Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309 
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Post by Belle on Oct 2, 2020 17:17:40 GMT
I have been sitting with my son at his computer as we go through the college application process and I am shocked at how much he struggles with typing. Are your teens proficient at using a keyboard?
When I was in high school the hardest class I took was keyboarding and the teacher was so mean and strict! She used a ruler to measure our margins and spacing as we were learning to type on typewriter.
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Post by its me mg on Oct 2, 2020 17:20:04 GMT
At first I was surprised, but I feel like outside of schoolwork most of the typing comes in the form of texting? I took keyboarding as a class in high school back in the early 2000's.
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scrappert
Prolific Pea
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Jul 11, 2014 21:20:09 GMT
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Post by scrappert on Oct 2, 2020 17:20:07 GMT
No, she types with index fingers. She is pretty fast, but still...
Give them a phone and they can text faster than anything tho!
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
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Post by Belle on Oct 2, 2020 17:22:40 GMT
Yes, you are both right about the texting!,
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Post by huskermom98 on Oct 2, 2020 17:35:44 GMT
Officially, no. My 12yo isn't half bad if he's willing to use all of his fingers (when he is in a bad mood he hunts & pecks, sometimes very forcibly).
My 15 didn't sound too bad the other day when I was in the same room during one of his classes. I couldn't see him when he was typing, but it sounded good. I've never seen him sit down and type so I was a little surprised.
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Post by Basket1lady on Oct 2, 2020 17:37:45 GMT
No, neither know how to type. Both use their forefingers and are very fast. But it just seems crazy that in this computer age kids aren’t taught to type.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Oct 2, 2020 17:49:41 GMT
My son's school started them keyboarding in kindergarten and he could type 80+ words a minute by 2nd grade. (1993)
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garcia5050
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Posts: 2,770
Location: So. Calif.
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Post by garcia5050 on Oct 2, 2020 17:53:39 GMT
No. It is ‘taught’ here for 6 weeks in 6th grade (11 years old). Neither of my kids mastered it during this timeframe. I can type pretty fast, and tried so hard for them to get better, but they just weren’t interested. I mean if they aren’t going to teach cursive, it should be replaced with this skill.
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brandy327
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,353
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Post by brandy327 on Oct 2, 2020 17:56:51 GMT
Yes, all 3 of mine are pretty good at typing. The girls are better than my ds but he's still pretty decent.
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Post by cmhs on Oct 2, 2020 18:19:07 GMT
All three of my kids are very good typists. They start them young in our school district. They're all better than I.
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Post by annie on Oct 2, 2020 18:23:36 GMT
Yes, very well!
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smcast
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,475
Location: MN
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Post by smcast on Oct 2, 2020 18:28:16 GMT
Yes. I'm surprised because everything seems to be done on the computer now.
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J u l e e
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Jun 28, 2014 2:50:47 GMT
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Post by J u l e e on Oct 2, 2020 18:30:32 GMT
No. She can’t type and her handwriting is abysmal. Her printing is beautiful though so she’s got that going for her. Her notes from class look like artwork.
(Her index finger typing is pretty decent, but nowhere near what typing with ten fingers would be.)
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Post by supersoda on Oct 2, 2020 18:30:47 GMT
Not properly, but yes, they all can type. They had some keyboarding in elementary school, but it was never a big deal. I guess they just assume kids will pick it up, and it seems to have worked. Even though they use their phone far more than I do, they have to type plenty of papers and do other projects on their laptops. They are 19, 19, and 22.
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janeliz
Drama Llama
I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me.
Posts: 5,641
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Post by janeliz on Oct 2, 2020 18:31:53 GMT
They both are decent typists. In fact, my oldest DD accused me of hunting and pecking when she saw me typing recently. I was pretty insulted, as I was a notoriously fast typist when I worked in an office full-time.
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Post by Tamhugh on Oct 2, 2020 18:45:17 GMT
Mine are both really good typists. They are required to take keyboarding in middle school here.
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snyder
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,294
Location: Colorado
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Post by snyder on Oct 2, 2020 18:49:31 GMT
It was never offered during my grandson's school years and I was shocked because so much was / is on a computer / keyboard. They had to learn on their own, just like they also eliminated cursive writing the year before grandson was to learn that as well. He struggles with writing and keyboard is just okay. He graduated High School 3 years ago.
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breetheflea
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Post by breetheflea on Oct 2, 2020 19:08:22 GMT
DS (11) has hand issues so was given (or supposed to be given) typing lessons as part of his IEP in 3rd or 4th grade. Part of one of his 6th grade classes this year also includes typing lessons. He definitely types faster than he can hand write but his spelling is atrocious... I think years of handwriting so bad no one could read it, is part of it.
My other kids, I don't recall learning to type (8th and 10th grade).
I didn't take typing in school (in the 1990s), I learned as part of a night class my mom made me take when I was in middle school. I learned on a typewriter not a computer.
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Oct 2, 2020 19:48:21 GMT
She is fine at typing - almost as fast and accurate as I am. I am pretty good, even though I have never had a class. I do understand the basics of hand placement and stuff like that.
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Post by busy on Oct 2, 2020 20:04:03 GMT
Does he type the same way I do? No. He didn't have "proper" finger placement drilled into him when he was younger. However, he's quite fast and I don't think it matters *how* he does it as long as he can do it well.
I had a teacher fail me in penmanship in 1st grade and wrote on my report card that I had the best handwriting in class but I "refused" to hold my pencil correctly. Guess what, I still can't hold it "properly" and my handwriting is still very nice. I still hate her for that lol
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lesley
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Post by lesley on Oct 2, 2020 20:17:54 GMT
My kids are 25 and 23 so no longer teens, but they both taught themselves how to touch type when they were in their teens. They decided one wet summer that it would be a good thing to learn during the long school holidays. It also amazes me how my DS can text so quickly and accurately while never looking at his phone - that is a skill all on its own!
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Post by cmpeter on Oct 2, 2020 20:29:21 GMT
Yes. Our district issues all students laptops in elementary and teaches typing.
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iowgirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,276
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Post by iowgirl on Oct 3, 2020 0:00:55 GMT
My son's school started them keyboarding in kindergarten and he could type 80+ words a minute by 2nd grade. (1993) My kids started with keyboarding in Kindergarten also. Mine are all in their 20's now, but can type like a house on fire. I don't know the WPM - but they are faster than me, and I am pretty fast! I also had a "typing game" for them that they could play on the computer, Jump Start Typing ...way back when. And that was a real treat! They didn't get to play games on the computer very often. It really helped them with correct technique and speed and reinforced what they learned in school. |
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caangel
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Post by caangel on Oct 3, 2020 1:57:28 GMT
As we speak I'm forcing my kids (11&13) to finish their typing for the week (20 min/day, 1hr 40total). We are using the free website Typingclub.com and it like the reporting. I'm ready to cut cereal boxes in half to challenge them as I know they are looking at their fingers.
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Post by SAHM wannabe on Oct 3, 2020 2:13:53 GMT
DS 17 and DD 16 can type quickly and accurately. Keyboarding and computer literacy is a required 6th grade course in our district. Now their cursive writing, that’s another story!
I teach 3rd grade distant learning. Today I was teaching my students how to copy/paste in their documents. I informed them they will breeze through their 6th grade class when they get there because they are doing an amazing job! They’re taking baby steps, but we are making it work!
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Post by bothmykidsrbrats on Oct 3, 2020 2:18:46 GMT
Yes. They both were required to take keyboarding in middle school. They use proper keyboarding when typing on their computers, but do the lighting fast 2 finger/thumb texting on their phones.
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FurryP
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Post by FurryP on Oct 3, 2020 3:05:52 GMT
No, neither know how to type. Both use their forefingers and are very fast. But it just seems crazy that in this computer age kids aren’t taught to type.  I always assumed that when computers became mainstream kids where taught how to type in school. When I was in school it was an elective class. |
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Post by artsyk on Oct 3, 2020 3:07:34 GMT
My 9 year old is learning how to type and loves it! She will be proficient in no time.
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Post by meridon on Oct 3, 2020 3:50:11 GMT
No, none of my kids (14, 12 and 10) can type worth a damn. I am actually pretty frustrated about it and have been looking at options to teach them. I was also looking at typing club as an option. It is supposed to be taught in middle school, but it's like cursive--it seems to depend on the individual teacher they have as to how much or little it's emphasized. If you get a teacher who's more "old school" then you get it, but if not, I guess you're supposed to just pick it up along the way and that didn't happen for my crew.
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Post by OntarioScrapper on Oct 3, 2020 3:53:28 GMT
Nope. My 16 year old heard me typing recently. I was asked how could I type so fast?!?! I said I took typewritting in grade 9 on an actual typewritter. Now I'm considered MORE old than I was.  |
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