Diane Luttig & Chad Kafka 1

The Story So Far… Keyboarding added to 7 th Grade from 9 th Grade in 2006 Keyboarding curriculum started at 3 rd through 6 th Grade in 2006/07 – Teachers felt they did not need any training – Full Curriculum was given to each elementary teacher so 4-6 weeks in lab for 30 min/day could be taught 2

Click on movie to start playing Please watch and observe some 5 th and 8 th grade students working. What IS and ISN’T effective in these clips? 3

Research Shows… 3 rd Grade = optimal age to learn typing – Hands are big enough and necessary motor skills developed Need daily reinforcement for at least 30 min for at least 4 weeks Need repetitive practice to increase skill (like learning to shoot a basketball) 4

From Middle School Observations… Poor habits we need to catch earlier Students need stronger self-discipline Too much “hunting & pecking” that is difficult to reverse Not effective or efficient use of time (looking at keys) – More effective/efficient use of computers could free up labs/laptop carts 5

Where to go from here? Start with Keyboarding in labs after Oct 1 We need to train teachers on keyboarding before Oct 1 – training, modeling, explanation of keyboarding curriculum – 2 hours? Half Day? – “HOW” to teach keyboarding Idea: Find 1 teacher in each grade level to “own” keyboarding for class rotation? Inclusion of Tech Coach in lab to help model & support Administrator support: – Figuring out lab schedule in building – Following up on lab visits – Observing teachers teaching in the lab 6

Leg Work So Far… Purchased book stands for each lab Purchased keyboard covers for each elem lab Purchased keyboarding chart to display in labs Created a DRILL workbook to be at each lab station for practice Chad/Diane learning Type 2 Learn so this can be used effectively with the students Chad/Diane gathering resources for sharing at elementary level to help engage students 7

Discussion? Ideas? Logistics? How can we help our students to improve? 8