Bytes of Learning - UltraKey Online Family Subscription: A TOS Crew Review

   In our digital age many kids are using technology, but are not required to learn proper keyboarding technique. My daughters started typing instruction beginning in 1st grade. We were excited to try the one year subscription of UltraKey Online Family Subscription from Bytes of Learning. This is our first experience with an online based program and I really liked it!       One aspect I appreciated was the initial instruction for how to actually sit at the the computer with proper posture and hand positioning. My daughters hear me talk about this a lot as the posture for keyboarding is similar for playing the piano. I'm their piano teacher so I try to make certain they have proper positioning. It was excellent to have this same information given in the video and the little animation was very helpful.   

 Grace was very anxious to get started! She watched the video eagerly and was ready to jump right in. She has not been typing as long as her sisters (less than a year) so I had her start at the very beginning without doing any assessment. The teaching is clear and she worked happily until I told her it was time to move on to something else. Each day this has been one of the first thing she works to complete from her list of daily tasks. For her first lessons she worked on my laptop, then she moved on to using her tablet which you will see my other daughters using.

 

  Rose completed our previous typing instruction program and was excited to have something to continue her instruction. You see this is a much smaller keyboard which attaches to a tablet. These are new for our girls. They all enjoy typing this way and while the smaller keyboard is not to my liking, it is actually a benefit to their smaller hands. I gave Rose the option to use the bigger computer and keyboard, but she said she wanted to get used to this because she knew she would be using it for school assignments. This is the beauty of using an online typing program. They can easily switch between computer keyboards if needed and had the option to improve their typing skills on the keyboard they are currently using most often. 

Beth asked if she had to use a table as the video instructed because her favorite place to work is in the living room. I told her she still had to use good posture, so she quickly found a box to use lift her feet and rested the tablet on her lap for typing. She was really excited to see how well she did on the assessment. Both Rose and Beth completed a sort of "pre-test" in order to set their goals. This is excellent if your students have some typing experience. You also have the option to change the goals at anytime.    One of the things I like about the program is the ease of checking everyone's progress. There is a wonderful family management section where pdf reports can be downloaded. They are very user friendly and you can quickly assess how your students are doing. 

The cool thing about a program like this is the application in other areas. Rose has been completing her writing assignments on her tablet using a cloud document system. I'm noticing marked improvement in her speed as she completes these assignments. 
If you are looking for an online typing program this is an excellent option. It is easy to use and check. You may even want to give it a try to improve your typing!    Don't forget to check out what my Crewmates have to say!