Recently, we were given the opportunity to review The Typing Coach Online Typing Course from The Typing Coach. I will admit I'm not the best typist and watching my kids peck at the keys I knew they needed some help. My goal for this course was for them to become more familiar with the keyboard and type more accurately and faster. I'm hoping this will help the typing of their papers go a little more quickly and without as much drama!
Lesson 1- Having Good Posture
Lesson 2- Home Row
Lesson 3- Top Row
Lesson 4- Bottom Row
Lesson 5- Shift Keys
Lesson 6- Typing Practices
Lesson 7- Number Row
Lesson 8- Serious Practice
Lesson 9- The Final Assessment
Lesson 10- Conclusion
The lessons of the course are intended to be done weekly. So the 10 lessons would be spread out over a 10 week span. Of course, this guide is only a suggestion. We worked at a little slower pace than this. I wanted the kids to master the skills and improve greatly their typing skills. The course is meant to be done at your own pace, so you can slow down or speed up depending on your typing abilities. You are not to move on to the next lesson until the lesson you are working on is mastered.
Along with the audio, visual, and written instructions, the course has online assessments. The assessments tests are based on an topic and are timed and graded. This will help the students know what they have mastered and what they may need to work on.
At the end of the course, students will be able to type 10 words per minute with no more than 1 mistake per minute! Of course, the student doesn't have to stop there. They can go on to master typing even more with 25 words per minute and then finally 45 words per minute. Did you know that 45 words per minute is the standard goal for most employers? I had no idea, but I've never had a job were I needed to type a lot.
The Typing Coach Online Typing Course is $17 a year per student. Of course, the price is subject to change, but $17 is worth it if you student becomes more efficient in their typing abilities. Just a little FYI, if you are member of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you already have access to the course with your membership! I had no idea.
What We Thought of The Typing Coach Online Typing Course
For this review, we received a one year access to the online course. I loved the introduction page. The page had links to everything you could possibly think of. The program was explained and very easy to understand. There was no searching to find an answer to your question. Older students could easily read through the information and start the program on their own. This would be a great way to encourage independent learning. The order of the lessons are easily laid out. You don't have search for you next lesson. There are even boxes to check once you have completed a section. This allows the student to keep track of were they are and pick up were they left off. No confusion on what they did last. We all know how things like that can be forgotten, especially after a few days.
There is a Teacher's Resource Center. This page is just for the teaches and is filled with a variety of information. Teachers will find printable (learning guides, incentive charts, progress charts), videos, and instructions for the slower paced course. Yes, they do offer a slower paced course for younger students! The slower pace course is geared for children ages 8-11. The whole family can learn how to type.
I liked the section on proper posture for typing. The kids were not too thrilled with this section, since lounging on the couch and typing was not a suggestion. They can still sit at the table in their pajamas and type though.
Everyone found the program very thorough and easy to follow along. The lesson and techniques are explained well and can be implemented by the students. They just have to be willing to follow the instructions and work hard on improving their skills. This is not an easy course, at least for my kids it wasn't. This is a mastery program, so if you do not pass the test you can NOT move on to the next level. This can cause some frustration for students who lack some patience. One of the main goals of The Typing Coach Online Course is mastery. It's simply not a learning to type program. I found two things a little tricky to get used to...not looking at the screen to type and not using the delete button. I found these two techniques bizarre. Both these rules went against everything I stand for...just kidding. It was a challenge though. I look at the screen all the time when I type and the delete button is my friend! Hopefully "this old dog" can learn a few new tricks and the kids won't learn mama's old way.
A drawback of this program for us was our internet speed. The audio and video portions were slow to load causing us to take a little longer with the lessons. This was fine if we didn't have anywhere else to go that day. If you have amazing internet then this would not be an issue for you. It's just one of he prices we pay for living out in the sticks.
Find out what the other crew members had to say about The Typing Coach Online Typing Course!
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