Teach Typing With UltraKey Online (Or, Improve Your Own Skills)

For the last few weeks, my family and I have had a unique opportunity. We have been using and reviewing an online typing program. This is a family program and is for typists of all kinds and abilities. Whether you are experienced and looking to increase accuracy and words per minute or a brand new typist, the UltraKey Online Family Subscription from Bytes of Learning should be on your radar.

A Mix of Abilities

In our house, we have typists of all kinds. Myself, well, I took typing about 20 years ago in high school and typing has been part of my life since then. Whether for various jobs or for fun, I have been using a computer and keyboard since then. And now, I find myself typing daily as I work on this website and business. For me, improving my typing skills would greatly improve my ability to do my work.

Proper typing is also something I have been working on in our homeschool. For us, we believe that typing is a foundational item much like writing. No longer is typing something only some people need. In today’s world typing is a key skill. My older two children had their first tastes of typing a few years ago using a free online program.

And then, there is my 7-year-old. He has yet to try any formal typing and looks at a computer and keyboard with awe. He is amazed at the ability anyone has to use a keyboard and type words without looking, placing words on a computer screen almost as fast as they can think them up. So while he initially seemed a little young, and his fingers a little small, we decided to run with his sheer excitement at the prospect of being able to learn to type.

Starting Something New

As with any new curriculum, I started with the user guide. Bytes of Learning provides a fantastic resource here in the form of a 91-page document. Before you get overwhelmed, let me just tell you that this document is more than how to simply use the program. It also includes their goals and the reasoning behind the program – to teach proper typing skills. It goes into how typing is more than just a skill, and the best typist type by muscle memory (similar to how we read or write).

And to me, this explanation made perfect sense. When I am typing I am not thinking about where the ‘A’ key is located, or how to reach the ‘Z’ key. Rather, I am thinking about whole words, punctuation marks, and if I am conveying in words what I am thinking in my mind. And what I want, is to simply place the words on the document as quickly as I can. Great typing skills are what allows this to become a reality.

Maybe this was taught to me years ago, I don’t recall. But for now, as a homeschool parent and reviewer of this program, I kept that idea in the back of my head as I continued reading the guide and started setting up our family subscription.

I also kept that idea in my head as I decided that I would use this program alongside my own children. The kids thought it was interesting and found it pretty motivating. It also helped me to use the lessons prior to them so when they asked if they really had to stretch out their pinky-finger for the ‘P’ I could confidently tell them yes because I had just completed that lesson.

Getting Set Up

The first thing we had to do to get started was to buy a keyboard. Our primary computer is a laptop and the kids do not enjoy typing on it. So I grabbed a basic one and off we went. This also allowed us to make sure we were using proper typing posture, something that the UltraKey Onlne program goes over in-depth.

Each of the kids had a short lesson on proper posture, finger placement, and hand usage prior to setting up their goals.

One of the neat features of the UltraKey Online program is the ability to have individual goals. For myself, I completed a typing assessment and the program assigned a goal for me that was slightly above my currently typing ability. (And yes, it docked points for errors.) With the first child, we tried a typing assessment, but the goal the program assigned felt too challenging in our opinion so we changed it. This is something you can do with any person using this program. Just know, that if you make it too easy, you may not see the progress or improvement you are hoping for.

And for the other two, we simply set them up as brand new typists with accuracy-based goals.

Now, it was time to type.

Ready, Set, Home-Row

It’s funny, how going back to the basics points out your errors. As I said, I have been typing for a long time. I am aware that my speed could be better, but it isn’t really something I put a lot of effort into. Sitting down to start at home-row basic though gets you thinking about what finger you use, how you are sitting, and if you are using the proper finger or the one that feels easier.

And I am willing to admit, I have a couple of letters that I use the wrong fingers for. Mostly, on the bottom row. So even though the first lessons were pretty easy, towards the end I was challenged as my fingers wanted to go one way, and my mind was telling them to go another.

My oldest son must have inherited my knack for doing things your own way because he did not enjoy the finger choice for a couple of the letters either.

My daughter was working through the program easily until an elbow injury put typing on hold.

And my 7-year-old has actually done better with the program than I anticipated. He would set up with his fingers placed just right, watching the screen and typing out his letters slowly and accurately. His first lesson went quickly and easily. He was super motivated to pass “Skill Check 1” and see that he did it! Lesson two proved slightly more challenging, and we learned that rather than completing a full lesson and skill check we would have him simply type for 10 minutes at a time.

Lessons, Skill Checks, And Games

The entire keyboard is broken up into nine lessons, with three additional lessons for the numbers. Each lesson starts with a review of which finger to use and some practice of just the letter or the letter with its home-row key. From there you move onto letter pairs and chains, followed by words and then sentences. Each lesson is then followed by a skill check. This skill check is a typing test used to evaluate your skills based on the goal you set. You pass the skill check if your typing speed and/or accuracy meet or exceed your goal.

And if at any time you need more practice, that is an option as well. If you are not successful with a skill check you can choose to retake it or go back and complete part or all of the lesson. Once you pass a skill check successfully, you are able to access the next lesson in the program.

Stuck on a lesson? Then check out the games area. The games are a fun way to work on typing skills and are coordinated with your goal. For example, I had yet to complete the lesson on the shift key for making a capital letter, so in games, I was not required to capitalize (unless I wanted to earn extra points). The games area is a neat addition to the program and allows you to use and improve your skills.

So, Can We Type Better After Using UltraKey Online?

The short answer, yes. Me, my first goal was slightly embarrassing to tell you the truth but here it is:

Yet after successfully completing the program, I decided to retake the typing assessment. And my new goal is significantly higher.

For me, that shows that this program works. I didn’t stress about typing, and in fact, completed 2-3 lessons per week during the review period at various times of the day. The lesson was quick and easy, typically taking me only about 15 minutes (except for the few lessons that addressed my stubborn fingers and bad habits).

Oh, and I even received a little diploma!

Better yet, the kids found it easy to use and it seamlessly slid into our current learning plans. And I love that they can work on typing independently and I can view the reports for their progress and success through the Student Management side of my account. I don’t’ have to be tied to the computer with them, can look for progress and trends, and address issues with ease.

I can also evaluate if their goals are too easy. With my son, who we set up an easier goal for, I am seeing that his original goal would have been fine for him. His words-per-minute and accuracy are higher than that original goal the program automatically set for him.

So if you are looking for a fun and easy way to include typing your homeschool you should check out the UltraKey Online Family Subscription from Bytes of Learning. Whether you have previously worked on typing or have brand new learners, this program truly offers something for everyone.