Customer Reviews

SpongeBob Squarepants Typing

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this for my son who loves spongebob, and although it does help get the basics of typing, to a kid it is just another video game. That is what I was hoping it would be like, because we all know that if it isn't fun, the kids (and sometimes us adults) won't play for long. It has many games from travelling a maze and racing snails to creating music and dressing patrick in odd ourfits. It also has a lesson area that introduces the keys in an incremental way and tests you for speed and competency before you move on to the harder lessons. A very good buy.

My son started cyber-school this year and I watched in dismay as he tried to complete assignments using the "finger punch" method. You know, the one where he's hunched over the keyboard searching for the letter "h" to spell the word "the". My hairdresser recommeded this typing CD to help him learn proper finger placement and to memorize the keyboard. My 10 year son and 7 year old daughter started using it right away. The lessons teach the skills sequentially and include games to reinforce skills. SpongeBob is cracking jokes and urging kids to stick with it throughout the lessons and games. There are racing games and maze games to name a few. The CD keeps track of lessons and skills that need practice. After a short period of time my kids were able to type without looking at their hands and their speed is increasing as well. From the moment we put the CD in I haven't had to nag them to practice typing. Just playing the games is practice. I highly recommend this product. The kids are having a blast learning to type.

This typing software for kids was definitely a good buy for us. I got it 3 weeks ago and did not really have much time to spend with the children working on their skills. My 10 year old installed it himself and spend some time on it nearly every day without beeing asked. He would follow instructions, play games and print out the results of his work regularly to present them to me proudly. Yesterday, I watched him typing an email to his friend without looking at the keyboard! Slow, but obviously enjoying his new found skill. So I can't really tell you about the individual features on the software but kids love it and it works for them. However, my 13 year old did not really take to it. I think the characters and games used, don't appeal to him. I would 10 to 11 consider a top age level. Also, we are a bilingual family and my son types in two languages on the software. We do have another software that has been sitting on the bookshelf unused unless I would sit there with the kids. Last but not least. We used this on an apple computer without a problem. A very good buy for the price!!

i researched this product on several websites, which all said "works on mac" as well as pc. even went to the manufacturers website too. but after recieving the product, in the fine print on the box it shows it only works on VERY OLD macs. with operating systems several versions back and badly outdated. our oldest mac in the house is a G4 from 1999 - AND IT WON'T WORK ON A 1999 MAC -- NEEDS OLDER VERSIONS. in this day of easy information access, i found nothing stating this on any website, including the manufacturer.

I bought SpongeBob Typing because my autistic eight-year-old son has severe graphomotor delays, and can't keep up with his classmates when writing in the classroom. So his teachers and I have incorporated the use of a school-provided laptop in his IEP for his class writing so he won't fall behind. But that means he needs to learn to type--a year or two earlier than his peers will. Just because he thinks it's fun, my six-year-old son is playing with the tutorial too, and learning to type. When they're ready, I'll let their little sisters join them.

This typing tutorial isn't perfect, but it addresses the needs of the student well. SpongeBob's presence and humor, and the memorable games keep my sons interested. We also bought another tutorial, Typing Instructor for Kids II, which had very high reviews, because I was concerned about this game after reading the one review above mine. And because I struggled to believe SpongeBob was compatible with education. But Typing Instructor is so desperately boring that neither of my sons could stay with it. I ran it myself to find out what their whining was about, because at first I thought my sons were just being difficult, but no, it really is awful. The characters are undynamic and so uninteresting, and the games were unengaging as well. Look for a used copy of Typing Instructor II from me for sell soon ;) .

You can't just pop in the CD and walk away, though, expecting your child to be able to type in a month. Some shortcomings of the game are that there's minimal initial direction; as a parent you must listen to the instructions, the lengthy instructions, to find where the lessons are so you can avoid the games section that your children are not ready for. Admittedly, I prefer to be a part of my child's learning anyway rather than let entertainment and someone else's education parent my children, but I was surprised at how much I was needed to help my sons get started. However, once they are started and familiar with the game layout, they do pretty well on their own. Both of my sons get excited to see their words-per-minute scores rise steadily. It's also easy to see, by a "map", where your children are in their progress.

It would be nice if SpongeBob had more variety to what he says -- there are a good number of different comments to add interest while the children are practicing home row, but every once in a while I would hear one of my sons sigh and tell SpongBob to shut up. My oldest has figured out that SpongeBob sympathetically says "Yeah, I used to make that mistake too." even if Andrew doesn't make any error. While that can be annoying, the boys still laugh uncontrollably every obnoxious time SpongeBob yells "Are you ready to rock the keyboard!" While I'm convinced I've heard it enough, my children can't get enough of it, and so are typing. I do need to check on them every once in a while to be sure they're still using good posture and position, but they're making progress.

I do recommend this tutorial, but encourage parents to at least be a part of the beginning of the lessons, if you can't be there more than that, to help guide your little keyboarder.

This is finally a typing game I have found that every kid I've seen try it loves it. I've tried numerous typing games out there and they're either too hard or too boring, especially for little kids. They all have loved SpongeBob and can't get enough of it. I've seen a lot more progress from this game than all the others I've tried. The only complaint I've ever gotten, and mostly from older kids, is that SpongeBob's comments get annoying! Throughout the typing excercises he has little comments and remarks which have gotten to a few of the kids I've seen use it, but I just tell them, "turn the volume down" and they're ok with that and continue with the game. They all love the certificates it prints after they accomplish a goal. I am very happy with this purchase.

I bought this game for my 2nd grader. He absolutely loves it! It has several fun games that make learning how to type exciting. I like that they show hands on the bottom of the screen for beginners. The fingers move to where they are supposed to be positioned while typing. That feature has been extremely helpful for my son! I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to improve typing skills--especially if you like Sponge Bob. I think we will get a lot of use out of this software!

The kids (and I) are enjoying this program and their skills are improving. There are several games offered, but only a few they really like because of the "fun factor." I do recommend this product and feel your children's typing skills will benefit.

My parents bought me an older version of this game for Christmas one year, and when I got it, I had no interest in playing it. However, a couple of years later, I decided to try and learn how to type.

It taught me all of the correct fingerings in a really entertaining way, and the games were great. My first day of keyboarding class in 8th grade, my teacher asked where I learned to type, and I said, "The Spongebob Squarepants Typing Game."

She was speechless.

I really recommend this game to all parents, as it's a lot better than school typing programs. Don't subject the poor things to learning how to type using an outdated book (watching my classmates do this made me cringe).

It's really cheap, and you won't regret buying it. :)

We tried Typer Island (9yo kid) and being deserted on a island with a lousy typing game is child abuse. I read the reviews for SpongeBob and bought it! It was much better, but still a bit of a struggle. It advanced my child too fast during the lessons stating she had mastered keys at 100% accuracy but she was achieving only 8-10wpm (words per minute). The drills should be built into the lessons and associate mastering with specific levels of adjusted (accounts for errors) wpm. VERY IMPORTANT! Your child needs to "play" regularly, 4-5/week. Have your child review the previous lesson games while they move on to more lessons. The picture of the kyeboard during the lessons really help with the touch typing and keeping the eyes off the hands.