Lessonplan relating to Animated Beginning Typing

Strand and Student Outcomes -

Strand- Information

Band - A: Publish information in text and simple images (electronic displays, print, simple graphics, maps, photographs).

Level - 2.6: Uses techniques to access, record, store, manipulate and transmit

information and create information products.

Off-computer activities-

The teacher can give lessons relating to:

the emergence of the Qwerty keyboard layout and perhaps the history of early typewriters through to today's word processors and computer keyboards.
proper hand positioning and posture when typing ( as the typing tutor featured in Animated Beginning Typing is probably not adequate to teach this ).

Computer-based activities-

While proceeding through a unit based on typing skills Animated Beginning Typing can be used as a program to assess where students typing skills are currently at. Animated Beginning Typing is probably not appropriate for a typing tutor but can be effectively used as a way of assessment.
A more effective way of introducing children to typing would be to allow them to type series of letters on the keyboard using a word processing program, such as Word or Lotus. Letters to be typed are presented on a sheet of paper or already appear on a page prepared earlier by the teacher. Letters could be presented in groups ie left home keys, right home keys etc. The students would then type these letters underneath the ones that the teacher has already typed. This presents the beginner typist with an environment to become familiar with the Qwerty keyboard without the pressure of a time limit.
Animated Beginning Typing can be used as a testing mechanism for those children whom the teacher deems are beyond the unevaluated learning of a word processor. Children would begin with the first exercise and to the next one when they have surpassed goals set for them by the teacher. These goals could include words-per-minute or errors.

Classroom management and evaluation -

With the average amount of computers in a classroom being five typing practice could be used as a learning centre. The teacher can introduce typing and the Qwerty keyboard to the class as a whole but activities carried out on Word or Animated Beginning Typing would be undertaken by a maximum of five children at a time.
The report produced at the end of every typing session can be assessed by the teacher before permission to proceed onto the next activity would be given. Students completing all the goals set would then have completed the learning centre and would be ready to progress onto the next set of computer-based learning centres.