This paper explores the issue of how, when, and where to teach keyboarding at the elementary school level through a review of the keyboarding literature and descriptions of three studies conducted with fifth grade students in the laboratory school at the University of Wyoming. The literature review briefly summarizes findings on the following…

Eight students enrolled in keyboarding at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri in Spring 1985 participated in a comparison of computer-assisted keyboarding instruction and instructor-assisted keyboarding instruction. Half were given instructor checkpoints at specified intervals; half did not have this regular, planned interaction with…

Describes results of a questionnaire concerning such questions as where is the first keyboarding/typing class taught, length of this class, what equipment is utilized, and what students in kindergarten through eighth grade are doing with microcomputers. The author then makes suggestions for improving the curriculum for keyboarding in elementary…

Before students can use microcomputers effectively, they need keyboarding skills. A project was conducted in Montana to teach keyboarding to fourth-grade children using computer-assisted instruction. Two fourth-grade classes at Hawthorne Elementary School, Bozeman, Montana, participated in an 8-week, 32-session elementary keyboarding pilot…

Research has shown that relaxation exercises produce physical changes in students. After relaxation exercises, students appear calmer, have reduced levels of anxiety, and are more responsive to instruction. In order to determine if relaxation exercises would improve the rate at which students learn keyboarding, a study was conducted in a South…

Keyboarding was taught to a group of 26 fourth- and fifth-grade students in a self-contained classroom by an elementary classroom teacher using an Apple IIe microcomputer and two software programs: "Gregg Personal Keyboarding" and "Typing Tutor II." Intervention spanned 52 class days, including pre-, mid-, and posttest days,…

Compared the ease and efficiency of the Qwerty and Dvorak keyboards by analyzing five popular lists on high frequency words to determine differences in fingering for the keyboards. Found that more high frequency words and more characters are typed on the Dvorak keyboard home row, and therefore children should be taught to use the Dvorak rather…

Indiana fourth graders received keyboarding instruction 30 minutes per day for 4 weeks with 30 minutes of daily practice thereafter. Comparison with their scores in the fifth grade revealed an increase in speed of nine words per minute. Accuracy did not change significantly. (SK)

A national survey of 753 elementary teachers found that only 13 percent (95) teach keyboarding, there is insufficient time for mastery of touch typing, access to equipment is limited, teachers do not have thorough knowledge of theory related to psychomotor skill development, and no formal evaluation is used. (SK)

Discusses keyboarding strategies for elementary school students with learning disabilities using microcomputers. Describes a study that evaluated the efficacy of instruction in systematic scanning against a baseline of no instruction and students' current hunt-and-peck strategy. Repeated measures of typing rates showed no advantages of the…

Analysis of over 750 timed writings of postsecondary keyboarding students found speeds ranging from 39-49 gross words per minute. They left uncorrected one-half to three-quarters of an error per minute. Accuracy and speed standards representing realistic conditions using electronic equipment should now be developed. (SK)

One group of secondary keyboarding students was taught on typewriters and switched to microcomputers after six weeks, the other used microcomputers first, then typewriters. Using computers, students showed faster completion times and fewer typographical errors. Transfer from computers to typewriters slowed times and increased errors. Overall,…

This study compared two software programs for teaching keyboarding to students in grades four, five, and six and compared speed achievement when students were grouped by sex. One program was an educational game. The other used traditional psychological motor skill development theory as applied to typewriting instruction. Results are reported and…

Error analysis of 260 timed writings by secondary and postsecondary beginning and advanced students found that, regardless of the level of instruction or the type of equipment (electronic typewriter or microcomputer), an inordinate number of errors were associated with home key rows. (JOW)

This study examines user insights on the issues of keyboarding and computer knowledge. It presents reactions of first-time microcomputer users and reveals insights that may be helpful to educators presenting courses to this population. Recommendations are presented and fall into three categories: lab schedule, microcomputer as typewriter, and…