Ed Tech Ideas

While there is a plethora of great keyboarding software out there to buy, there are times when you’d just like to go online for some quick and easy practice. Below are some great sites that will get your fingers flying across the home-row in no time.

→ Dance Mat Typing

Dance Mat Typing, from the BBC, is a great program for beginning typers. There are different levels that focus on specific keys and after each successful level, students are rewarded with a song and dance.

→ Keybr

Quick, basic, and easy to use. Keybr tracks your speed, errors, and keys that you are struggling with. Another nice feature about Keybr is that you can type the content from any website by simply entering the url of that site.

→ Power Typing

PowerTyping is a free online typing tutor for Qwerty – US standard 101 keyboard and Dvorak keyboard. There are typing games, tests, stories, and more!

→ E-Learning for Kids

E-Learning for Kids has a space theme that makes it fun for kids to practice their keyboarding skills. Games can be unlocked as typists move on to higher levels.

→ TyperShark

Great graphics, a map, killer sharks attacking you. What’s not to like about Typershark? You can play it free online, or download a free version to unlock all of the levels. The free deluxe version allows you to play 60 minutes of game time. After that, you can either go back to the free online version, or pay $6.99usd for complete ownership of the full version.

→ Learning Games for Kids

12 different keyboarding games can be found at Learning Games for Kids that are all high-interest and get kids motivated about becoming better typists. My personal favorite is Typing Tide-pool, where you race your dolphin against others.

→ Fun to Type

Fun to Type is a game-based keyboarding site that is high interest and allows students to practice individual letters. While not a strong tutorial program, it would be a fun place to stop by for a break.

→ Sens-Lang

Sense-Lang has a nice tutorial interface with an interactive keyboard that highlights the keys you missed.  WPM and accuracy are calculated as you type.  There are also some fun and entertaining games.

→ Typing Master

Typing Master is a site to go to for 3 great games, including, my favorite, KeyMan Typing. There is also a great 1-3 minute typing test that I give to my students throughout the year for a quick analysis of their current keyboarding skills.

→ FreeTypingGame.net

FreeTypingGame.net has a nice selection of about 10 games, over 40 lessons, and several different types of tests to choose from.

→ Typing Chef

Typing Chef is a fun game from Sense-Lang where students type what they see in the kitchen. You start out as a dish washer, then move up to vegetable chopper, on your way to head chef. Great Italian restaurant music plays while you type and the chef gives a not so subtle, “Ahem” when you make a mistake.

→ UpBeat

While not a full-fledged typing game per se (you only practice 7 keys), there is no doubt that UpBeat is the favorite typing game of many students. It’s a bit like guitar hero in that you chose a song and then type the letters at the appropriate time.