Focus on Technique
Focus on Technique
"In our elementary keyboarding classroom, we have a sign that lists the top ten goals of keyboarding instruction:
- Technique
- Technique
- Technique
- Technique
- Technique
- Technique
- Technique
- Technique
- Accuracy
- Speed"
--Craig Nansen to Education World
As this photo from the article "Education World Technology Center: Teaching Keyboarding -- When? Why? How?" indicates, the main focus of elementary keyboarding is to establish good technique. When it comes to setting technique goals for students, the answer is clear:
Perfect technique is every student's goal.
Good keyboarding technique includes the whole body -- posture, body position, feet, eyes, wrists, hands, and of course fingers. This should be your focus throughout your Keyboard Chatter lessons and on into your follow-up instruction.
Each lesson in Keyboard Chatter has specific technique learning objectives. Share these objectives with your students. Offer corrective feedback, and celebrate their successes with technique. As you complete Keyboard Chatter and move on to Keyboarding for Kids and other follow-up instruction, continue to review technique and offer feedback.
Technique formative and summative assessments should be conducted to guide you as you teach your students. Use the technique checklist to inform students of expectations, to assess student technique, and when providing instruction:
Keyboarding_Technique_Checklist-4.pdf Download Keyboarding_Technique_Checklist-4.pdf
Technique Name Card
Try using a technique name card to help you track student progress as you walk the room observing students as they type. These cards are designed to be folded in half landscape-style and placed over students' computer monitors. Simply carry a pen or pencil with you so you can write notes, check marks, plus signs, etc. on their cards for whichever technique skills you are observing that day. Or use the cards as checklists to show when students have reached mastery in each technique component. Copy the name tag template below and add your students' names:
Keyboarding Technique Name Tag.pdf Download Keyboarding Technique Name Tag.pdf
Technique Queen/King
Celebrate success by awarding certificates or stickers to students who display excellent technique. Try awarding a certificate or crown to the Technique King or Queen of the day:
Technique King & Queen.pdf Download Technique King & Queen.pdf
Keyboarding Certificate
Present your students with certificates when they have met their keyboarding goals, when they have completed Keyboard Chatter, when they have completed KBK, etc. Download our sample certificate below and edit it to award students for whatever progress should be celebrated:
Keyboarding Certificate.pages Download Keyboarding Certificate.pages
Keyboarding Certificate.docx Download Keyboarding Certificate.docx
Conducting Technique Assessments
Once students are more advanced and have learned the finger families, technique evaluations should still continue. To evaluate keyboarding technique, provide students with a short timing that is made up mostly of high frequency words. (High Frequency Words.pdf Download High Frequency Words.pdf) Do not instruct students to move through several timings or large pieces of material. Rather, have students work through a short, simple paragraph several times. You can either print hard copies of paragraphs for students to key off of, or you can create your own lessons in Keyboarding for Kids that consist of the high-frequency word paragraphs found in the following pdf file:
As the students key the material, move around the room and carefully observe students as they key. Mark, stamp, or “pass off” one of the technique elements listed on the back of the technique name card. Place the card back on the student’s work station, but collect the cards at the end of the drill period. Do not attempt to evaluate all students in one day or to evaluate more than one technique element in one day. Stretch out the process; this necessitates careful and concerted focus on proper keyboarding technique.