Typing Instructor for Kids [OLD VERSION]

by Individual Software, Inc.

Product Features

• Designed for ages 7 to 12
• Kid-friendly typing instruction with entertaining environment
• Lessons, challenges, saved results, and practice material
• Kid's literature and children's classics; Typer Island Adventure theme
• 3-D animation plus 10 new exciting games

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002TPFYA
• Item model number: EDM-TK1
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 8, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,664 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #41 in Software > Education & Reference > Typing

Product Description

Typing Instructor has helped individuals improve their typing skills. Now, Typing Instructor for Kids delivers the same proven typing methods for children in an entertaining and educational environment. Software includes Lessons, Challenges, Saved Results, Practice material and Games. Kids find it educational, motivating and entertaining. Winner of many awards including those from Newsweek, Critics choice, Eddie Awards, Bessie Awards, All Star Software and many more. Give your child a gift that he will use a lifetime. The fun typing teacher for kids.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

151 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This actually seems to work, but start them young before they learn bad habits, October 31, 2005

By 

Papermate (California, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Typing Instructor for Kids [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

I thought I had tried every kids' typing program and they were all as bad as each other. Mostly the same program with the same apples but different characters, and so difficult that I, a proficient typist for over 25 years, couldn't pass the tests.

Then I came across this in the Scholastic catalog. It is so important for kids to learn to type these days that I was prepared to throw away another twenty bucks. I have to say I'm blown away. This actually works. The lessons progress a few extra letters at a time. The top half of the screen is the letters they are to type and the bottom half is a keyboard with transparent hands showing which finger to use if they can't remember. In-between the lessons are games that reinforce what they have just learnt.

My seven year old has had limited exposure to the keyboard and has really got excited about working her way across the island. She is enjoying the games and hasn't yet figured out that they are just exercises with different characters and pretty pictures. In less than a week she has learned two thirds of the keyboard and can't wait to begin again the next day. Several shorter sessions a day are better than one long one because her fingers get tired and I worry about her eyesight concentrating so hard at the screen. As a side effect, it is also helping her reading.

My ten year old has been typing with two fingers for a few years now and is having a great deal of difficulty 'unlearning' what he has done in the past. The most useful thing about this program over all the others I tried is that the goal 'words per minute' can be changed to suit the child and their progress, at almost any time during their practice. Unfortunately, my son was smart enough to lower the 'wpm goal level' when I wasn't looking so he could get to the castle quickly by 'cheating' with his two finger method. Not taken in by 'the games' he has since required extra incentives (read candy treats) to repeat the lessons over and over and over and over again until he really did know without thinking which fingers to use.

Today I caught my ten year old giving my four year old a typing lesson, making sure he was following all the instructions for the correct posture and using the correct fingers. The little one has completed the first two lessons at 5 wpm and 100% accuracy. Not bad considering he had to learn the names of some of the letters at the same time.

I give this software 4 out of 5 because the lessons can get a bit boring given the number times they have to be repeated to improve both speed and accuracy. The program has 'crashed' a few times but I've not yet worked out if it is at any particular place. It starts up again fine and remembers exactly where the child was. It is quick and easy to switch between different users. The progress charts are very useful to see exactly where more practice is required (For instance I myself need practice on the bottom row of letters). I am proud to say I reached the castle with a speed of 78 wpm and 97% accuracy to become 'ruler of the kingdom'. My reward was to get to play 'Tomb Typer' in the dungeon of the castle which was really fun.

128 of 140 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars High Strokes for Typing Instructor for Kids, May 14, 2005

By 

Arthur (Mountain Lakes, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Typing Instructor for Kids [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

High Strokes for Typing Instructor for Kids by Individual Software

Target:
The student was a 6 ½ year old girl; smart kid at the top of her first grade class. She was self-motivated to master typing, yet viewed typing practice as work rather than play. An unexpected alternate target turned out to be the parent.

Expectations:
The student understood that mastering typing would take a long time, and that three 10-minute lessons per day is better than one 30-minute session. Although the program is fun, the expectation that the student view it as a pure game was unrealistic. Yet, for the parent, it was a pure game; silly but entertaining.

PC Platform; Hardware & Software:
Dell Dimension with 2.4 GHz Intel Celeron processor; Intel 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV integrated Graphics Controller with 1-23-05 6.14.10.4020 driver. XP home edition with all Microsoft security updates installed; DirectX Version 9.0c.

Fun Factor:
The student viewed Typing Instructor as fun educational software. She engaged in adventures on a treasure island, and competed in games by demonstrating typing proficiency. When the final stages of the game are reached, the castle offers a collection of books to type, as well as other games, e.g., a run away from the mummy type of game; both were enjoying. Narration was implemented with the aid of comical cartoon characters. This added to the enjoyment of the program, especially during the initial introduction before the student mastered any typing skills. The student was motivated to advance to higher levels in the game, and understood that it only occurred with advancement in typing skills.

Multi-Person:
The game supports multiple students. The parent started using the game out of curiosity, and became hooked. While the game challenges are geared for a child, the typing lessons are useful for adult too, and it helped to sharpen rusty parental skills. Also taught old timer a thing or two, e.g., the "F" and "J" keys have bumps to aid with home location.

Testing and Metrics:
A rich variety of metrics were tabulated to provide feedback to the student and parent. This was very useful to aid progress and tailor extra sessions.

Settings:
The settings were configurable to customize targets, e.g., speed..

Problems:
Sadly, there were a few problems, but this was in the minority: The Diamond Glider game stalled consistently with "-10," and would not terminate except with "exit." Game results couldn't be tabulated. This appears to be a software bug, and no updates were found on the Individual Software website as of 4/2005. Might want to read the FAQ at http://support.individualsoftware.com/faq2/ (Then navigate to the desired program, i.e., Typing Instructor for Kids). The help button in the Diamond Glider game provides troubleshooting information; mostly related to DirectX and video driver incompatibilities. Dxdiag showed no faults, and the troubleshooter wasn't helpful. This may be a bug that has nothing to due with DirectX. McAfee was also shutdown, but didn't cure it. Individual Software technical support was contacted via the web, but no response was ever received. Individual Software gets low marks for customer response. If someone finds an answer, please post.
The Sea Creatures game was functional, but was very sluggish; excessive pause after typing error. This was cured by temporarily disabling McAfee Virus Scan (by right clicking on the McAfee icon in the Taskbar Notification Area and selecting disable). After this problem was discovered, McAfee was disabled whenever Typing Instructor was to be run. Thus, it is unknown if McAfee impacts any other games. Suggest McAfee be disabled prior to use.

Parental Satisfaction:
Given the amount of time she will likely spend on a keyboard, the $20 investment was (to me) money well spent. The parent has been using the game, and it has improved his keyboarding skills; valued well beyond $20. This program is rated fully satisfactory, despite some small deviations from perfection.

Reviewer:
The reviewer is a middle-aged electrical engineer.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and simple to use, January 3, 2007

By 

V. Thomas (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Typing Instructor for Kids [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

I bought the typing instructor for kids software for my 8 year old grandson and he is really enjoying it. My 11 year old granddaughter is also getting in on the fun. They are both learning how to type and it is very simple to use. Typing is a very much needed necessity for any one who uses a computer and since computers are used today in most schools children need to learn the proper way to type. This product helps kids learn while having fun at the same time. Thank you for making such a product available and I look forward to purchasing more instructional software for kids in the future.