Some pupils with dyslexia and related conditions such as dyspraxia find that the difficulties associated with handwriting can inhibit their ability to structure and write a piece of work. The handwriting itself can take up too much concentration and effort.
Teaching touch typing skills and allowing pupils to use a computer for written work can allow more concentration to be focussed on the content of the piece.
At secondary level, this may give significant improvement in exam grades.
What makes a typing tutor ‘dyslexic friendly’?
It is important for any software aimed at dyslexics to use a multisensory approach. For typing tutors this means having both text and audio instructions, with a picture of the keyboard on screen at all times. If there are no audio options then it is useful to be able to use text-to-speech programs to read out the instructions. Other features we look out for in a dyslexia-friendly typing tutor are:
- Use real words as much as possible. By their nature typing programs are repetitive and, particularly at the early stages, limit the number of letters that are typed. This means that many programs make users type nonsense words. This should be avoided with dyslexic users as it will, if anything, have a negative impact on their spelling. Some of the typing programs we sell make users type similar sounding words together. This reinforces spelling patterns and can have a positive effect.
- Don’t overload the user by trying to teach them too many skills at once. There are three skills involved in touch typing – knowing the keyboard layout, typing accurately and being able to type quickly. Some programs try to get the user to develop all 3 skills at once, in a small period of time. Overloading the user with instructions and commands in this manner is not helpful to dyslexic users.
- Interactive but short lessons keep the user interested. Many dyslexic children and adults find it difficult to concentrate for long periods of time. Learning to type requires a lot of concentration so we try to point out how long users will need to stay focused for. If lessons are interactive and fun, they are likely the hold the attention of younger users for longer.
- An uncluttered screen layout has a picture of the keyboard clearly visible at all times. If there are too many distractions on the screen, such as moving objects or buttons to press, users will find it difficult to concentrate on the task in hand. Having a keyboard visible on screen helps with learning to type. Many dyslexic children and adults will take longer to develop keyboarding skills because the number of skills they have to implement at once overloads their working memory so skills must be transferred to long term memory before they can be successfully used.
Touch Type Read and Spell (TTRS) readandspell.com. TTRS is a multi-sensory course that teaches touch-typing to help children and adults improve their reading and spelling skills.
Programme is multi-sensory in that it uses visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (touch) senses.
Highly structured -Based on the wordlists of ‘Alpha to Omega’ and the work of ‘Orton and Gillingham’.
Modular -Each module is designed to be short in length with regular, positive feedback.
Optional Tutor Support -Supplement your learning with a TTRS trained Tutor.
Multiple levels of difficulty – TTRS has 24 levels, each with 31 modules. Every 5th module is a “dictation module” which relies on the auditory element to reinforce learning.
Adaptive design -Colours, fonts and designs can be customised for the learner to meet every individual’s needs.
Used worldwide -Used by dyslexia associations worldwide, including the British Dyslexia Association.
Age: 7-14 years Setting: School or home Teacher’s settings: Yes Number of lessons: 5 Average length of lesson: 3 – 10 minutes Number of games: 9
Nessy Fingers has been developed from the popular Nessy Learning Programme and includes many features making it particularly suitable for dyslexic students. Nessy Fingers concentrates on teaching the layout of the keyboard via the alphabet in 5 short lessons. This unique approach allows rapid learning and keeps students motivated. Using the alphabet provides a logical and familiar learning structure and reinforces the alphabet sequence, while the carefully selected fonts and wide range of display options enable the program to be personalised to individual student’s needs.
Once the lessons are completed, students can access 9 enjoyable and colourful games to practise their skills. The “Skillometer” and Hall of Fame tracks progress and awards prizes encouraging and motivating the students. Nessy Fingers contains 233 word lists, including those from the Nessy Learning Programme. Words become progressively harder to improve both spelling and basic punctuation. New word lists and sentences can be created while students can add their own music to get into the rhythm of typing as they play the games. Overall, Nessy Fingers provides a fun and motivating environment to develop typing skills while reinforcing spelling skills.
TypeQuick for Students
Age: 7-14 years Setting: School or home Teacher’s settings: Limited – can set goal typing speed. Number of lessons: 10. Eight teach the layout of the keyboard, one improves speed and one improves accuracy. This is followed by the “Royal Challenge” for improving speed and accuracy. Average length of lesson: 20-30 minutes
Number of games: Challenges and activities throughout the lessons.
TypeQuick is a typing program from Australia for children. Based around a character called Kewala it teaches typing while you and Kewala tour the Australian Outback. Lessons can be tailored to individual students with frequent reports and graphs on the student’s progress. There are 10 lessons taking you through all the keys then testing your speed and accuracy. The graphics and story-based activities in this program make it highly enjoyable for children. However each lesson takes between 20 and 30 minutes and if the program is stopped before a lesson is completed then the student’s progress will not be recorded. This can make it unsuitable for children who find it difficult to concentrate for this length of time.
Typing Instructor Deluxe
Age: 7 years + Setting: Home. Can be used in a school environment but limited control functions Teacher’s settings: None and no settings for making a user follow a particular lesson pattern. Number of lessons: 15 lesson plans Average length of lesson: 10 minutes Number of games: 10, plus over 300 articles for practicing typing skills.
Typing Instructor Deluxe uses a combination of lessons and games to teach typing. It is suitable for all levels of typist with a skills test available to identify the best level to use. There is no structured route through this program so the user can chose which element they want to use – whether it is practice articles or games for improving skills or by going to a lesson for a particular key they have problems with. This makes it ideal for all the family whatever the level of typing skills they have. It is less suitable in a teaching environment as there is no way of directing the user to a certain level or activity. For adults is provides an excellent program for first improving and then returning to practise their typing skills through the games or practice articles.
Age: 7 years + Setting: Home. Can be used in a school environment but limited control functions Teacher’s settings: None and no settings for making a user follow a particular lesson pattern. Number of lessons: 5 steps to learning the keyboard, followed by an accuracy section and speed building section. Average length of lesson: 90 minutes to learn the layout of the keyboard (can be broken into 5 lessons of 20 minutes each), then followed by sections for improving accuracy and speed. Number of games: none
KAZ typing tutor is a popular British keyboard-training product that uses a simple, three-step approach to learn touch-typing. In the first step KAZ quickly familiarises you with the keyboard using five clever phrases. After this the user progresses on to an accuracy stage where the user practices typing first on individual words, then sentences, then paragraphs. Finally there is a speed building section where the user’s speed and accuracy is tested using sentences appropriate to their reading level.
Unlike other typing tutors KAZ only uses real words for teaching typing which makes it very dyslexic friendly. The instructions are available either as text on the screen or as speech but this must be chosen on installation. As the user can progress through the program quickly and jump from section to section, it is particularly good for users who already have some basic keyboarding skills. Although Kaz does not contain any games or challenges for practising typing skills, this is seen as a benefit to many adult users who find them a distraction from developing their skills.