Coming out of this meeting, I had a thought. Is keyboarding even a thing anymore? Honestly.
I find it incredibly useful to know how to touch type. I know it makes me much more efficient, especially when typing long documents or in web design when coding. I don't know how someone could code quickly if they had to look down at their fingers constantly. But, my own 13-year old daughter doesn't type "properly" with her hands on her home row. She doesn't look (too much) but she doesn't use the right fingers. She was formally taught to type in 7th grade last year, but the teacher doesn't correct her form. And, why would she? The girl types over 40 wpm most of the time and often times, closer to 60!
I found this article dated November 24, 2014, about how he feels that for many programmers, the "single big efficiency improvement that can be made to their technique is to learn to touch type."
The author (a computer programmer) also states, "What really amazes me, is that after years of doing it and getting by, many programmers like a lot of other computer users don't know that there is a right way to type. They have just observed the simple fact that some people seem to be able to type faster than they can and sort of assume that it must be just practice - and one day they will get to the same level of speed."
I just wonder if this generation of youth honestly don't see a reason to know how to type. I know that they see the ol' QWERTY keyboard on their phones when they text people. And, we all know they can text faster with two thumbs than I can with 10 fingers. I presume that means they know where the letters are. But, they pretty much all learn first on an iPad or some sort of device (admit it, your 5 year old uses an iPad!) and teaching them to "type right" at the age of 13 would require slowing them down. Most students have no interest in that.
Many programmers (who responded on the comments on that article) claim to be getting by just fine with a hunt and peck method. Others say that "composing" code is more about figuring out what to write and not doing it fast. But, in a classroom of computers, I would almost bet that my faster typists (of course, fast doesn't mean proper technique!) are also my strongest computer students. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd love to do that research.
As a teacher who doesn't teach that age and who doesn't teach typing since I'm in a senior high school, I am just curious how others feel about this. Is typing a lost art? I'm beginning to wonder.
I teach keyboarding for middle school students in Los Angles, Ca. Its still a very important skill to have. Maybe because they have had practice with the iPads for a while, helps them when they are learning the QWERTY method. Its a life long skill which they will use forever! For example when the go to interview for a job, how embarrassing for them if they cannot type using the correct method, the hunting and pecking is not very attractive. So, Yes I think its still a great skill to teach. One that they will use.......forever!!!
ReplyDeleteIn Oregon Smarter Balance tests require students to answer questions in sentences and even paragraphs. Some schools are adding keyboarding for grades 3+ as they do not want their students to score poorly because of a lack of keyboarding skills. I spent the major part of the last two school years teaching keyboarding for just this purpose. As a trained Business Ed. teacher, who learned to type (not keyboard) it is hard to watch students keyboard improperly, however, if they can attain 40+ words a minute, does it really matter? Currently I am teaching high school again and I am not offering keyboarding at all this year or next year. All that said, I still think it is a great skill to have.
ReplyDeleteI discussed this very thing with another teacher this week. I think the biggest problem is that adults assume students know how to type because at this point they have grown up with computers and/or tablets. But like you mentioned if you don't know where the keys are, you'll never get any faster. And many students brag about typing 35-40 wpm, but they don't understand that they will never reach a speed beyond that if they don't take the time to learn the proper technique.
ReplyDeleteI dropped keyboarding out of our HS curriculum a few years ago because I teach it at the 4th and 5th grade levels. Classroom teachers use a software program to introduce the keys at the 2nd and 3rd grade level. Our band teacher, art teacher and I were having a conversation at lunch just yesterday, about how these younger kids don't have the finger dexterity and have a hard time learning how to key, finger a clarinet, and paint. I have a 6th grade student who still wants to use flat hands on the keyboard and says it "hurts" to curve them. I think that it is an important skill to have and I encourage my HS Information Processing students to really work at using appropriate skills but by that age, it's hard for them to change.
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