The Typing Coach {review}

There is no denying that computers are an integral part of our lives, or that typing is an essential skill.  Poor typing skills makes many simple tasks like writing reports, filling out applications or resumes, or inputting data on a job a time consuming task, if not impossible for some people.  The Typing Coach recognizes the need for quick error-free typing, and has created The Typing Coach Online Typing Course to help students overcome poor techniques in order to build solid typing skills.

The course was originally designed for middle and high school students by an experienced typing teacher, but the course has also been adapted for 8-11 year old students as well.  Younger students can take the core of the course at a slower pace and begin to learn good posture and foundational typing skills.  There are specific instructions and a separate Student Packet for the younger student, as well as as guidance for how to evaluate their progress.

My 10 year old has started to use the computer more, and asked if I could teach him to type, so he has been the one using this course.  It is a no-nonsense, twaddle free approach to teaching typing.  There are no avatars or games or cartoons.  Essentially, you will make sure your screen is off (or covered) so that you cannot focus on mistakes and backspacing.  You will open a blank word processing document and listen to the audio lesson, typing as instructed, or type from the student packet.  The parent should be keeping an eye out for posture and technique, especially when working with younger students.  The lessons can feel lengthy, but stretch breaks are worked in, so focus can be maintained for the duration of the lesson for most students.  There is a Practice and Testing Center built into the program, so that you can monitor progress.

What Did We Think?
I like that the course is straightforward and no-frills.  Not only does the lack of games and edutainment features mean my son has no incentive to rush through a lesson, it means it can be used by learners of all ages without feeling childish.  Since you can't truly proceed without mastery, there is sometimes frustration when a lesson needs to be repeated, but it also means he needs to train himself to focus on the lesson at hand to improve his skills.  Easily distracted students (mine) might prefer headphones to block outside noises.

I will admit, I found the course navigation a little cumbersome. There were multiple documents to read, videos to watch and packets to print before starting, and everything seemed to open in new tabs.  I'm not a fan of videos; my preference is always reading over audio/video (I process more quickly and efficiently when I read), so I would have appreciated transcripts for some of the videos.  Overall, I think the introductory material could be streamlined a little more.

The course is thorough, and the instructions are clear.  The lessons are spoken directly to the student, and Elliott was never confused within the lessons.  However, my son is not an auditory learner, and while I was hoping this would help his attention levels with auditory materials, he found it tedious.  He's working slowly through the course because of this, but I have noticed that he's recalling and applying information from this course at other times, so he is learning from it!

To find out how other families have used this course in their homes, make sure to read more reviews!



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