Complete review of KidzType, an online Typing Games platform that provides a wide range of web-based typing games curated for kids of all ages:
We are living in a world where children as young as 5 are already accustomed to keyboards, thanks to the ubiquitous presence of tablets, laptops, and mobile devices. Obviously, kids today are more used to typing than they are to writing with a pen. In fact, it won’t be long before when the traditional pen and paper will become completely obsolete.
Most people approach typing as if it is a casual practice done out of convenience. However, typing can be a valuable skill for children to master. Helping cultivate this skill from a very young age can help your child reap a plethora of cognitive and physical benefits.
- Typing can help improve a child’s dexterity.
- Make them work more efficiently.
- Help them read more fluently.
- It can have several health benefits, like alleviating lower back pain and risks of RSI.
- It can build your child’s future career.
Table of Contents:
Introduction To KidzType
Although typing is fun, kids rarely appreciate the ‘School Curriculum’ approach to learning. So it can get quite tough and even frustrating to get them to focus on their typing lessons. This made us venture into the endless depths of the Internet in search of a program or platform that perhaps made learning something as mundane as typing enjoyable.
It was not long before we finally came across the website – KidzType and its vast gallery of intricately designed typing games. In this article, we will take a thorough analysis of this online educational platform for typing, peruse through its various typing games/lessons, and finally give you our thoughts on whether this platform is what your child needs to learn to type.
KidzType is an online educational platform that provides a wide range of web-based typing games curated for kids of all ages. At first glance, it is quite obvious that the people behind KidzType know how to keep a kid engaged while learning. That is reflected clearly with how all of their typing lessons come integrated with competitive gaming elements.
KidzType essentially ‘gamifies’ typing lessons with the help of interactive visual games that are fun and easy to play. We also like how each of these lessons is divided into stages and levels, thus replicating the progression system often found in video games.
Kids are rewarded with scores and other delightfully quirky elements, like a song performed by an animated angel along with a choir of critters for completing a stage.
The inclusion of the reward system, a core aspect of gaming, is well thought out as it encourages kids to be more competitive in their typing. We also like how each of these lessons/games compartmentalizes the keyboard into different sections like the Home Row, Numbers Row, Top Row, etc. to avoid overwhelming children, especially those with special needs.
The lessons offered on this platform lay heavy emphasis on improving the dexterity, typing speed, posture, and confidence of a child. In this regard, we believe KidzType succeeds.
Perhaps the best part about KidzType is the fact that it is absolutely free. No need to register, simply open the platform, pick the game you want to play or lesson you want to learn, and get started.
Now that we know what KidzType is, let’s look at all the other core aspects of this platform.
Major Components Of KidzType
#1) Dance Mat Typing
Dance Mat Typing lessons are what you are greeted with as soon as you land on KidzType’s home page. These lessons comprise 4 distinct levels, each featuring 3 stages. Each level requires kids to type certain keys highlighted on the video playing on their screen. These levels become increasingly difficult as kids continue to clear them one after the other.
The easier levels will only feature certain keys from a certain section of the keyboard, whereas the later levels will require participants to input a combination of keys like vowel keys alongside symbols to progress.
Participants win scores for typing the correct input. Each session sets off a timer, which can help kids and parents track time spent on each of these Dance Mat Typing sessions.
Each level takes less than half a minute to load. Once loaded, bright and colorful visuals and backgrounds will grab your attention. Another interesting aspect of this game is the inclusion of animated characters like Angels, Wizards, and a slew of other creatures that work to make the lessons even more appealing to young kids.
Overall, dance mat typing is an extremely simple, yet intuitive way to familiarize kids with a keyboard. We like the progression system, which gradually becomes challenging. This tool can be pretty useful in helping improve a child’s muscle memory and typing speed.
#2) Typing Games
The Typing Games is the most intriguing feature of this platform. KidzType expertly emulates arcade-style video games and reinvents them to teach typing to young kids. Each game serves a different purpose. Road Rush, for example, is a bike racing game wherein you first have to choose between 5, 3, or 4 letter words. The higher the number, the difficult is the race.
You then have to type in the highlighted letters just in time to form a word and push your bike to the finish line ahead of other competitors. This game is excellent if you want to improve a child’s typing speed or teach them a list of new words in a brief time.
At the end of every race, the game showcases a scorecard that depicts your accuracy and WPM (words per minute) rate.
Another game aptly titled Ninja vs. Zombies puts your kid in the shoes of a Ninja, who must take out hordes of zombies by pressing the right letters highlighted on top of their heads. The game is fun and seems particularly designed to improve dexterity and muscle memory.
These games feature great visuals, sound design, and animation. We recommend letting your kid try any of the KidzType games, especially if they have a hard time focusing on things while learning.
Although these games feature Zombies and Vampires, these games are kid-friendly. If we have to pick our personal favorites, then we would highly recommend you start with Ninja vs Zombies, Cute Jumper, and Vampire Hunter.
#3) Typing Lessons
This section of the platform is where you will find a variety of lessons, each representing a certain section of the keyboard. Let’s say you want your kid to focus only on the Home-Row of the keyboard, then you can simply opt for a lesson that focuses on all letters and symbols present on that row.
The home row, for instance, refers to the section situated right in the middle of the keyboard, beginning from the letter A and ending at the symbol ‘.
Participants can choose between sections that only highlight specific letters on the row or proceed with the Full-row lessons. Similarly, separate lessons are available, each specific to Top Row keys (QWERTYUIO), Bottom Row keys (ZXCVBNM,./), Numbers keys, Symbols keys and Shift key.
Whatever lesson you select, you only have a minute to complete it.
At the end of each lesson, they show you how accurate you were, and what your overage WPM rate is. The compartmentalization of the keyboard into several key sections is impressive. The division of keys into separate rows seems to work in helping participants use all 10 of their fingers and use the keyboard without the assistance of their sight.
Assigning animals to indicate your rank after lessons is a nice little touch, which will make kids eager to do better every time they take the lesson.
#4) Typing Exercises
This platform provides several types of exercises to complement the typing lessons it offers. In other words, typing exercises and lessons go hand-in-hand, with exercises serving more like individual practice sessions that help kids prepare for the actual row lessons. The exercises are divided into multiple key sections, each based on a single or combination of rows.
For instance, you can either opt for the exercise session that only features home row keys like ASDF and HJKL or go for the session that combines keys from all rows. The former suits well for beginners while the latter is more tailored towards students with advanced typing skills.
The actual game is similar to Typing Lessons, you type the highlighted keys in the given order before the 1-minute timer runs out.
#5) Typing Practice
Typing Practice is the section your kid should try after he has completed all the typing lessons and exercises. The sessions here are designed to help kids practice what they’ve learned and assessed, how much their typing skills have improved.
There are practice games here dedicated to each row of the keyboard. Once a kid has successfully completed this section, they can proceed to the Sentence practice where they have to type the given sentences before the 1-minute timer runs out.
If your kid excels at sentence practice, then they can partake in Paragraph Practice, where they will be required to type the paragraph accurately before the time is up.
The progression from individual rows to sentences to paragraphs feels natural. We recommend moving through the practice sessions in that sequence to avoid overwhelming your kid.
Other Features
#1) The Finger Chart
The platform has an entire page dedicated to helping kids master the skill of ‘Touch Typing’. With the help of colorful infographics, it provides a step-by-step guide that teaches you how to place your fingers on the keyboard and avoid looking at it while typing. The guide is quite comprehensive, made only simpler by the visual art.
There are a few tips and tricks here too, which can be leveraged to polish finger motion and improve sitting posture while typing.
#2) Typing Tests
This platform also offers typing tests with students standing a guaranteed chance to earn a free professional certificate that marks their achievements. This should motivate kids to take an interest in these lessons.
Kids can choose between a 1 minute, 3 minutes, and 5-minute test. The professional certificate is addressed to the one who passed the test and features information like their accuracy and WPM.
Conclusion
KidzType is an ingenious online educational platform that offers a diverse range of games, lessons, and exercises to kids in an attempt to sharpen their typing skills. Each game is designed with the aim of teaching young kids, irrespective of their age, to ‘Touch Type’. Touch Typing refers to the practice of typing without looking at the keyboard.
It is a proven fact that people who possess the skill of ‘Touch Typing’ find it easy to score a job because of their exceptional typing speed and accuracy. KidzType leverages gaming elements to make typing more fun and engaging than it has any right to be.
The lessons are tailor-made for many kids, including those with special needs. The platform itself is super fast and very easy to navigate. Games are by far the best part of KidzType and will definitely appeal to children.
The scoring, reward, and natural progression system give the typing lessons a competitive edge and serve as a good motivating factor for kids to keep learning and do better. The platform is absolutely free to use.
We highly recommend KidzType for its seamless combination of games with typing tutorials. This is one platform that we believe will be appreciated by both parents and children alike.
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