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Introduce the following points. Demonstrate proper technique using yourself
or a student.
- Place your feet
for balance.
- Center your body
to the "H" key.
- Sit with correct
posture.
- Keep your fingers
curved.
- Never rest your
palms on the base of the keyboard.
- Tap the space bar
with the right thumb only. This evens out the work of the hands.
- Do not look at
your fingers or the keyboard while keying. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! This
will train students in the touch system of keying.
- Hit the RETURN/ENTER
key with your right pinkie.
Let students know they will be graded (evaluated) on technique so that
they begin to value technique. Helping students set goals for technique
and letter mastery will be helpful.
Students who lose their place often may be looking at their fingers. Looking
away from the copy (book) makes the student less efficient. Ask students
who are watching hands what sense they are not using (sense of touch).
Ask students to practice finding the homerow by feeling for the bump (or
ridge) without looking.
Identify the "name" of each finger: Left pinkie "A",
left ring "S", left tall "D", left pointer "F".
Right pinkie ";", right ring "L", right tall "K",
right pointer "J". Space with the right thumb only. These keys
are keyed with the tip of the finger.
- Demonstrate these
reaches to the students. This can be done on an overhead or at a keyboard.
- Reaches on the
top row should be keyed with the ball part of the finger. Reaches on
the bottom row should be keyed with the nail part of the finger with
the exception of "B" and "N". "G, H, B, N"
are keyed with the ball part of the finger.
- Point out patterns
on the keyboard as they apply.
It is difficult to always know what all ten fingers of each student in
an entire class are doing. Peer tutoring can be used to allow students
to take ownership of evaluation and to check for understanding of instruction.
The cause of an error is more important than the fact that the student
made a mistake. Many errors are the symptoms of faulty keyboarding technique,
wrong finger curve, eyes not on copy, or posture. DO NOT LET STUDENTS
USE THE BACKSPACE (DELETE) KEY TO CORRECT ERRORS.
Help students see their progress immediately. Measure progress in terms
of perfecting technique, rather than by increasing speed. Reinforce students
when they are using correct technique.
Reflective thinking aids the learning process. For example, discuss the
new letter learned. End the day with "eyes closed" dictation
or before leaving the computer lab, sing a song.
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