Touch Typing

Have you ever watched your kids type on the computer?  Are they using all ten fingers?  Or, are they using the two-finger "hunt and peck" method?  When our kids are young, we don't seem to pay too much attention to how they're interfacing with a computer.  Instead, we are usually more concerned with whether they can access Google to get the answer they are looking for.

However, once our kids mature into teenagers, they start spending a lot more time typing information into the computer.  Whether it's writing an online assignment, completing a merit badge, or updating their blog, how fast teens can type starts to matter more.  If you're smart, you will not wait until your children are in their teens before you begin thinking about how well they can type.  As soon as a child is old enough to use a computer, they're old enough to use it right.

Being able to type, using all ten fingers, is valuable, no matter what age you are.  Touch-typing is a skill I acquired when I was in my early teens (on a dreaded manual typewriter no less) and I'm glad that it's second nature for me now.  Nothing is greater than the ability to type as fast as you think.

Unfortunately, while I am a pretty accurate typist, I have to admit that I'm not very fast.  Luckily, there is a great website out there that can help.  Typing Web is a web-based typing program for people of all skill levels.  Since it is a web-based program, there is nothing to download, and no software to install.  Whether the user is starting from scratch, or just need some tips to increase their speed, Typing Web has something for everyone.

For newcomers, the program offers lessons that teach you how to type, a few letters at a time.With each lesson, you will receive information on both your speed and accuracy.

In addition to standard lessons like learning the home row, the program has additional lessons to help you master capital letters, punctuation, etc.  They even offer a host of practice sessions that range from typing using text from classic books (ex. "200,000 Leagues Under the Sea") to current headlines in the news.  This provides you with the added bonus of learning something while you practice.

The designers of this program, have tried to make the learning process fun by offering a slew of typing games, to help make practice entertaining.  For instance, in the "Magic Library" players are lost in a spooky library, where they get attacked by a barrage of magical books! Typing the letter listed on each book, destroys the book and saves you.  In addition to the typing games, there are even games that are "just for fun".

With Typing Web, there is even a Teacher Tool that allows you to track the progress of several users, whether you have one student or several.  Finally, you can even customize the program by applying a personalized "skin" (fancy way of saying a "background").

Finally, I'd like to point out that the Typing Web is 100% free.  All you need to register for an account is an email address.  For those people who want to check out the program before signing up, there is an option to use the program with no registration.  However, you should know that if you choose to go this route, none of your progress will be saved.  To keep the program free, the trade-off is having to endure some ads on the screen.  However, I did not find them to be annoying or offensive.  If you decide you wold like to get rid of all the ads, the cost to upgrade to a premium membership (i.e. ad-free) is a one-time fee of $9.99.

So if you are looking for a way to teach your child some good typing skills, or would like brush up on your own, Typing Web is really worth checking out.