Keyboarding is not necessarily a word we hear all that much. However, once upon a time, many of us were learning how to ‘keyboard’ on a regular basis to better our computer skills.
This does not mean that we were learning to play the keyboard, a musical instrument, actually, keyboarding means upgrading our typing skills to make us better typers.
However, a keyboarding online course is a specific type of course for this.
It is a whole skill set we learn, and while a very long time ago, keyboarding skills were something we had to learn in a 1-1 environment, now, keyboarding skills are something that we can take courses for online!
How awesome!
So, what about the keyboarding online course? Is it worth it? And should you be putting your time into doing it?
Of course!
Let us take a look at what keyboarding online courses entail and if you think it will be something worthwhile for you!
What Is The Keyboarding Online Course?
The beginner keyboarding online course is a 10-week course, although you could take this course for up to 6 months from enrollment to completion.
It is there to help you learn how to touch type, or to better and improve your typing abilities.
It is a self-paced online typing lesson course that is taught via the EduTyping program, which is a typing tutorial program that is designed for personal computers that use Linux, Windows, or Mac systems.
Those who successfully complete this course type will be able to learn how to touch-type very quickly and with efficiency on QWERTY keyboards.
This comprehensive course has a specific focus on the students learning the course to proceed thoroughly will prepare you for even more advanced skill-building techniques in this specific area.
Once you have mastered these existing typing skills, you can become faster and much more confident at typing.
Then, at the end of the course, you will be able to learn touch typing all of the symbolic, numeric keypad, and alphabetic keys, as well as be prepared to take any writing tests, timed or untimed, and perform skill-building exercises.
At the end of this course, students typically gain a certificate that verifies their w.p.m typing speed and their accuracy ratio when they have completed the course.
The course would be self paced, and you are able to communicate with your instructor via the Office Skills Collaborative Online Classroom.
What Is The Short Course?
When doing the short course, is basically a condensed version of the Keyboard Mastery Course, which is for 50-60 hours.
This course is ideal course for beginners, or experienced typists, that need to quickly improve their speed and typing abilities up to 15 to 30 wpm.
Keyboard short course will also do very nicely when you decide to pair it with a subject in which keyboard working is desired, however, it is not the main emphasis.
Speed and accuracy are both emphasized in a very short timing phase. Lessons often cover all of the alphabetic and punctuation keys.
A vast majority of these timing drills only last for 15, 30 seconds, or 1, or 2 minutes, in this.
Are There Any Requirements?
No software would be required to take keyboarding courses such as you can learn to do this through the use of EduTyping, which is an online technology, 100% web-based.
The course is totally online, and you will need internet access via a major browser.
Here are some of the things you will need to access this course:
- The recommended browser needed to use this course is typically Firefox. You can download and install it for free.
- Adobe Flash Player is also needed. As it is usually pre-installed with a majority of browsers. It can also be downloaded for free account.
- If you decide to use Internet Explorer, then version 6.0 or more is needed to use this. For instructors of this course, version 7.0 of Internet Explorer is needed.
- Another brilliant browser option is the much-loved Google Chrome. You can download this and install it for free.
We expect most people will use Google Chrome, it has no version requirements and is the most popular browser version worldwide.
What Are The Objectives Of The Keyboarding Online Course?
To complete the course and type correctly and successfully, students need to be able to do the following:
- Master the common symbol and alphabetic keys found on a QWERTY keyboard, through the use of the EduTyping Software program.
What Is The Outline Of The Course?
If you want a vague idea of what to expect during the course, here is a little look:
Week 1: H, E, I, R & Home Keys
The first week of keyboarding will teach you how you need to log in to your keyboarding program. You will get to know the software, you will get an introduction to the program, and learn how to type.
You will also learn the H, E, I, R, and home row keys on a QWERTY keyboard.
You also start off a review lesson, do some partial timed writing, and reinforce lessons on all of the keys you have learned.
Week 2: T, O, N, G, Left Shift, & (.) Period Keys
In the second week you will learn:
- T, O, N, and G keys.
- Left shift and the key for a period.
- You also review lessons and reinforcement lessons on all of the keys you have learned.
- There will also be a 30-second and a minute partial timed writing on all of the keys that you have learned so far.
Week 3: U, C, W, B, Y, and Right Shift Keys
In the 3rd week, you learn 6 more keys.
- U, C, B, W, and Y keys.
- Right shift key.
- You need to perform a 30-second and a minute partial time writing on the keys you have learned so far.
- You also need to perform a review lesson and reinforce the keys you have learned thus far.
Week 4: M, X, P, V, Q, And (,) Comma Keys
In the 4th week, you will learn 6 more keys.
- M, K, P, and V keys.
- The comma keys.
- You will perform a reinforcement and review when the key reaches and what you have learned so far.
- Perform a 30-second as well as a minute-long partial timed writing on the keys that you have learned so far.
Week 5: Z, (:) Colon, Caps Lock, ?, – Keys
In the 5th week, you will learn another 6 keys.
- Z key.
- The colon (:), caps lock, apostrophe, dash, and quotation mark keys.
- You review and reinforce the keys which you have learned so far.
- Perform a 30-second a minute-long partial timed writing on the keys you have learned so far.
Week 6: Number Keys, Practice Exercises, & Timed Writing
When you reach the 6th week, you will be practicing symbol keys, and you will need to start building up your accuracy and your speed at typing.
- You learn the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0 keys.
- Complete a reinforcement lesson, and perform and complete a minimum of 3 times writing tests.
- Complete a minimum of 2 articles from the ‘Headlines’ page.
- Complete and finish a minimum of 2 articles from your ‘Practicing’ library.
Week 7: Symbols, Practice Exercises, & Timed Writing
In the 7th week, you practice further symbol keys and further your accuracy and speed skills.
- Slash, hashtag, and percentage keys.
- & and ^ keys.
- () parenthesis and underscore keys.
- Plus, ampersand and at (@) keys.
- ! and \ keys.
- < and > keys.
- [] keys.
- Continue and complete lessons on 3 timed tests.
- Finish a minimum of 2 articles from your ‘practice’ library.
- Finish a minimum of 2 articles from the ‘headlines’ page.
Week 8 +: Timed Writing, Practice Exercises, Speed Building
In the 8th to 10th weeks, you will be focusing on your speed and accuracy building.
- Continue and complete any lessons you have not yet finished successfully.
- Continue and complete a minimum of 2 writing tests (timed).
- Continue and complete at least 3 articles from your ‘practice’ library successfully.
- Continue and complete a minimum of 3 articles from your ‘headlines’ page.
Overall
Choosing an adequate writing course is very important in learning better keyboard skills and advancing to touch typing.
So many of us do not see a need to be experts behind a keyboard, not with online applications and spell checkers, however, having these skills can be highly useful when you are working in an office or spend a lot of time with computers.
Aspiring writers, coders, and such can also find this a very useful skill worth developing.
The online keyboarding course is not very expensive for all the resources they have for aspiring fast typers.
It is an ideal service, and they offer plenty of different packages which will help you to type better, faster, and be much more skilled with a keyboard overall.