Blind Typing Exercises for Your Students
The skill of bling typing is a cornerstone ability for any student. And it's not likely to fall out of fashion any time soon. Blind typing exercises help students overcome the technical issue of how they will write something, and focus on the subject they are writing about.
The best typing exercises are those that utilize a mixture of teaching experience and software. This makes learning fun and can show visible results after only a short time.
And while older students can jump to more demanding tasks that ask for better muscle memory, younger pupils can repeat the exercises with new twists and examples. This will grow their confidence, and probably spark a deeper interest in both typing and writing.
Practice Makes it Perfect
There is no better way to learn to type than doing it. But it's important to start correctly so that you don't practice making mistakes. Starting with a good piece of software and high-quality instructions will pay dividends in the long run.
What you must remember is to always return to the basics and enforce those key exercises. Garnering enough muscle memory for the main row and core digits, the students can slowly add on other options.
Only once you have the letters and numbers memorized and ensure that your students are using the correct fingers for them, you can pass to hotkeys and other options that will enhance someone’s writing.
Blind Typing Exercises Should Be Fun
Repetition is essential for learning. It can also be utterly boring. At some point, the novelty of being able to write quickly ceases to be interesting and all you have left is data entry.
But, bling typing exercises can also be fun, and fairly easy. The only thing you should do is establish interesting exercises that will make your students laugh at the material. Regardless if we are talking about the youngest of pupils or college-aged emerging professionals, writing something fun is always easier than repeating the same nonsensical structures over and over.
As an educator, you will need to source interesting and appropriate texts that will be used by your students for practice.
Also, there are blind typing games where your students can compete with each other or for a high score. If you have a competitive class, this can make students do homework willingly and sometimes even more than it is needed.
Starting from the Basics
As we are living in an era where kids have computers from the moment they are born, there is an idea that they will know how to type. While it is true that many kids learn how to read and write even before school to search through YouTube, they will not know how to type.
This is why you should always start from the basic blind typing exercises. And once you are certain that all of your students are proficient, you can move on to something more interesting.
Additionally, repeat the basic exercises often to enforce muscle memory. Making a challenge of who can correctly type the same sentence faster will do wonders. At some point, the exercise will become a small ritual, something that can last only a few minutes and that everyone is generally good at. At that point, you know you have successfully trained your students on the basics of blind typing.
Software Exercises to Start the Class
That basic exercise you have is best done by typing software, as that can adequately measure the time and achievement of each student. Even if you don't opt for a game but rather use a regular exercise, you will still reinforce the behavior you need in your students.
Also, by using typing software you will always be able to gauge the test at your desired time. Anywhere between one and five minutes is okay, as your goal is to wake up the class and not to steal too much time from the material you have planned for that day.
Be Free to Build Upon
Every teacher is different and every class has its microcosm. While some blind typing exercises will work as they are, others will need adjustments for your class. Don't be afraid to mold both the software and the curriculum around the needs of your students.
Not only are the rules not set in stone, but they are also rarely even on paper nowadays, so don't be afraid to bend them as much as you need if you want to get results.
Over the years, blind typing has become one of the core skills for a plethora of industries. It is essential when it comes to any kind of correspondence. The new exercises that can be used should mirror that diversity. You should combine tried and tested teaching methods with new and exciting software.
By using new software you will be able to focus on the more important aspects of teaching. Your students will have fun and think more about what they are writing, than the manual process itself.
Blind typing is one of many core keyboarding skills that our programs help your students develop. Check out a free trial of our software and become the champion of typing to your students!