Students who attend for one hour per week and practice for 30mins a day between lessons for a full term should achieve a typing speed of 30 words per minute with an accuracy of over 90%. As confidence grows students can transcribe notes without reference to their hands or the computer screen allowing them to participate fully in any class whilst recording key information for their subsequent studies.
It is widely accepted that these students then have an immediate and measurable advantage over their peers. They will have the ability to quickly and accurately copy type from set texts and transcribe notes from lessons, lectures or podcasts and the ability to complete written work more quickly and accurately.
Pre-course Negotiations
TypeRight are frequently invited to talk to a school by teachers of English or ICT, the school’s SENCo or PTA. In every case the negotiations follow the same path. TypeRight will deliver a white binder to the prospective organisers and discuss the proposed course plan in broad terms. The organisers then study the binder before scheduling a second meeting. At that time the specific number of students and the proposed timing for the course are entered onto the TypeRight costing matrix which clearly indicates all the fixed and variable cost considerations. This is reviewed face-up with the organisers in order that it can all be debated and clearly understood.
Setting Up
Prior to running their first course it is necessary for the School to purchase and install the network version of the specified software package on their main server. This is done with the supervision of both TypeRight and the software developers, once installed it remains the property of the school and is licenced directly to them by the supplier. The school will also need one customised colour coded keyboard per workstation for use during the TypeRight course. These can be prepared by the school’s ICT department or purchased directly from TypeRight. These set up costs are generally carried by the school as a part of their educational supplies budget but they can be recovered over an agreed period by rebilling them as course set up costs over a pre-determined number of course bookings.
Costs
The other costs are all variable and depend principally on the number of students attending.any one course and the number of tutors needed to manage them. Some schools offer the courses to specific year groups whilst others offer it across the board. The maximum number is the same as the number of individual workststions in the school’s ICT suite although it is recommended that one be kept vacant as an emergency relief station in case of system failures. Courses are generally for somewhere between 15 and 25 students and as a rule of thumb parents should expect the course to cost approx. £220 although this obviously varies according to uptake.
Inviting Parents
Once the course logistics and pricing are agreed TypeRight prepare an information flyer which is sent out to parents to advertise the proposed course. This must be send directly from the school to protect their obligations under the data protection act. Parents interested in booking or asking for further information can then email their interest directly to TypeRight who will then liaise with them individually.
Booking
As soon as the minimum number of parents have expressed their interest the booking forms are sent out detailing the timing and setting out the terms and conditions for the course. Once a student’s booking is completed the Pre-Course Information Pack is sent out to them indicating the home support that is expected and including the home user version of the software that is used in the course sessions in school. The home software can be loaded onto up to three home computers to give maximum flexibility and encourage regular practice between lessons.
Monitoring Progress
Once the students log-in to the after school class at school their progress is automatically monitored in the ‘teacher admin’ section of the software allowing the tutors to accurately measure their individual progress in terms of speed, accuracy and other important metrics. These together with the course leader’s observations are the basis of our TypeRight Feedback Reports that are sent to both Parents and School twice during the course. Each individual’s progress is considered to be equally important to TypeRight who will enter into correspondence enthusiastically to ensure that all avenues of improvement are explored thoroughly.
Outcomes
Individual student outcomes vary considerably but a touch-typing speed of 30 words per minute with an accuracy rating of over 90% should be achieved by any student applying themselves diligently during the 10 hours of tuition and practising for a similar amount of time between the lessons. Towards the end of the course students are tested and certificates of achievement are issued. Some of the schools working with TypeRight have a policy of allowing students to use lap top computers during mainstream curriculum lessons once they have achieved a pre-determined level of competence. This is to be encouraged, particularly for students with Dyslexia or other assessments, and TypeRight Tutors liaise closely with the schools learning support team to develop suitable programmes.
Students, parents and teachers must all appreciate that the skill and expertise involved in touch-typing requires regular practice after the course and in perpetuity for the muscle memory to be sustained.