Touch typing for Yr 9

[papalazaru]

DS has dysgraphia and is encouraged to produce most school work on his laptop. He thinks he can type just fine with two fingers and a spellcheck but I would like him to keep working on his touch typing.

Can anyone recommend a programme to use at home which might be age appropriate (the bbc one is good I know but he may perceive it as a bit 'young' ). In an effort to get going I've issued the challenge that I will do it too and we can have a competition to see who gets the better speed before school starts in September.

Thanks.

[goinggetstough]

We used Mavis Beacon which is still available on Amazon. It may not have the most amazing games but it did the job. My DS did 5 - 10 mins every day during the holidays and our deal was that he was allowed to take his laptop to school if he could type accurately at a specific number of words per minute. ( obviously school had suggested that he needed a laptop before we suggested the challenge)

[snowaccidentprone]

I was thinking this too, but ds2 is very reluctant

[Happy36]

It´s a great idea. I agree that Mavis Beacon is a good resource.

You could also email the school about it as this would be a great thing for them to introduce as a lunchtime or after-school club or perhaps as part of "activities´ week", if they have that sort of thing. I am sure they would appreciate the suggestion. Our school does a touch-typing course with Year 11 after their IGCSE exams. finish in June.

[Coffeemarkone]

www.typingstudy.com/

[Millymollymama]

My DD did a touch typing course in year 8. Not sure what resource they used as a teacher came in and did it with them. A lifelong skill and very worthwhile.

[basildonbond]

Ds2 did Mavis beacon in Y6 - and despite being dyspraxic he's now got a typing speed of 125wpm (still can't write though so that's a Good Thing...)

[mstechfreak2]

It is really good if you try to teach touch typing in a correct way. For example, by using touch typing websites. I used www.typingstudy.com as well, because I believe it is the most useful one.

[papalazaru]

Thanks for your suggestions. We just got a new Ed Pysch report done and it points to a dyspraxic profile rather than simple dysgraphia. We've had a long chat about it and really impressed on him how useful typing will be going forward so these resources will be very helpful.

[var123]

How do you persuade your children to use a keyboard in class when the other kids aren't?
Ds (also dysgraphic and going into year 9) is refusing point blank.
He normally would do anything his teachers ask, but the fear of drawing attention to his disability seems to trump everything else.
Do your children not mind that?
Any tips on how to get him to do it would be gratefully received! I've got 2 weeks to solve it after making no progress over 2 years.

[SanityClause]

See if you can find lessons in your area, rather than a program.

I tried various well regarded programs (ones I had to pay for, not just the likes of DanceMat, although I tried those, too) with my DC, but in the end, we went on a weekly basis to lessons. After a year, they hadn't finished the course, but could type well enough that I let them stop.

DS is dyspraxic, and has used a computer for written work for the last two years. It has made a huge difference, as prior to that, his writing was so poor as to be illegible.

The course was the TTRS course. Here.