It’s never too early to start learning to type, but finding a typing program that students actually enjoy can be difficult at times. I grew up with Mavis Beacon (stand alone PC version) and if you know anything about that program it wasn’t a lot of fun or engaging.
Dance Mat Typing is a simple website that is fun, engaging and silly, but the students love it. I have used this site for the past 4 years. It is a great way for beginning students to learn to type. As students complete each section funny animals sing songs along with some goofy animations, which the kids get a kick out of, and keeps them wanting to type more.
This site doesn’t track or log any student progress, so you will have to circulate around the class in order to make sure students are typing correctly; especially making sure they are focusing on the home row in the beginning.
Overall, Dance Mat Typing is simple, fun and is a great way to introduce typing without boring them.
LINK: https://www.dancemattypingguide.com/
Site Break Down
PROS:
- free resource
- great for beginners
- fun and engaging
- motivates students
CONS:
- does not track student progress
- requires technology in order to use resource
OVERALL RATINGS:
Membership:5/5
- none required
Easy to Navigate: 3/5
- while in general the website is not terribly designed it can also be a bit confusing especially for students who are learning how to use the internet
- doing a google search for Dance Mat Typing will give your 4-6 different links all of which go to different parts of the resource
Site usefulness: 4/5
- overall the site is effective at what it sets out do
Prep needed for Materials: 4/5
- low prep but obviously Requires the availability of technology
Active Webpage: 4/5
- this page has not changed much since I have been using it
Overall: 4/5
Leave a Reply