The future of keyboarding will be great. It is essential that all people know how to type properly. With the advancement of technology, this has never been so important. It is a must-have skill in the changing world around us.
The Main Issues
Children in third grade are required to begin learning how to type. This is because it is part of the common core education. However, is this too early for children to learn something this complex? It could be because writing is very complex and so is keyboarding. This could be a cognitive overload for young children. This would result in a poorly typed essay with good ideas or a well-typed essay with poor content.
Another problem is that children are learning to type or keyboard on tablets and phones. They are using their thumbs for this. With the changing technology, there are not even keys anymore. For people over the age of forty, this could be hard to comprehend. Most people who are older will prefer typing on a physical keyboard, however, will the students? Plus, do they need to learn this skill for their future?
Not to mention, many children will use voice-to-text writing on their tablets or phones. They will talk to the device and simply go back and edit it. Is this the future of keyboarding? Think about it, schools had once taught shorthand writing but it is no longer taught because it is irrelevant for the children’s future. This could be the same thing for keyboarding.
Right Now
As of right now, we are focusing on properly teaching our children how to use a keyboard properly. Educators are focusing on different plans and options for each individual student. However, you must know that everyone is different and children learn better through games. Games are the key to the future of keyboarding. Using games will allow students to learn faster and comprehend more. Games could account for about twenty percent of items learned. Plus, it is important that educators are learning how to cater to individual students.
For example, not everyone is a verbal learner, some are visual. This would mean different techniques to learn keyboarding. A visual learner would benefit from animated fingers or even color-coded keyboards. A verbal learner would benefit from word banks. These word banks would provide the student content based on density.
All students are not alike and when educators take that into consideration, they will be better able to create a personalized learning experience for each child. Children of different ages and developmental skills will need different approaches. Not everyone will learn keyboarding the same way.
Some ways that students could learn better would be adapted instructions. This would be based on the evidence that they need extra help with learning. Allowing students to work ahead and at their own pace is critical as well. Personalized learning starts with the children. It would be at this point that the students would be in charge and be responsible for their learning.
Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay
