Customer Reviews

Typing Instructor For Kids Platinum (Windows/Mac)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This fun learning adventure had my kids typing right away! The animated guides and super fun journey hooked them - they were begging to type longer and return to "Typer Island". I have students asking to come in during recess and lunch times to practice their skills and have developed a waiting list and timers to accommodate them all. The games are clever and teach them a specific typing skill. The skills build sequentially yet provide opportunity for review to reinforce their learning. You get results right away so the kids can practice the keys they are not as good at striking. I give it a big 5 stars. It's easy to load and run and has no computer problems or bugs!

Purchased it on Lightning Deals because of the good reviews and great price. I'm so glad that I did. It was a great leaning tool for kids to learn and practice their typing skills. A great buy!

I bought this program based on several reviews I read. It is a great program. Even my 4 year old uses it. The games keep my kids captivated for hours and they are learning to type at the same time. Highly recommend it.

Very pleased Mom.

I was torn between this one and Mavis Beacon. But I read in a lot of reviews that there were bugs in the Mavis Beacon one. So I bought this and I'm so glad I did. My son (8) sat down with it as soon as I installed it and was so excited to start playing. He even got up early to play again the next day. It tracks your child's progress (WPM and accuracy) everyday and you can set their goals higher as they learn more and pick up speed. There are a lot of fun games to play while they're learning to type. There is a map they have to work their way around as they learn each row on the keyboard and the main goal is to reach the castle which you can only do with speed & accuracy.

I'm very pleased with this and would recommend it to anyone.

I have Windows 7 and there were no problems installing it and so far I haven't noticed any bugs in the program either.

My son seems to really enjoy playing and practicing typing with this software. I tried some free typing games or programs online but they were either too boring or frustrating for him. He doesn't get flustered with Typing Instructor because the the goal words per minute adjusts as he does more lessons and plays more games with a variety of themes. I also like how easy and quick it was to download onto his net-book.

Software looked good in box but crashed both Macs we tried to install it on. Had to "Force Quit" to get out. Very annoying. Returned to Amazon in 3 days. By the way, both Macs were running OS 10.4 or later, meeting the software specs. It turns out this is a known issue. Mac users, beware.

I bought this program for my mac and while I could get it to load it would not keep track of anyone's progress (like it stated that it would). I contacted the company and was given a patched program that works perfectly now. I am using for my oldest child to learn to type and the younger one gets on at times too. It is fun and highly rewarding. Now that the progress is tracked it is great as he is moving through and learning new things. The games are so much fun for him, makes it almost seem like a video game and yet he is learning to type at faster speeds. I love that it breaks it up into chunks that are easier to digest and that there are so many motivating and different areas and games to learn. I also like the reports and feedback that it gives. Where I can see the letters and areas where he excels or has difficulty. I can also see his speed vs mistakes. This is a great tool and I am so happy that it works perfectly on a Mac now.

Since my boys (ages 9, 10 and 12) have been using this program, their typing skills have improved tremendously. They actually look forward to playing the typing games every day and of course it's exciting to see them practicing with out any prompting at all.

My only criticism is that it allows students to progress without actually having mastered a level. I believe someone else mentioned this as well. I would prefer that they fully master one area before progression to another area.

I will make another note here that has nothing to do with the program itself. I tried for a couple of weeks to order this directly from the publisher and had no luck whatsoever. I e-mailed them several times and also called and left a phone message because (twice) when I tried to process an order via the internet, it did not work. If you would like to buy this program, I would HIGHLY recommend that you just download it from Amazon and NOT attempt to purchase it from the publisher. We tried the auto download option and the hardcopy through mail option and neither went through. When we ordered it from Amazon, we were able to download the program immediately and it works just fine!

Finally, this would make an excellent program to use as a supplement for homeschool students, in school settings, or even just for parents who want to encourage their children's typing abilities. It's a fun, engaging program that children themselves enjoy.

Thanks,
Sonya Haskins
author of Homeschooling for the Rest of Us: How Your One-of-a-Kind Family Can Make Homeschooling and Real Life Work (Bethany House, 2010)

WONDERFUL product!!! Can see why it is has won awards and is best selling. My 8 yo son loves it and is already at 20 wpm just learning. We do one lesson a day, and if he doesn't feel like it, he just does some games for review. Only had it 2 weeks and he's already got 75% of the keyboard down. I love that the games only use the keys he has learned, so each one changes a little as he learns more. The variety of games and lessons is also wonderful. It keeps him interested, and he spends more time on the ones he likes better. The tracking is very detailed and useful so that I can always see where he's at in multiple ways - speed, specific key issues, etc.

Using this for my 9 year old daughter and she TOTALLY LOVES this!!! She is really learning how to type in a fun EASY way!

Wish I could give it 10 stars!