Touch Typing: Why It's SO Important
Do you look at your keyboard when you type? If you answered no, you can touch type. We'll be honest: this is a brand-spankin' new term, and we thought everyone naturally learned this skill. We were wrong.
Typing clubs and apps are steadily gaining traction, so let's see how this ability benefits kids!
It helps them work twice as fast.
Touch-typing means being able to type quickly and accurately without needing to look down at your hands on the keyboard, which makes touch-typists Sonic fast! If you keep switching between looking at the keyboard and the screen, you’re wasting half your time because your brain is trying to focus on two different things at once. Kids who can touch type produce twice as much work as those who “hunt and peck” at the keyboard.
... And ups the accuracy rate!
Aside from being fast, touch-typers type with accuracy. Children who are fast typers, but don’t touch-type have to stop, read what’s on the screen, and go back to make corrections.
It sets them up for today's world.
You've probably noticed that our world revolves around technology - texting, emailing and tweeting - and perhaps you're a hunt-and-peck typer and have managed just fine. Still, it goes back to working more efficiently.
Helps with dyslexia.
Evidence shows that learning to touch type can benefit children with dyslexia because some dyslexic students find typing easier than handwriting because it requires them to break up words into smaller sounds.
It's SO easy to learn!
Touch typing sounds complex, but children can master it surprisingly quickly. In just 10 minutes a day, they can start typing up to thirty words per minute in just a matter of weeks!
For the Writers: It Ups Content Focus
We've focused a lot on speed, but there are more! The quality of their work improves too. Because it's an unconscious practice, it frees all the attention to focus on content, so the quality of what’s usually written increases. Another major plus is that it allows thoughts to be captured quicker, making them less likely to forget a brilliant idea.
Develops muscle memory.
When we touch type, we use all of our senses to help us remember where the keys are and what they sound like. Pressing the keys reinforces the letter's sound, making it easier to recall when we see the same letter in a different word.
It's a life-long skill.
Touch typing is like riding a bike: you remember how to do it.
Typing clubs and apps are steadily gaining traction, so let's see how this ability benefits kids!
It helps them work twice as fast.
Touch-typing means being able to type quickly and accurately without needing to look down at your hands on the keyboard, which makes touch-typists Sonic fast! If you keep switching between looking at the keyboard and the screen, you’re wasting half your time because your brain is trying to focus on two different things at once. Kids who can touch type produce twice as much work as those who “hunt and peck” at the keyboard.
... And ups the accuracy rate!
Aside from being fast, touch-typers type with accuracy. Children who are fast typers, but don’t touch-type have to stop, read what’s on the screen, and go back to make corrections.
It sets them up for today's world.
You've probably noticed that our world revolves around technology - texting, emailing and tweeting - and perhaps you're a hunt-and-peck typer and have managed just fine. Still, it goes back to working more efficiently.
Helps with dyslexia.
Evidence shows that learning to touch type can benefit children with dyslexia because some dyslexic students find typing easier than handwriting because it requires them to break up words into smaller sounds.
It's SO easy to learn!
Touch typing sounds complex, but children can master it surprisingly quickly. In just 10 minutes a day, they can start typing up to thirty words per minute in just a matter of weeks!
For the Writers: It Ups Content Focus
We've focused a lot on speed, but there are more! The quality of their work improves too. Because it's an unconscious practice, it frees all the attention to focus on content, so the quality of what’s usually written increases. Another major plus is that it allows thoughts to be captured quicker, making them less likely to forget a brilliant idea.
Develops muscle memory.
When we touch type, we use all of our senses to help us remember where the keys are and what they sound like. Pressing the keys reinforces the letter's sound, making it easier to recall when we see the same letter in a different word.
It's a life-long skill.
Touch typing is like riding a bike: you remember how to do it.
