http://sourceforge.net/projects/typefaster/
The OpenSource app that I downloaded from Source Forge is called “Type faster Typing Tutor”. First of all, since it was free I was able to try it without any problem or hesitation. My first impression was that I really liked the feature that gives you a keyboard on your monitor so user can follow and practice typing because visual aids are crucial for learning. Typing correctly is important and can help students and teachers when using technologies. I believe, since anyone can have access to this application, students can even practice outside of their classrooms. This program also has different levels so when your test score goes up you can move on to the next level for more challenging typing exercises. During my high school years, I remember that I took a typing class and we used programs which probably were paid for. Type faster Typing Tutor would be a great tool since students can use it and learn, and at the same time the school can save money in order to spend their budget where it’s needed. In addition, I like this typing program so much because they offer lessons in many different languages. I believe that this typing tool can also be included in foreign language classrooms where their keyboard is a little different and students will need to get used to it even though they know the regular American keyboard setup. In general, I like this application and I would love to use it in my classroom in the future to teach my students how to type well.
I also found an open source typing program to review - Tux Typing (http://tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/tuxtype/index.php). It's not bad, but there were some parts of it that I thought could be improved. I downloaded "Type Faster Typing Tutor" you mentioned, to see how they compare. I like the fact that the Type Faster program starts with the home row keys and has the visual on the screen. I think those two points are key in really teaching kids how to type. However, I started doing the first level and I found myself thinking...come on, already...when is this going to be over?!? It was just fjfj ffjj jfjfj for a REALLY long time. Now, I know I'm tired and it's the end of the day, but I can't see students getting too excited about this program. It just kind of has an "older style windows" look to it, which doesn't mean it can't be useful, but it might be worth noting. Part of learning to type is repetition, but maybe making the levels shorter with benchmarks might have made it more enjoyable for me. The game was more visually stimulating, but wasn't correlated with the teaching point.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings me to my next point. I feel like kids are constantly barraged with media/video/text/games and have gotten used to a certain level of stimulation. Now, I'm not saying whether or not that is a good or a bad thing, but I just think it might influence their attention span for certain things. I feel like it has influenced MY attention span and tolerance level for what technology should be, too! When looking at a lot of the open source apps, I found myself thinking that the presentation or layout of some of the things I saw weren't really that great. However, if you're giving out free software, you probably don't have the time or money to pay crazy graphics developers. I'm sure there are a lot of great apps out there that can provide great things for schools, but they may not have all the bells and whistles that you might get with paid software licenses.
Nice find, dani. Typing is one of those things that is getting a renewed focus. The Common Core Standards introduces it in third grade and expects a minimum of a page by the end of grade four. This is a good option for parents at home - to be sure.
ReplyDeleteAnd Nicole is correct that many Open Source Apps do not have the graphic of commercial software, but this is not always the case. The very mature packages, like Stellarium, Wordpress, and even Tux Paint, look great. Other software is just about the functionality, like Audacity. If it works, I don't care what it looks like. Just so happens that Audacity looks pretty good, too...