Keyboarding InstructionMany students who are blind or visually impaired will need instruction in strategies or the use of software to access a computer and navigate the computer without a mouse. Additionally, some students will need instruction in assistive technology devices that are specific to individuals who are blind or visually impaired including video magnifie and braille notetakers.
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By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com Updated June 9, 2019 In order to prepare students for the workplace, they must be provided with the skills necessary to use computers competently. A necessary skill in using a computer is keyboarding and students must learn how to type quickly, accurately and with correct technique. One of the first steps in becoming proficient in technology and computer skills is to learn how to type on the QWERTY keyboard. Keyboarding instruction is an essential first step since the keyboard allows the students to control the computer, as well as to use it for writing and gathering information from electronic sources. Learning touch typing skills (typing without looking at the keys) will not only improve the student's speed and accuracy but will also minimize the need for the student to shift their gaze between the source, screen, and keyboard.
-Keyboarding instruction used to be introduced when students were older, but young children are being introduced to the computer earlier and earlier. Waiting until the student is in upper elementary grades or middle school to teach keyboarding is too late as most students will have developed bad keyboarding habits by that time. Although a point can be made that young children have not physically developed enough to learn to type, if they are using computers in pre-K and kindergarten classes, they will develop bad habits which will be hard to break. My philosophy is that it is important to begin instruction at this young age to avoid the development of bad habits as well as to get a head start on teaching access to digital print and to provide the student with a means to produce print that is legible to themselves and others.
A computer system with the appropriate adaptations (screen enlargement or screen reader) is an ideal tool for a student with a visual impairment to use to gain access to information and produce written communication. That being said, typing on a non-adapted keyboard and utilizing internal magnification will provide the student with the ability to type on any keyboard across environments. The rule of least amount of adaptations should be followed when determining what adaptations should be taught and used. Positioning is important when working on keyboarding skills. Encourage the student to sit up straight with their feet flat on the floor, elbows close to their body, wrists straight, and forearms level. Collaborate with the classroom teacher and request that the student is encouraged to use the correct positioning when typing throughout the day to support the instruction. It is important for the student to learn the position of the keys and to avoid visually searching for the various letters, numbers, and symbols. It is helpful to cover the keys so the student can’t look. Monitor the student and watch them closely and model correct form for them. Placing pressure on the younger student to attain speed will do them a disservice. Strategies I have used include placing stickers and decorative tape to cover keys and placing a sleeve over the keyboard. A computer teacher at one of the schools I previously worked at used CLEAN & NEW (This really is important!) boxer shorts as a “sleeve” to cover the keyboards in the computer lab. The student slips their hands through the pant openings to locate and type keys. There has been much research that supports the use of formal drills. Students must learn to not visually search for the keys. The technique is more important than accuracy and speed. The initial focus should be on using the correct fingers to type the various keys followed by a focus on accuracy and lastly on speed. Students must learn to use the proper finger for each letter, to have their wrists flat and their thumbs on the space bar. Teach drills to initially learn where the keys are, and then provide real practice. Be certain to make it fun and also incorporate meaningful activities and age/developmentally appropriate words, phrases, and sentences. Teaching keyboarding skills to kids using fun typing apps and games helps but it is important to use programs that are accessible to the student’s unique visual needs. During the lesson, it is important for students to not talk as it will interfere with the process of learning. If the student has a difficult time remaining on task, collaborate with the classroom teacher and parents to determine what strategies work in other settings. A strategy I have used that works well is to set a visual time. For students with low vision, this can be the built-in clock timer on the iPad. It can be propped beside the student and serve as a visual and auditory reminder of how much longer they need to type before they can take a break. Provide the student with a two to five minute break (or whatever amount is appropriate for your student). For students with low vision that need to work on visual tracking, visual motor or visual discrimination skills, you may consider allowing them to select from a computer game, iPad app or other activity that addresses these skills in a fun way. The student has fun and often times doesn’t realize they are continuing to work on visual goals! Do you have a number of students on your caseload that are learning touch typing skills? If they enjoy lighthearted competition, consider setting up a typing challenge. Create a chart with the student’s names across the top and the lessons down the side. Student’s can enter their best accuracy and compete against their peers. Be sure to find ways to reward each of them for their efforts and reward those who make the most improvement over a given period of time. Finally, practicing keyboarding at home can greatly improve keyboarding skill and retention. Just ten minutes of keyboarding a night on four nights a week will help improve the student’s keyboarding skills. Have the student practice typing reports, stories, poems, spelling words, completing assignments. The student will need instruction in the following areas:
Keyboarding Resources
Talking Typer for Windows This typing training software, available from APH, is a computer keyboarding and typing training program that speaks and displays lessons on screen. It includes drills, practice, and typing games and is adjustable to the student's level of skill and sight impairment.
This is a personal favorite of mine as it provides data on the student's accuracy and words per minute following each lesson. The lessons that come programmed into the program can be slightly monotonous and boring for students, but it is possible to develop individualized lessons. You can create lessons related to the current topic or the student's interest, and at the student's reading level. If you need support using the Talking Typer program, you can refer to the online User Manual. 
typio is a fully-accessible typing tutor from Accessbyte which guides student progress through learning the keyboard. It includes a set of 45 keyboarding lessons that are customizable and automatically keeps detailed records for each student.
Dance Mat Typing is a free online program available from the BBC. It is most appropriate for younger students and those with enough usable vision to see the smaller font sizes. There are four levels to play, each divided into three stages. The student will start by learning the home row keys. Each stage builds on previous lessons, introducing new letters as the student progresses. At the end of each level, the student can test their typing speed and get a fun reward. The print size can be enlarged by using the CTRL and +, but if the student requires a significant amount of enlargement, the viewable area will be decreased.
Learn Keys: Verbal Keyboard Feedback
This PC keyboard exploration and announcement program, available from APH, gives you human speech feedback. This program works with several versions of Windows and with a variety of keyboard types. 
When practicing typing, it is important for the student to not look at the keyboard. You can cover the keyboard with a sleeve. Another option is to purchase SpeedSKIN keyboard covers that fit over the keyboard and are designed specifically for keyboarding instruction.
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Buy together at a reduced price and get BONUS resources! TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired The TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC is a digital pdf available for download. It is designed specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), and consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level. In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community-based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites. In addition to the book, the following two supplements are included: ·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Concept Checklist ·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Activities Checklist For complete product details and additional images, visit the TVI's Guide product page. TVI's Guide to the ECC Product details ·      Digital pdf download: 346 pages (11 pt font) ·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments ·      Author: Carmen Willings ·      Language: English Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets: TVI's Guide to the ECC Grab and Go Supplements The Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets is a Grab and Go supplement to the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.  For complete product details and additional images, visit the Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Product Page. Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details: ·      Digital pdf download: 210 pages ·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments ·      Author: Carmen Willings ·      Language: English Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Worksheets: A TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC Grab & go Supplement The Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Grab and Go ECC worksheet packet is a print on demand workbook that contains worksheets in print and simulated braille to use for data collection. Present the student with a hard braille copy and use the worksheets to document accuracy and fluency in reading braille. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. These word lists and sentences will help the student refine their keyboarding or braille reading skills while bridging ECC concepts presented in the thematic units. Although the lists and passages can be produced using a manual braillewriter, you may also copy and paste the passages into any braille translation software for quick production on an embosser. They may also be entered into a typing program such as APH’s Talking Typer to build keyboarding fluency. For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency & Maintenance Product Page Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency Worksheet Details: ·      Digital pdf download: 338-page print and simulated braille worksheets ·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments ·      Author: Carmen Willings ·      Language: English Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists: Grab & Go ECC Supplement The Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Grab and Go ECC supplement is a 446 page pdf downloadable print on demand workbook that includes 2940 vocabulary card on 3 1/2" x 2" templates divided by each of the 32 Thematic Units along with a checklist of each unit words in print and simulated braille. As a companion to the TVI's Guide to the ECC, the vocabulary cards correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. Additional Use: Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments can have a extremely varied caseloads. It is possible to go several years without having a student on your caseload who requires braille instruction. Like other skills, if you do not practice your braille regularly, it is easy to lose those skills. Use these checklists and cards to maintain your braille skills. Fold the checklist along the line dividing the print from the braille. Choose to either read the print and produce the word in braille using a braillewriter or read the simulated braille and decode it. Finally, these vocabulary cards and checklists may be used with family members or peers who are interested in learning and practicing the braille code. For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Vocabulary Cards & Checklists Product Page Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Details: ·      Digital pdf download: 446-page print on demand resource ·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments ·      Author: Carmen Willings ·      Language: English BONUS! Lotto Cards The LOTTO Cards Grab and Go Supplement includes 37 theme related unit cards along with activity suggestions that support activities within the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. On My Way File Folder Cards Print and use these cards to represent locations the student may visit that are related to the current thematic unit. Use these with the On My Way File Folder Game outlined in the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC p. 27. NEW! Access to TVI's Guide Bonus Membership Pages Note: All products are digital pdf downloads. Once you make your purchase you will be directed to an order confirmation page where you will find the download link. This download will also be included on the receipt sent to the email address you provide. The pdf download can be found directly under the order number. If you encounter any difficulty, please let me know and I can assist you. *Please contact me if you need to purchase using a purchase order. I am happy to help guide you in the process of adding Teaching Students with Visual Impairments as an approved vendor for your school or program or you can visit the product support page for information on using a PO. |
