Ah, the good ol' keyboard and mouse. As testing approaches, a lot of teachers have talked to me about how their kids are coming into school with less and less keyboard and mouse knowledge. In our technology soaked lives, it might be hard to imagine kids coming in with less experience, but kids at home truly aren't interacting with a physical keyboard or mouse. Touchscreens, TV remotes, and the occasional trackpads rule the roost when it comes to consumer electronics these days. This is usually no big deal, except when it comes to the state mandated testing our kids have to do, which requires assessment using a mouse and keyboard. It's also important knowledge to have as they grow, progress, and interact with different forms of technology. Fortunately, the internet is there with resources to help give our kids some valuable practice in fun ways, so hopefully when the reach a high stakes environment, they only have to worry about the content, and not how to make a question mark. The skills section on ABCYA.com provides some great activities that require clicking and dragging, double clicking, and arranging. Kids can build cars or cakes to practice mouse skills. There are also some really simple typing practice sessions, where students focus on quickly finding the letters. There isn't a whole lot of technical typing training, but it is a great first step. This Proofreading Makes Perfect site is really simple, but provides some short bursts of grammar editing and mouse/keyboard skills. It increases in difficulty and offers a range of areas to practice in. It's pretty plain, but kids enjoy the challenge more than you might think. Please comment below with your favorite resources for helping kids master the mouse and keyboard.
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Bob LarsonInstructional Technology Coach Archives
February 2018
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