Screen Pennies: Learning to Touch Type

I cringe every time I see one of my children hunting and pecking at the keyboard.

Perhaps this cringe is because I learned to type in school, and have found it to be a most valuable skill for my entire life.

Or, perhaps, just perhaps, it is because I taught typing skills to youngsters for over a decade.

Either way, when they "type"... tap... tap... tap... I cringe, and typically, look away.

So, I determined that it was time that they learned how to touch type, how to use the keyboard correctly.

First, I set up a space in our family room / finished basement for them to type.  I pulled out a couple very old laptops (Windows XP or Vista machines), plugged in real keyboards and real mice, and made sure they could connect to my phone's wireless hotspot.  I made user accounts on Typing.com, and turned off all Typing.com features I found annoying or pointless.  Next, I grabbed a cardboard box and cut it in such a way that it would cover their hands while typing, without the box touching their hands.

The setup includes four computers each with keyboard,

mouse, headphones and (unseen) a cardboard cover.  These

were all older computers that we had around but hadn't

been using.

But, making the "water" and leading the child to it to "drink", does not necessarily provide enough motivation to get them to type long enough, and practice well enough, to abandon the hunting and pecking.

In my experience, once kids type at about 30 words per minute, they've both developed a habit, and they know that hunting and pecking is slower... so they do it "right", and naturally improve their speed, especially as their various school assignments give them / require them to type.

So, here was what I did:  I told them that, guess what, you will be "awarded" screen pennies (each penny is worth one minute of screen time) for completing a 44-minute typing "Adventure".  And, in particular, they would earn 1/4 screen penny per minute of on-task typing time... but once they got to 44-minutes of time-on-task (equivalent to 11 screen pennies), that THEN and only then, their screen pennies would DOUBLE (up to 22).

These numbers sound arbitrary, but here is the rationale:

Firstly, my children do not have much screen time as it is; about 2-hours per week, and only on the weekend, to use as they wish, on approved age-appropriate media.  They don't have any screen time to use during the week... so the first "bonus" is that they can use this screen time immediately.  Instant, so to speak, gratification.

Secondly, they really like to watch TV episodes, in particular Pokémon and Bokugan episodes.  These are 22-minutes each.  They don't always choose these, especially since they also enjoy the Wii games of the same title, but 22 seemed like a fun, motivating number.

Thirdly, I wanted the actual time-on-task to exceed the non-educational screen time.  In Typing.com, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the time is actually not typing, but reading screens or watching short tutorial videos.  (This is similar to many online education sites.  Prodigy, for example, which is math oriented, does have math, but also between 50% and 70% of the time is non-educational... costuming the avatar, etc.)

Fourth, and perhaps most important, the rate of earning the screen time had to be similar to what we do in the house for other chores or responsibilities.  For example, the kids earn a screen penny for each of the following: brush teeth, floss teeth, unload their half of the dishwasher dishes, made their bed, take a reasonable length shower, etc.  My "rule of thumb" is that about 2 to 4 minutes of effort should result in one screen penny.

Now, this scheme worked particularly well in motivating my 9-year old child, although we had to work through some frustrations, since at school, he already did some Typing.com but without a cover, so while he could type with fingers on the correct keys, he was slow, as he was constantly checking his hand positions, and looking for certain keys.  To address this, he was encouraged to restart the lessons he had already completed, from the very first F, J, F, J lesson.  After a day or so, he was good to go.

Both children typing along to earn their "screen pennies" to be

used immediately on their favorite TV show or video gam

My older child, 12-years old, well he was super motivated when I accidentally agreed that 22-minutes of typing equaled 22 screen pennies... but then... quite understandably... after the plan for 44-minutes was finalized, he was demotivated and saddened.  That, coupled with the fact that he is a bit of a perfectionist, and wanted to earn three "stars" on each little typing exercise... and he ended up going for two or three days only eyeing the keyboard, and not actually sitting down at it.   I recognized he wanted to do it, but he just was having trouble finding enough motivation, and overcoming the sadness, to sit down.

For him, I added an additional bonus: he could watch a very special TV series based on the Tron movies (his current favorites)... but the only way he could watch Tron was by earning the screen pennies through typing.  He stated that he admired knowing him so well, and for being "tricksy" enough to get him back to the keyboard.  (Luckily, there are about 18 of those episodes, and figuring he'll do about 13 hours on the computer, or about 7-hours of actual typing (over a few weeks) and this might be enough to get him up to 30-words per minute.)

For additional longer term motivation, we made a long list of other "prizes" that could be earned for reaching certain goals.  The prize list is written, but haven't yet assigned which prize goes with what achievement.  Perhaps their will be prizes for completing sections in Typing.com, or achieving certain speed/accuracy goals, or even for attaining a certain amount of on-task time as reported by the site -- most likely, there will be prizes assigned to all of these.  Examples of prizes on their list include: free movies, trading cards (Pokémon, etc.), a new Wii game (rated E), Lego sets, hosting a sleepover, going to a favorite restaurant, going to the real classic video game arcade, etc.  This plan is sometimes, in education/school circles, called "Gamification", where the learning task is made more fun by making it into a game, with prizes being one of the game-like features.

For the grand prize as the "graduation" from "Summer-Fun Exciting Prize-Filled Summer Touch Typing Camp", the final big award is a brand new(ish) Windows 10 laptop (which are often on sale both online and at big-box stores).  This is especially motivating for my older child, as his old Windows XP laptop struggles with most programs and web sites, and he's been asking when he can upgrade.

What neither child has yet to put together is that having a computer does not really equate to any more screen time... but what it does mean, I hope, is that they will be more likely to do creative projects like writing stories, making presentations, creating videos, making art, etc.

At the moment I'm writing this on a low-cost HP laptop that runs Windows 10 S Mode (which restricts installing possibly malicious software) to see if it would work for the children.  As far as I can tell, it is a winner, especially due to low cost, long battery life, and a very sharp screen.  My second option would be a Chromebook, which can then more easily be restricted to appropriate content by using the Google Family Link app and web site.

Next on the list for summer learning on the computer:  Spanish, mathematics, and computer coding, .  For Spanish, they'll start with Duolingo, with each level counting for one-half screen penny, doubled when they complete 22-levels OR 44-minutes on-task, whichever comes first.  For mathematics, they'll use Khan Academy or IXL, depending on which one is supported by their school, of course, at their appropriate math level.  For coding, they'll be using the Code.org 2019 Express Course.  The coding is more "fun" for my kids, so there may be a limit on the amount of coding that can be done per day. :-)

One of my believes and hopes is: if kids, in particular my kids, learn just 10% more "schooly" stuff that they otherwise would have, by doing these sorts of activities at home, then over the dozen or so years of schooling, they'll be very well positioned to have many options in their life and career, and hopefully, an easier time in school as well.  So far, this plan seems to be working out. :-)