Touch Typing Software for Visual Impairment
Why touch typing helps visually impaired children
A computer can make schoolwork easier for children with visual impairments. They can change the font and text size to suit their needs. Learning to touch type early helps them use the computer with more ease. It can also help them complete more work and focus on what they want to say.
With practice, children learn where the keys are without looking down. Typing starts to feel natural, so they can work faster and make fewer mistakes. Many support teachers aim to build these skills by Year 6. This helps pupils feel more confident and independent when they move to secondary school.
The RNIB states: “Whatever your sight difficulty, learning your way around the keyboard and learning to touch type are important skills to learn. Although great strides have been made in voice recognition software, often the most practical and accurate way for someone with sight problems to control a PC is by use of a keyboard.”
Why choose Englishtype?
Englishtype is being used very successfully with children with partial vision (it is not suitable for blind children). Features that make it supportive for other Special Needs are also great for VI children. There is a large font option in all the Lessons, which displays at approximately 48 point and choice of 8 background colours to offer different variations in contrast. (Note: not all activities offer this option).
Englishtype’s structure and different activities means the learning schedule can be designed to suit the support timetable. Learning can be done intensively, part of the normal timetable or short practice sessions over a year or two (eg. 15 mins daily) and achieve great results.
- Developed by an Educational Psychologist specialising in Dyslexia
- Designed for the UK National Curriculum and boosts literacy while teaching typing
- Unique colour coding builds muscle memory quickly
- Letters introduced in order of finger movements makes learning easier
- Multi-sensory design – see, hear, read, type
- Choice of 8 background screen colours
- Carefully selected vocabulary with 3 levels of difficulty to choose
- Programs the muscle memory with useful, high frequency words
- Extra spelling lessons for optional additional learning and wider vocabulary
- Variety of different activities to build muscle memory / unconscious skill
- Teacher Admin package for schools
- Teaching typing for 25+ years in schools and at home
- Built by award winning game designers to make learning fun
Englishtype Visual Impairment Success Stories
“We have been aiming for touch typing (ie. automaticity / muscle memory) with young people on our caseloads who, in addition to their visual reduction, have minimal underlying needs, eg. have poor fine-motor skills or conditions such as dyspraxia or those with low self-esteem. They work on the skill on a daily basis at school for 15 minutes… Our aim is for young people with vision impairment to be typing at 20 – 30 wpm with 95% accuracy by the end of Year 6. …I have found Englishtype to be very effective in producing good typists.”
Specialist Advisory Teacher, VI, Surrey
Explore more information on Special Needs
Dyslexia
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Dyspraxia
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Autism & Aspergers
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Visual Impairment
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