. These are essential for students whose sense of their fingertips is weak. The added kinesthetic feedback that these sensors offer help students to touch-type by not looking at their fingers; although glancing down is OK.

Keyboard Coach^® Color-Coded Staircase Keycaps. The Learning Studio, $20.00
500 West End Avenue, #12B, New York, NY 10024. (212) 874-2427. www.thelearningstudio.com
Part of the Keyboard Coach^® system of teaching keyboarding.
Stick these on the keyboard to show the staircase/columns configuration. Removable, they come with light sensors on the centering keys; D and K for two-handed keyboarders, FGHJ for single handed keyboarders. Color coded to match the Orientation exercises for both hands, and for left or right hand.

WristSaver. LB Innovators. 2524 Main Street, Suite H, Chula Vista, CA 91911. $15.00
Available from MacWarehouse (800) 334-4444.
Promotes good hand/wrist/elbow alignment, preventing Repetitive Stress Injury. Although it is not intended that wrists rest while actually typing, it does prevent the wrists from dropping below the keyboard-forearm line when at rest.

ComfortType; Comfort Lab, Inc. 520 Washington Blvd. Marina del Rey, CA 90292. $134.95
(310) 306-8434. www.comfortlab.com Item #CT2000
A gliding wrist/palm support that reduces muscular strain and fatigue in shoulders and arm. Designed to prevent injury for anyone using a keyboard; wonderful for those with weak muscle tone. Reduces wrist extension, flex and ulnar deviations stress by 65%-97%. Two floating wrist supports, in small and larger size, swivel so that arms move freely from the shoulder joint. Used as an ongoing ergonomic aid, or as a preliminary tool to show students how to move correctly across the diagonal keyboard staircases while maintaining a free floating action for the wrists/arm.

ErgoRest and ErgoRest Mouse Pad. (800) 8-GLOBAL. $109.00/140.00
Available from Global Supplies.
The padded arm provides similar support to the Comfort Point but is designed so that the whole forearm rests in the support rather than just the wrists. This is excellent for single-handed keyboarders or for people with dystonia. Comes as a single unit, so two-handed keyboarders would need to purchase two. Attaches to table top–there must be no obstruction under the surface

AlphaSmart 2000 Intelligent Peripheral Systems. 20380 Town Center Lane, Suite 270 $229.95
Cupertino, CA 95014.
Available from Educational Resources. (800) 624-2926.
A low cost, dependable text entry device. Ideal for first drafts, classroom note taking and storytelling. Alternative to word processor of a powerbook or notebook laptop. Lightweight and hardy. There is no software to navigate, no fonts to play with. It has eleven separate files, 17 pages of text and automatic saving. Runs for 300 hours on 3xAA batteries.

Ergonomic Posture Chair. (800) 8-GLOBAL. Distributed by Global Office Products. $60.00
A kneeling stool that promotes correct sitting alignment. Has an adjustable height feature which makes it suitable for students of all heights.

Reflex Exercise Putty. The Learning Studio, (212) 874-2427. thelearningstudio.com $25.00
Available in sets of three strengths: high, medium and low resistance.

SRW Copyholder. SRW, 1402 Morgan Circle, Tustin, CA 92680. (800) 547-7766. $8.95
Distributed by Global Office Products: (800) 8-GLOBAL, (Ref. #KC-5704).
May be attached to either side of the monitor and positioned at an angle that requires the eyes to move, with minimal head movement

NUForm Keyboards (Adesso). Available from MacWarehouse, (800) 255-6227. $49.95
(Windows and Macintosh).
Split Keyboard. Useful for separating the hands when teaching center staircase correct fingering. May be helpful as an ergonomic aid for those who cannot or do not keyboard from the shoulder joint with their wrists raised.

Touchdown Keytops. Hoolean Corporation. 411 South 6th Street, Cottonwood, $19.95
AZ 86326. (800) 937-1337.
A kit of 101 self-adhesive key labels which assist the visually impaired by enlarging the keytop legend, more than doubling the size of the original keytop legend. and clarifying look-alike letters such as I and L. Available in white on black and black on white and black on yellow.

Paperport VX. (Visioneer). (800) 787-7007. $175.00
An elegant slim scanner for quick scanning of single pages (not suitable for books, unless you have access to a copy machine). It sits between the keyboard and monitor. Ideal for database filing of articles, pictures etc. Excellent software for filling in scanned forms and tables and for highlighting and annotating text for note-taking Filing system and character recognition software.

Nail Polish in Keyboard Coach Colors. Coco Loco Lacquer can be obtained from Cosmetics Plus. Distributed by Coco Loco Inc., Goshen, New York. www.cocoloco.com.
For painting nails to match the Keyboard Coach Color-Coded Staircase KeyCaps.

Finger Pumps. PCR Innovation, (888) 478-6786. $29.99
Designed to develop more powerful fingers for computer keyboarding.

Biggy. Enlarges the Cursor and Finder. R.J. Cooper and Associates 800-RJCooper. $90.00.
Cursor enhancer for the Macintosh Enlarges the Cursor and Finder arrow.
But beware–Biggy is a little buggy!

NoteTape Lees Products Company, (Address), Minneapolis, MN 55420. $6.59
(612) 854-3544.
Transparent removable note-tape. Allows the original to show through. Repositionable, stays put and can be written on. Invisible when photocopied. Comes in four bold colors and different widths.

Foss, Jean M. Nonverbal Learning Disabilities and Remedial Interventions.
Pine Ridge School Williston Vermont. Annals of Dyslexia, Vol. 41, 1991. ISSN 0736-9387.

Hanbury King, Diana. Keyboarding Skills.
Educators Publishing Service Inc., Cambridge, MA. (800) 225-5750, ISBN 0-8388-1707-6.

Herzog, Barbara and Herzog, Stuart. The Herzog System^® of Keyboarding–The Fasttrack System for Classes in Grades 2—12. Herzog Research, Tucson, AZ. (520) 792-2550.

Lee, Christopher and Jackson, Rosemary. Faking It.
1992 Boynton/Cook Heinemann Portsmouth, NH. (800) 283-9444, ISBN 0-86709-296-3.

Norman, Donald A. The Invisible Computer.
1998 The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. http://mitpress.mit.edu ISBN 0-262-14065-9.

Pisha, B. Rates of development of keyboarding skills in elementary school age children with and without identified learning disabilities.
Unpublished Thesis (University Microfilms #9326324). Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Poole, Nancy. Remediation of Nonverbal Learning Problems.
The Educational Therapist Vol. 18 #3, Fall 1997 from AET, (818) 843-1183.

Sladden, Elspeth. Keyboard Coach®; An Instructional Keyboarding System
That Provides Access to Literacy for Diverse Learners. CSUN Conference Paper March 1999
http://www.thelearningstudio.com/articleCSUN.html

Stanback, Margaret L. Syllable and Rime Patterns for Teaching Reading: Analysis of a Frequency-Based Vocabulary of 17,602 Words. Annal of Dyslexia. Vol. 42. 1992. P. 196-221.

Thompson, Susan. The Source for NonVerbal Learning Disabilities.
LinguiSystems, Inc. 3100 4th Avenue. East Moline, IL 61244. (800) 776-4332.

Williams, Robin. Tabs and Indents.
Peachpit Press, (800) 283-9444, ISBN-1-56609-065-2.

Williams, Robin. The Little Mac Book.
Peachpit Press, (800) 283-9444, ISBN 0-938151-68-1.

Williams, Robin. The Mac is not a Typewriter.
Peachpit Press, (800) 283-9444, ISBN-0-938151-31-2.

Nonverbal Learning Disabilities: Socioemotional and Pragmatic Quagmires.
G. Warren Rosen, Ph.D, #T24. Association of Educational Therapists (AET). (818) 843-1183.

Nonverbal Learning Disorders, Often Misunderstood Coordination, Visual-Spatial-Organizational and Social Problems.
Susan Thompson, Learning Disabilities Association of California, 1997 Conference. Available from InfoMedia. (714) 530-3454; (800) 367-9286; Fax (714) 517-3244.

Technology and Learning Monthly. Covers latest learning software and methods.
(800) 607-4410.
www.techlearning.com