Keyboard+Research

This page contains keyboarding research and my reviews for materials aimed at elementary level keyboarding.

Elementary Psychology Research Paper

 * [[file:ElemKeyboardResearchPaper.pdf]]

Textbook Review

 * [[file:KeyboardingTextbookReview.pdf]]

Research Articles

 * [[file:Article1-ErgonomicsElementary.pdf]] / [[file:ArticleSummary1.pdf]]
 * [[file:Article2-TeachingKeyboarding.pdf]] / [[file:ArticleSummary2.pdf]]
 * [[file:Article3-ElemKeyStatusManu.pdf]] / [[file:ArticleSummary3.pdf]]
 * [[file:Article4-AllenBullock_LitRev.pdf]] / [[file:ArticleSummary4.pdf]]
 * [[file:Article5-WhenHowKeyboardingSmith.pdf]] / [[file:ArticleSummary5.pdf]]

Daily Observations

 * //Day 1 - Wed 6/24//**
 * Students practiced the homerow
 * Ms. Gustafson prompted students to remember good technique by making sure foreheads were in line with the HP logo on the monitor, belly button was in line with the B button on keyboard and feet were flat on the floor
 * She also reminded students to slide the keyboard to the edge of the table so wrists wouldn't touch the table
 * Very good classroom management: Made sure to get kids started and then did attendance while students were working in MicroType
 * Textbook used: 21st Century, copyright 1997
 * She used a good analogy where she talked about running in boots in the winter versus running in shoes and correlating this to typing while not looking and that you build up better speed over time
 * I liked that she had the students turn off their monitor to type; that's not a luxury we had with the model of computer at my school
 * She stressed "I don't care how fast you are typing, I care about how ACCURATE you are typing."

//**Day 2 - Thurs 6/25**//
 * First 5 min - had students do review/practice
 * Mrs. Gus discussed technique and walked around and corrected a few students
 * Today's new keys were E & H
 * I liked that she asked the students, "Which finger do you think you should use for E? For H?"
 * I like the exercise she uses where she dictates to the students at a steady pace and has them type
 * Ms. Gus uses good voice inflection; especially with the younger kids
 * Mauricio introduced the [|www.freetypinggame.net] typing games and had the students explore Martian City Defense and encouraged students to use this website at home


 * //Day 3 - Fri 6/26//**
 * Mauricio introduced the Technique Bingo worksheet we will use with students
 * Suggestion: call on students to read aloud the bingo boxes to engage them more
 * Some students were very sluggish today (backrow) --- how can we engage them better?
 * Good mix of Microtype and teacher dictation during the class
 * Made good referrals back to the BINGO sheet throughout the class
 * The 3 of us (Ms. Gus, Mauricio and myself) marked up Bingo boxes while students were typing
 * Students played the typinggame.net games to finish the class off


 * //Day 4 - Mon 6/29//**
 * Ms. Gus worked 1 on 1 with a student that missed class last week
 * Ms. Gus moved 2 students to the front who were working at a faster pace last week (good differentiation)
 * Mauricio did the dictation typing today with students. I worried his directions may have been a little confusing for the students but they seemed to understand what he expected
 * Ms. Gus introduced O & T today and asked students which finger they think they should use for each
 * I liked that Ms. Gus had the students work on O first for a while and then introduced T

//**Day 5 - Tues 6/30**//
 * Students learned N and G today
 * Ms. Gus emphasized for students to "remember to keep fingers on the homerow."
 * Ms. Gus emphasized J-N-J-N-J-N-J-N when having the students type so they would get the correct finger reach down.
 * Ms. Gus stressed "no peeking at those fingers" many times today
 * Today, we introduced the keyboard cover Box Tops to students. Some seemed excited to use them and we stressed to use them as a tool so they would train their brain to NOT look down

//**Day 6 - Wed 7/1**//
 * Students learned Left Shirt and . (period), no new letter keys today
 * Ms. Gus' voice is very patient with the students and she "invites" them along well
 * Ms. Gus gave some good re-direction to the sophomore today as he was off task and making comments
 * We finished with a discussion of technique where I had the students "teach" me about what they know about technique and we talked about the "why's" of why you should use good technique. We also discussed why the keyboard is known as a QWERTY keyboard.

//**Day 7 - Thurs 7/2**//
 * Today students learned U & C
 * I conducted the review Jeopardy game today
 * Students were actively engaged and wanted to answer the questions and play along
 * Students seemed to know most of the material which was encouraging
 * Students were rewarded with freezy pops if the class could accumulate $4000 points in the game as a whole

//**Day 8 - Mon 7/6**//
 * Students started off with practicing U and C today
 * New keys for the day were W and RIGHT SHIFT
 * Ms. Gus emphasized for students to use the "s" finger for W and keep all other fingers on the homerow
 * Ms. Gus made the class do more exercises for the S to W reach as she saw many students not keeping their fingers anchored on the other homerow keys. This was good reinforcement for the class to make sure they were doing the technique correctly.
 * Ms. Gus corrected sophomore's poster today as he sits very "slouchy"
 * Students discussed when to use the RIGHT shift versus the LEFT shift
 * Some students started receiving "bingo" today which seemed to be a motivator for others...even the sophomore!


 * //Day 9 - Tues 7/7//**
 * Students learned B & Y
 * Good distinction presented by Ms. Gus for which finger to use and why
 * Ms. Gus made many connections back to what I had taught or what we had been teaching over the last week and a half to stress the importance of what the students should be learning. Good reinforcement.