Two places to find free typing lessons to use in the classroom

Some of my students, even as young is Grade 2 students, have been taught to type by their parents at home, which is very impressive! It is a great skill to have. I haven't used any typing programs this year with my school classes, but I would like to start again. I've been looking on the Internet for suitable free typing programs and then discovered that Commonsense Media highly recommends the following two websites:  www.typingclub.com and www.typing.com.

1. TYPING CLUB

What is Typing club?

Typing Club is found at https://www.typingclub.com/. It is a great choice of typing program as it helps students master keyboarding skills. It is available on any web-enabled device. It also provides dedicated iPad and Chrome apps. A great feature is that it integrates with Google Classroom.

Cost

It is free or paid. The ads of the free version could be distracting.

How does it work?

“ It starts with brief lessons that include speed and accuracy assessments. Fun videos peppered in between lessons focus on skills, and students get instant feedback. Students receive badges for progress and can skip around as needed. Typing Club has a number of exciting courses, including animated-story lesson plans that allow students to animate their own stories and cause them to unfold as they type. Students can work ahead as they learn, which is great for differentiation. (Taken from the Common Sense's review on Typing Club,)

How can teachers use TypingClub?

TypingClub has a teacher dashboard that allows for well-managed, whole-class typing instruction and practice. Teachers can begin by creating classes and assigning lesson plans for each class.

Lesson Plans

There are some amazing lesson plans.

For example, when you a lesson plan for your students, and they click on it, they get a whole spread of quick, fun lessons.

Why do students like typing club?

TypingClub's game structure, feedback, and badge rewards are appealing to students.

Extra reading

Common Sense gives TypingClub a five stars rating. You can read the rest of Common Sense’s great review here:: https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/typingclub

2. TYPING.COM

What is Typing.com?

Typing.com is found at www.typing.com. The extensive lessons, teach beginners up to advanced students to type. The program departs from the traditional home-row instruction; and rather  begins with F, J, and space keys, moves on to U, R, and K, and then adds more keys.

Cost

It is totally free (with ads) or with a subscripion. The adds can be distracting.

How does it work?

Typing.com has a large selection of extra lessons for practice. These include seven games, 10-key, medical terms, jokes, targeted problem keys, and choose-your-own-adventure stories.

How can teachers use Typing.com?

There is a teacher dashboard. Teachers can create unlimited classes with unlimited students, teachers, and administrators. They set up their classes either manually or by syncing with Google Classroom, Students can also join with a custom link made for their class.

From the dashboard, teachers are provided with a large number of customizations and they can even create custom lessons and typing tests using their own content. One thing they can’t do is directly assign individual lessons to students, to reinforce skills.  They can, however, assign full units.

Lesson Plans

Students work through the lesson plans systematically.

Why do students like typing.com?

They are motivated by their performance data, positive encouragement, and the way the lessons content can be customised.   

Extra reading:

Common Sense gives Typing.com a four-star rating. You can read the rest of Common Sense’s great review here: https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/typingcom