The instruction for the skill must be teacher directed, however.
Students will not develop a touch system on their own. To direct
the learning, teachers need to be trained in keyboarding methodology
and they should possess the skill themselves. High speeds are not
necessary at the lower grade levels and accuracy will occur with
proper techniques and skill building exercises. The goal is for
students to be able to concentrate on their thoughts and not on where
the keys are located. A plan for scope and sequence for skill
reinforcement and maintenance will be necessary for
subsequent. High school teachers may want to "test out"
students from the first semester of the traditional year-long
keyboarding course.
As to voice recognition . . . that has been "on the horizon"
for many years now. A decade ago, we were told that technology
would be in widespread use today. I look forward to the
technology and I know that it is used in many facets of our
society today, but it will be a while before it replaces the
need for keyboarding for personal and career uses. I have seen
two of the leading voice recognition software packages
demonstrated and they are still speaker dependent (must train
to user's voice) and require discrete speech (must dictate word
by word in a staccato type of speech). Although it provides
opportunities for many persons who have no other options, it is
not desirable for everyone at this time.
Even when the technology is perfected, I question the loss of
the need for keyboarding skills. For confidentiality reasons
and for noise level reasons, keyboarding will be still be a
necessary skill for most persons.
It is exciting to think of the possibilities of the voice recognition
technology, but I encourage you not to eliminate good
keyboarding instruction in the meantime.
Good luck with your plans for keyboarding instruction.
Anne Rowe
Virginia Department of Education
arowe@pen.k12.va.us