But how do you teach an 8-year-old how to type? Well, this guide is here to help you teach your kid typing in a way that’s not only fun but also effective.

Start With the Right Mindset

For starters, you have to keep in mind that you’re dealing with an 8-year old. At that age their cognitive and motor skills are still developing. Of course you don’t expect an 8-year old to have the patience or attention span of an adult.

This is why typing at that age should not feel like a chore or a boring task they have to complete within a specified time frame. It should be an enjoyable activity they look forward to and engage with everyday.

So, instead of overloading the kid with complex rules you could just let your kid know a thing or two about the benefits of learning typing like say how it will help them get better with schoolwork, albeit, don’t push it too much.

It’s also worth letting them know that solid keyboard skills take time to build and the journey might be tough and sometimes frustrating, but they will get better faster.

Again, remember to set out with a tone that keeps things relaxed and fun!

Focus on One Key at a Time

Before jumping into full on words you are better off starting with basic letters. You definitely want the child to learn the whole keyboard first!

At the basic level, you want the 8 year old to start learning keys like the FJDK and SLA; keys.

Here are some of the best beginner typing lessons that are well-suited for kids including an 8-year old.

You should also try to encourage them to use all ten fingers and right finger placement.  For example, you could use right color coded stickers for specific fingers. Once you’ve selected the colors, place the stickers on the keys of a keyboard in a way that corresponds with the proper finger placement.

You can then put the matching colored stickers on each finger to remind the child which finger to use. Then, encourage the child to focus on using the correctly colored finger for each key as they practice typing.

Have a Blast With Typing Games for Kids

One thing that is sure to capture an 8-year-old mind is the right typing games!

Yes, typing games for kids makes learning more fun and less of a strict lesson plan. The beauty is there are many nice themed typing programs and games that an 8-year-old will enjoy.

For instance, there is a typing game like Type the Alphabet which is beginner-friendly and it is well suited for learning all keyboard letters. There is also a game like Froggie Typing which is a free typing lesson for kids that lets you choose whether you want to practice on home, top or bottom rows of the keyboard.
You can also check out NitroType Pro, a race-themed game for race typing. These are just a few, you can explore more of our typing games for kids and pick the right ones for an 8-year-old.

Advance From Letters to Words

Once your kid is more comfortable with keyboard letters, it’s time to challenge them to type short words at first.

Give them something like simple three-letter words (sun ,cat, tea, etc) at first before advancing to more complex words in the long run. At this stage, the focus should be primarily on accuracy rather than the speed of typing.

Also encourage typing without looking at the keyboard keys.

Celebrate Milestones

Aside from the traditional and often boring drills, nothing sucks the motivation out of a child like feeling like they are not doing anything right. Be sure to give them a little pat on the back when they master a key, type a word or even place their fingers correctly on the keyboard.

You’d be surprised at the lengths they’ll go to impress you. It could be something as simple as treating them to their favorite snack after a successful learning session and in no time they’ll be looking forward to those classes everyday!

Make Typing a Daily Habit

Just like any other skill, consistency and practice does make perfect. Instead of spending long hours of irregular sessions, try a few minutes daily or a few times a week. It is essential to make it a routine. For the best results make it seem like time on the keyboard is as a reward for their hard work. It will push them to do this everyday.

Tip: Let the kid spend anywhere from 15-30 minutes a few days every week to build muscle memory.

Turn Typing into a Family Activity

Like adults, kids feel more motivated when they engage in typing with a friend or in this case a family member. Why not make it even more enticing? You could make it fun by creating a competition through engaging in typing speed challenges or even comparing high scores in typing games?

This is where you can teach them the correct keyboard habits such as posture and finger placements. It will grow your bond whilst making those typing lessons more fun and effective.

The kid will certainly look forward to those sessions daily without needing a reminder.

Gradually Increase Speed

Once your child’s accuracy gets good, it’s time to move the focus to speed.

They could try speed typing games that focus more on speed. These games are normally timed, mostly in a 60 second test.

Also continue emphasizing accuracy above everything, typing fast with too many mistakes won’t be useful.

Always remember to reward the child for a job well done.

Tip: You can use a good WPM speed test tool to measure their progress in terms of typing speed as they learn.

Keep Encouraging Real-World Practice

It’s even better to encourage more real-life practice outside learning sessions if you’re to make typing even more meaningful for the kid.

For example, you could have the kid type birthday invitation cards or emails to their friends. They could also type little notes to you or any member of the family, type their schoolwork assignment or even draft stories.

The more these activities are integrated in their daily regimes, the more natural typing will become.

Wrapping up

In a nutshell, teaching an 8-year-old to type should be all about making them enjoy the typing sessions. This is why as a parent or teacher, you should do your utmost best to make every typing practice lesson fun and engaging. You can always use free typing games, fun exercises and approaches tailored to help the 8-year-old build foundational skills. You get this right and they will be hitting up to 35 Words Per Minute (WPM) in no time!

The post How to Teach an 8-Year-Old to Type for Fun and Efficiency appeared first on TypingBird.

In this article we’ll do a quick review of some of the best typing games for kids to help them sharpen their keyboard skills.

Type The Alphabet

This is one of the best basic typing games for kids and lays the foundation for typing. In this game the learner is to type letters corresponding to those enclosed in a red frame before they get too close.

The game involves one letter at a time and focuses on all keyboard letters from A-Z. This enables the learner to familiarize themselves with the basic keyboard arrangement to prepare them for more complex lessons ahead.

It is actually one of the easiest typing games that’s best suited for total beginners.

Frogie Typing

Frogie Typing is an entry level game perfect for kids that serves as a more advanced level of typing for beginners. Here, instead of being presented with single letters, learners are expected to type words.

The gamer is expected to type words on lily pads that have flies on them to help the frog move to the next lily pad by eating the flies.

Typing should be done before the lily pad at which the frog is on falls in the swamp.

Typing Numbers

The game aims to introduce kids to the number section of the keyboard. It is an excellent number typing practice tool where gamers are expected to type numbers corresponding to those enclosed in a red frame before they come too close to the screen.

At first the game starts slow but with increased typing speed the numbers move at a greater speed. Any missed typing marks the end of the game. The trick of the game lies on hand-eye coordination for accurate and fast typing.

Space Typing

Space Typing is a game that takes the boring out of typing practice by taking learners to a space themed mission. It involves a space rocket and fast approaching cosmic stones with different words on them.

Typing these words causes the stones to be shot which in turn saves the rocket from damage. The game is easy to master and speed of the approaching stones is dependent on the gamer’s typing speed. It is thus a great way for kis to learn how to type faster!

Fast Type Racer

As the name suggests this is a typing race game. The racers make use of cars to engage in typing race competition by typing words, book phrases or song lyrics as written below the race setting below the screen.

The car’s racing speed is dependent on the typing speed of the gamer. What’s cool about the game is that the racers can engage in real time competition with friends or other users worldwide.

Jab Jab Boxing

Jab Jab Boxing involves engaging learners in a boxing match by typing the words and phrases on the screen. The game involves typing the provided words at a fast pace to deliver a punch on the opponent.

The secret lies on using the spacebar key on cue to deliver a more powerful blow giving the learner an upper hand.

Ghost Typing

Ghost Typing is a spooky word game that involves typing provided words to fend off ghosts. The setting is a haunted house where ghosts with words on them approach the animated character that the gamer is supposed to save.

Correct typing makes the ghosts disappear. At first only one ghost approaches, but as the typing speed of the gamer increases so does the speed and number of approaching ghosts.

Country Typing

How well do you know your continents? Country Typing involves the learner typing country names of different continents on an animated picture of the earth. The game not only boosts the learner’s typing skills but also their knowledge in geography making it the perfect learning tool for elementary school kids.

Nitro Type Pro

This is a competitive racing game where gamers are expected to type faster and accurately to boost the power and performance of their cars. The game involves various track levels, car upgrades and challenges. Faster and accurate typing translates into more car speed making the gamer eligible for winning.

The Typing of The Dead

A timeless classic typing game that incorporates a zombie apocalypse theme. The gamer is supposed to type letters corresponding to those on the approaching zombies before they get too close which kills them. The game features various complexity levels and zombie types making the game an absolute fun way for kids to have fun as they type.

Wrapping up

Typing games are the go-to way to introduce kids to keyboard skills. The animated characters and kid-friendly themes make it a perfect way for them to learn. Whether your child is a beginner looking to learn basic letter typing or at an advanced level aiming for speed and accuracy, there is definitely a game that is best fit for their level!

The post Top 10 Typing Games for Kids to Improve Their Keyboard Skills appeared first on TypingBird.

Measure your typing speed

For starters, you can’t fix what you can’t measure! So, the best place to start is to know your current WPM typing speed.

Well, you can use online tools to learn your WPM speed and accuracy. In fact, there are websites like Typingclub.com and Keybr.com that offer online speed tests in gamified form for your typing practice.

At the end of the game the WPM speed score is given which allows room to track your own progress.

Tip: Remember to keep taking these speed tests periodically to track your progress.

Set up your typing environment

When it comes to typing, posture is pretty everything. This is why it is super important for you to have a personal typing space.

You could begin by setting up a desk and chair that are at a comfortable height. Ideally, when typing your feet should be flat on the floor and your elbows at a 90° angle to avoid straining your back.

Aside from posture, lighting also does matter. So, your typing space should have just the right amount of light to avoid eye strain. Of course, you don’t want to be nursing a headache after your typing session!

Even more important, you want your typing space to be in a place with the least distractions possible.

Focus on touch typing

One other vital step to mastering typing is learning hand-eye coordination. This is what touch typing is all about. You want to be able to use all your fingers and type without looking at the keyboard.

The beauty is that there are some nice typing lessons that provide animated lessons with a mimic of a human hand to show the learner which finger goes where.

This is perfect for polishing that touch typing skill and with consistent practice you’ll get to 100 WPM over time.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Practice always makes perfect and it does apply a lot in typing. Yes, speed typing is not an overnight learned skill as opposed to what many believe. This is one of the skills that is cultivated with hardwork and you guessed it right. Yes, it is time to set aside those 15-20 minutes a day to ramp up your WPM.

There are several platforms like TypingBird that provide animated typing lessons and exciting typing games that are nothing like the boring traditional drills. You can find practice lessons that come in the form of anything from space themed games to racing games. There is pretty much something for everyone.

And best part, you get to be your own master and go at your own pace. Who says typing practice has to be boring?

Focus on accuracy first

It might seem contradictory but to boost speed, accuracy must be at the forefront. When typing say in a real life scenario like assignments or projects we aim to avoid any sort of mistakes and a lot of time is spent using the space bar to erase these mistakes in cases where autocorrect does not work.

To get to your dream speed the mistakes must be minimal. Aim for an accuracy of about 90% and in no time typing speed will build naturally.

Set reachable goals

One of the best ways to fuel that zeal to hit 100 WPM is to set a goal for each day. For instance if your speed right now is 8 WPM aim to improve it to 10 WPM tomorrow and so on.

Remember that you cannot jump to being a master without the learning process!

Just be patient with yourself and set realistic goals to avoid the discouragement that comes with failure to reach the set goal. It is okay not to reach your goal the first few days of practice, these are the most challenging days of the journey ahead after all but with time the speed is sure to build.

Take regular breaks

Last but not least, while it is true that regular practice is sure to boost your typing speed, you also don’t want to tire your brain too much. Even a thrilling task can become boring after consistent commitment with no breaks. Breaks in between the lessons and practice help the brain unwind and focus more when you get back to it later.

What you should remember however is that the breaks should be short so as not to lose focus.

Bottom Line

Ramping up your typing speed towards 100 WPM might look daunting at first but it’s certainly achievable. With the right mentality and a few of the mentioned tips you are sure to become a master typer in record time. So, get started today and tap into the many online typing practice platforms to help you practice your typing everyday!

The post How to Get to 100 WPM in Typing: 7  Proven Hacks appeared first on TypingBird.

Now, typing for programming tends to be slightly different from general typing. For example, it requires mastery of different special characters and keyboard shortcuts which are easily mastered with consistent practice.

Well, whether you are a beginner developer or aiming to boost your typing skills as a senior developer, this guide is here to guide you through mastering typing to help you be a better programmer.

Will Typing Faster Make You a Better Programmer?

For starters, You’re probably wondering if typing will make you a better programmer. The short answer is yes!

Franky, you don’t need to be the fastest typist around to be a good programmer. In fact, the average typing speed for developers tends to be somewhere around 40 to 70 Words per Minute (WPM).

This is actually a good speed that will actually help you be better at shipping out code as you work on projects.

Here are some of the hacks that can help you get better at typing:

Master your Keyboard Shortcuts

Yes, this is super important for efficient typing as you write code. This is why learning basic keyboard shortcuts saves on time of reaching for the mouse to maneuver or edit codes which improves your typing speed.

You should actually start with generic basic shortcuts that will make your work easier including generic keyboard shortcuts that apply to most applications regardless of the operating system.

Here are some examples for Windows:

• Ctrl + C – Copy
• Ctrl + V – Paste
• Ctrl + X – Cut
• Ctrl + Z – Undo
• Ctrl + Y – Redo
• Ctrl + S – Save
• Alt + Tab – Switch between open apps
• Ctrl + F – Find
• Ctrl + Shift + T – Reopen the last closed tab (in browsers)
• Win + D – Show Desktop
• Ctrl + Shift + Esc – Open Task Manager

The IDEs you use also have their own set of shortcuts tailored to the programming workflow.
Here are some examples for the case of an IDE like Visual Studio Code (VSCode):

• Ctrl + P – Quick open file by name
• Ctrl + Shift + P – Command palette (access all commands)
• Ctrl + / – Toggle line comment
• Alt + Up/Down Arrow – Move the current line up or down
• Ctrl + B – Toggle sidebar
• Ctrl + Shift + M – View problems (errors, warnings)
• F8 – Go to next error
• Ctrl + ` – Open/close integrated terminal
• Shift + Alt + F – Format document

Practice Typing

Just like coding, getting better at typing as a programmer is a learning curve.

In other words, you cannot grow from a novice to a speed typist overnight, the journey involves lots of dedication, consistency and lots of practice.

You can explore typing platforms that provide a variety of typing games tailored for your needs and preferences ranging from space mission games to speed racing. The best part is that at the end of most games the accuracy and speed is provided making it easier to track your progress.

These games are particularly best fit if you’re a beginner learning aspects like touch typing.

A good example is this symbol keys typing lesson which can help you type common punctuation and special characters without having to look at the keyboard.

There is also the number keys lesson which can help you quickly type numbers as efficiently as letters.

You can blend these games with other typing practice platforms that focus more characters commonly found in code (e.g., curly braces, semicolons, parentheses), keywords, and other elements like variables and operators.

This way you can type faster and with fewer errors when writing code.

Focus More on Accuracy than Speed

Focusing on typing more accurately rather than faster is the cheat code to boosting your speed as a programmer.

Of course, you’re dealing with code which is highly sensitive to syntax errors. In such a case you need speed to reduce the time between conceptualizing and writing code but you ought to find a balance between speed and accuracy.

The key to accuracy lies in hand-eye coordination. Indeed it all cycles back to touch typing practices.

With touch typing your hand focuses on typing while your eye on noting the key that has been typed. In the long run this builds muscle memory meaning that your hands know which finger goes to which key without even having to look.

Be Persistent but Patient

It actually doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner programmer looking to learn coding typing or an advanced learner looking to boost your typing speed and accuracy, you ought to be patient with yourself and trust the process.

Just believe in yourself and set realistic goals. The targets will serve as a guide and motivating factor in your typing journey.

Here is the catch; even if you do not reach your goals do not give up and pick up from where you left and strive to do better. With as little as 30 minutes a day of everyday coding typing lessons you’ll improve your WPM speed and be more productive as a programmer!

Wrapping up

In a nutshell, learning to type better as a programmer certainly takes time, albeit, with the right approach the journey becomes worthwhile and enjoyable plus you’ll certainly be much more productive! Through the right typing tutors like typing games platforms, plus aspects like practice and persistence you can grow your typing skills as a programmer in no time.

The post Learning Typing for Coding: Improve Typing Skills as a Programmer appeared first on TypingBird.

1. Learning about the Relevance of Keyboard efficiency

Typing on the keyboard is not just typing but an essential part of popular communication. Effective keyboarding makes students to type out their assignments, search and carry out research and even participate in online classes. However, with the advancement of technology to education and workplace, typing skills alongside with appropriate speed are vital.

2. Starting Early: Implementing Keyboarding Beginning in Elementary Classroom

Introducing the skills of operation of a keyboard at the initial stage and firmly lays the groundwork for further operations. It gets the students trained at the correct ways of doing things right from the start, before they get into bad habits. In its regulations and guidelines as provided by New York State Education Department, keyboarding practice in a structured program has to be initiated in grade 3 and should at 15 WPM at 80–100 percent accuracy.

3. Roles & Responsibilities for Effective Training

4. The provision of Structured Practice Implementation

5. Emphasizing Proper Technique

6. Implementation of Cross-Curriculum Learning

Quickly typing in addition with other subjects can be a way in which children strengthen their learning and the practice can be more enriching. For instance, typing exercises composed in books being taught in the science or history class can help learners in developing their typing ability as well as improve the subject knowledge. Application of this method makes typing practice more realistic and fun for the learners.

7. Addressing Diverse Learner Needs

8. Regarding technology and resources the following points shall be taken into consideration.

It was also inferred that adding available technologies can improve keyboarding instruction. Different websites and applications share many characteristics consisting of lessons, games, and tracking of development. Complex practice can allow students to make several outcomes by introducing numerous resources that are relevant to instructional goals and important for learning.

9. Encouraging a Growth Mindset

One of the key aspects of the growth mindset approach is making a student perceive difficulties as fits of growth. This means that one has to put in a lot of effort, practice and be perseverant as mastery of the task at hand takes time. Many students will need encouragement to persevere when practicing keyboarding skills and praising or rewarding the students for small task accomplishment will encourage them push-on.

10. Rating & Appraisal

IS-Tip: Current exams are valuable to gauge student performance and to determine weak areas. Offering suggestions fosters the improvement of efforts by the students. Functions like attempt playback are beneficial to educators as they get the chance to see how the typist works and what kind of recommendations can improve results.

11. Keyboarding Instruction as a Component of Inclusive Curriculum

PreTeXt integration of keyboarding makes students understand the significance of this course as it is integrated into the normal curriculum. It is also very effective to schedule certain segments for efforts to type, and it also can be incorporated as an element of other subjects seamlessly. This approach also helps in making sure that there is development of keyboarding skills.

The post A Must Educational approach that enhances students for typing appeared first on TypingBird.