Keyboard to Help Learn Touch Typing

Carydadon on 25/08/2018 - 20:21

Hi, my 8yo is learning to type at school and coincidently I'm looking for a new keyboard too.

I thought there might be something out there that could help kids by colour coding keys <> fingers. I found this guy at Amazon US, but couldn't get it delivered to Oz and can't find something similar (except from another dude for 3x the price).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B5VHJ4X/ref=ox_sc_act_t…

I also found stickers you can buy, but not really what I want
https://www.brightstarkids.com.au/learn-to-type-labels.html

Any one else have suggestions? Something under $50 would be good, otherwise I would get a cheapy USB backlit from Ebay for <$25.

Computing Computer Peripheral Keyboard

Comments

  • John Kimble on 25/08/2018 - 20:32
    +10

    Isn't the whole point of touch typing = not to look a the keyboard?

    The typing "game" programs are what helped me growing up…but I was older than 8…

  • Cal13x on 25/08/2018 - 20:34
    +4

    The idea with touch typing is that you don't have to look at the keyboard.
    I get that you want to make it easier to see for your kid but color coding makes you more reliant on looking.
    Typingstudy.com is a website I found helpful, but, ultimately practice is the only thing that helps you learn. Maybe try looking for a more kid focused website?

  • kerfuffle on 25/08/2018 - 21:14
    +2

    Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing

  • ausmechkeyboards on 25/08/2018 - 21:17

    Start by buying him an ANSI keyboard rather than confusing the kid with different keyboard layouts.

  • trustnoone on 25/08/2018 - 21:49

    Honestly I'd probably just get a mechanical keyboard, feels awesome to press, so out of your choices I'd probably go the Vander one. Not sure about your kid, but for me, being a kid with MSN Messenger and quite a few online friends is what super helped me learn to type (an press that nudge button lol). But basically I think as long as you give your kid a keyboard and something where they'd need to type stuff they should pick it up pretty quick.

    • GangGang on 25/08/2018 - 22:14

      Good ol msn. Miss that chat.

      What about mirc?

    • Quantumcat on 26/08/2018 - 00:43

      You need to learn touch typing specifically though, I still finger peck (don't need to look at the keys, but not as fast as proper touch typing)

  • ihbh on 25/08/2018 - 22:14
    +3

    All you need is to realise that the F and J keys have a little raised dash on them. They help you find the home row keys. You don't look for them; you feel for them. And then you're on your way.

  • Carydadon on 25/08/2018 - 23:00

    Thanks for the feedback! Come to think of it, I learnt at 16yo with typing games and a poster of the keys<>fingers. Going to trial stuff that she might like and see what sticks. She will get super frustrated to start (even just doing home row with no peeking) but got to persist.

    • scrimshaw on 26/08/2018 - 01:22

      Typing is basically muscle memory, once you do enough of it you eventually remember where you should put your fingers and your typing speed increases as a result. Kids under 10 will learn stuff quickly, the issue is that learning touch typing is often seen as a tedious chore so the trick is to turn it into a game..

      • HighAndDry on 27/08/2018 - 11:34

        Or a competition. I swear I learnt to type solely to beat my friends at typing….

  • Ughhh on 25/08/2018 - 23:05

    I learnt on a basic cheap keyboard, none of that fancy stuff. It's like playing musical instruments, you need to practice.

  • dcep on 25/08/2018 - 23:31
    +1

    just get him to play dota / lol

    he'll master touch type in no time through trash talk

  • Quantumcat on 26/08/2018 - 00:41

    Try the Pokémon Typing Adventure game for DS.

  • PAEz on 26/08/2018 - 04:45

    https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/c/office-sup…
    You could try and make your own colour coded keys ;P
    I learnt to touch type by learning what fingers for what keys, but always looked as I found it too frustrating not to. Then one day someone started talking to me while I was typing, I turned to talk to them and my fingers kept moving. Looking is fine, its all muscle memory and one day its just there ;P

  • Illian on 26/08/2018 - 14:48
    +1

    That's a bad idea, you don't need colours, there are already letters on the keys! Just get a nice normal keyboard and fire up Kewala typing game for her, she'll get it eventually. Or Typing of the Dead :P

  • alvian on 27/08/2018 - 03:15

    I wrote my own program to help exercise touch typing. Learnt two things at the same time.

  • HighAndDry on 27/08/2018 - 11:33

    I thought there might be something out there that could help kids by colour coding keys <> fingers.

    This would defeat the purpose of teaching touch-typing, because they'll become dependent on these aids. And once they move to a normal keyboard without them, BAM back to the drawing board.

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