Category: Blog

The UK school sector has lost many teaching days this year one way or another – deep cleaning for norovirus, flooding, snow days in some areas and now the coronavirus, forcing schools to close until further notice. Senior leadership teams are rising to the challenge, making plans for students to continue their education from home. For the first time the computer is becoming the main medium for delivering learning. This trend is likely to continue but underlying issues are coming to light. 

Many learners enjoy using resources online but the majority are not trained, equipped or used to producing their work in this way. It is one thing to send a text, fill in a worksheet online or keep in touch with friends on social media but quite another to be expected to use technology for all classwork. Yet in many cases, this is what we will be asking them to do. 

Most students are trained to handwrite but not to use a keyboard efficiently. Their keying in skills are poor and many are slow and inaccurate. There are also health and safety issues involved. Long-term extensive use of the keyboard can lead to RSI and possible spinal damage. When you think of how many hours schools spend teaching handwriting, it is quite astounding that they cannot allocate just 90 minutes to teach the basics of touch typing, which is all it takes with KAZ, our Accelerated Learning cloud-based program. 

The overriding argument for years has been that children will be expected to write by hand in their examinations but those days may now be numbered. An increasing number of students with dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions are using word processors as their normal means of working and are now allowed to use the same methods in exams.  

Some schools, notably international schools and independent schools in the UK are ahead of the curve, making sure all pupils have had training in touch typing.  At a ‘live classroom’ at BETT Malaysia 2017, Iain Stevens, Head of Curriculum Support at Taylor’s International School, Kuala Lumpur said: ‘One of the things which attracted me to KAZ was the Dyslexia Screen, where you can change the fonts, the colours and so on. When I looked at other programs, they couldn’t actually do that and that was one of the reasons why I chose KAZ.’ 

Of course, there are free programs available but when pupils are learning online, schools need to be sure that students and their data are safe and not being spammed, as can be the case with free software. Our website and all our courses are secure. We are members of ICO.org and strictly adhere to their rules and regulations. We guarantee no pop-ups, no advertising and no solicitation by email. 

Teachers also want to be able to set up students easily and see at a glance if they are doing the work and how well they are progressing. The KAZ admin panel allows teachers to upload student lists in minutes, send logon details using real or pseudo email addresses and monitor student progress in real time. Kathryn Stowell, Head of Outreach and AAC at Charlton Park Academy, supports around 200 secondary students in many schools, so she has first- hand experience of distance learning:  ‘KAZ teaches touch typing fast so students are not taking much time out from other subjects to learn the keyboard,’ said Kathryn. ‘Best of all, we have one portal at the school and can see from the student logins how they are getting on. With students right across London, this saves us time when we are checking on progress.’ 

Additionally, to help keep students engaged, motivated and on task, we have launched a touch typing competition which runs until June 30th 2020. Students can take the timed test as often as they wish and their best score will be saved. A leader board is published on the KAZ site each month and the final result will be announced in July. Schools that have a KAZ licence can check up on student progress at any time which means they can also run their own in-house tournaments and maybe even pitch staff against students.

Schools that are moving to online learning in the next few months may find several hidden benefits from teaching their students to touch type. Not only will they equip their pupils with a ‘life skill’ they can use whilst at school, for exam access arrangements and carry forward with them into FE and the workplace but pupils may also start composing texts at speeds of around 50–70 words per minute.

The Department of Education has deemed BESA’s LendEd site the ‘go to’ approved platform for home learning resources in the even of school closures. Our software is the only touch typing software listed and approved. In an effort to help schools during this turbulent period of home learning, we have halved the price of all our school online licences. Please use code: KAZC19 at checkout.

https://kaz-type.com/educational-edition.aspx

If you are an employer then you need to ensure that your staff are competent, efficient, up to date with current practice and productive and all this just to maintain pace with the competition?

But how do we know if staffing is excessive, if you are top heavy or worse everyone isn’t pulling in the same direction?

We should all be constantly looking for efficiency in working practice and we do this through regular training? We should not leave the training to other companies and a well trained workforce is not only efficient but grateful and duty bound to be more concerned within the company. After all if you look after your employees then logic dictates they will look after for you.

Isn’t this the reason why so many of the worlds best companies goals are to get to the top and stay there. There is good reason for careful and detailed planning and this is to ensure quality, flexibility, longevity and productivity are the main consideration. Generally this will involve the use of the most up to date and cutting edge technology and machinery.

Commitment works both ways. Train your people well and your people will respond. Ever wondered why everyone wants to play and work and be in the big boys playground?

To quote a spokesman for the UK’s Learndirect, “The most effective and cheapest training course on the market is also the most neglected.”

Did you know that from 1000 free typing tests taken on our KAZ website, 69.7% of the ‘typists’ type at at less than 35wpm?… that is almost 7 out of 10 people unable to type efficiently. (Check out our test – it’s free, will only cost you 90 seconds of your life and you will then be able to accurately predict how much extra productivity can be gained by learning this simple skill.)

Typing is a skill – just like driving. We are taught to drive. We have lessons, followed by a test to confirm proficiency. Every laptop, desktop, Chromebook is sold with an attached keyboard. How are we expected to be proficient with a keyboard, where many of us spend several hours per day, when we are not taught?

If the average working day is 8 hours, it is relatively easy to work out the hours /days /months of our lives we can potentially save by learning this skill.

Let’s assume your staff need to spend 6 hours per day in front of their PC, typing at a speed of 25wpm on emails, work, essays etc., 

If you fall into the above 69.7% category (assuming you’re typing non-stop): 25wpm x 60mins x 6hours =  9000 words in 6 hours

If you fall into the latter, 30% typist category, you should be able to type at 50 wpm (the majority of users leave KAZ at this point): 50wpm x 60mins x 6 hours = 18000 words in 6 hours or the equivalent of 9000 words in 3 hours = a saving of 3 hours per day.

Double the word count in exactly the same time. 

(Out of interest, from the typing tests taken, the remaining 30% typed far in excess of 50wpm!)

Now what if I told you the average speed test of those 69.7% tests taken, was just 18!

Imagine how much of time you can potentially save each day. What would you do with that extra staff time?

So continuing …

3 hours per day x 5 days/week x 48 weeks/year = 

720 hours/year or 

90 days/year 

(based on working 8 hours /day)

Now that’s a lot of productivity saved/gained – should be an easy decision to start checking your employees typing skills.

Have you begun your search yet? This is an essential part of the ‘sorting and sifting’ journey, which along with reading product reviews should at the very least reduce your options.

There are a huge selection of typing tutors available. Some are games based, whilst others focus solely on adult learning. Either way, free or paid, the choices seem endless. Deciding which is the right one for you can be terribly time consuming and if you get it wrong, enough to put you off learning!

Nick: “I searched the internet but actually spent more time searching for the right product than it actually took me to learn to type with KAZ!”

Research is incredibly important when making an important purchase. We often consult friends, books, websites but when it comes to education, we can often be quite blasé in opting for the ‘free’ or cheapest option with the mentality, “Well, I’ve got nothing to lose!”

This is fine if we have the luxury of TIME but do we really want to take that risk with our children or fellow workers. When learning is misguided, results can be quite negative, making learning tedious and with negative conclusions drawn, resulting in an unenthusiastic learner. 

From our research, this is the main reason why so many individuals retrain in later lives.

To really value a lesson, ‘free’ should be taken in context. How many times have you been given something free which you so often discard or move on from? Also typically true with games. How many games do you or your kids have and how often are they played with? The answer should immediately present itself.

A good product will actively seek testing, review and will then make claims it can justify, back up and substantiate. This information will then be clearly displayed on their website.

The KAZ method was developed through years of research and with huge investment from the 3i group. It was designed through innovation, using an Accelerated Learning teaching method and was tested in over 300 education centres across the UK, prior to launch. It was only launched when 93% of learners touch typed the a-z keys in less than 90 minutes. Furthermore, it was tested by the Open University, who were so impressed with the results, they produced a white paper and deployed KAZ to all 90,000 + students per annum, for over 14 years.

It is still the only typing tutor available on the UK’s Learndirect site and the US’s OpenSesame.

Joanne: “A friend recommended a free typing tutor. I really wish I didn’t listen. I spent days and weeks, wasting my time. In the end I bit the bullet and bought KAZ. Within 3 weeks I was typing at 50wpm. Now, one year on, I’ve bought the family version for my 3 kids too.”

Once you’ve searched the web, read the reviews and learned to type, please remember the opening statement!

https://www.bestadvisor.com/typing-software  – KAZ Rated Best Pick

https://www.thetop10sites.com/learn-to-type/kaz/ – Joe Schwartz, Typing Tutors Editor –  KAZ Rated 1st

https://whatsgoodtodo.com/kaz-family-edition-touch-type-course-review/ – Reviewed by Sandip Stapleton – Rating: 5/5

If I asked you that question in general, you would immediately take notice but if I then told you it’s to teach you typing skills… you would probably respond; ‘I can type fine with 2 fingers’…’I’ve developed a method which is brill’…”My typing’s good enough”…

Typing is a skill – just like driving. We are taught to drive. We have lessons, followed by a test to confirm proficiency. Every laptop, desktop, Chromebook is sold with an attached keyboard. How are we expected to be efficient on a computer, where many of us spend several hours per day, when we do not have proficiency using its keyboard?

We should not be happy just doing enough to get by. We should be asking, what we can do better that can really make a difference to our daily lives. 

If the average working life is to age 65, it is relatively easy to work out the hours /days /months of our lives we can potentially save by learning this skill.

OK – first lets get the facts, stats and then make some assumptions on which to base our calculations.

From 1000 free typing tests taken on our KAZ website, 69.7% of the ‘typists’ type at at less than 35wpm… that is almost 7 out of 10 people unable to type efficiently. (Check out our test – it’s free, will only cost you 90 seconds of your life and you will then be able to accurately predict how much of your working life can be saved.)

For ease of calculations, let’s assume you need to spend 2 hours per day in front of your PC, typing at a speed of 25wpm on emails, work, essays etc., 

If you fall into the above 69.7% category (assuming you’re typing non-stop): 25wpm x 60mins x 2hours =  3000 words in 2 hours

I realise it doesn’t quite work this way but just stay with me for a little longer…

If you fall into the latter, 30% typist category, you should be able to type at 50 wpm (the majority of users leave KAZ at this point): 50wpm x 60mins x 2 hours = 6000 words in 2 hours or 3000 words per 1 hour = a saving of 1 hour per day.

Double the word count in exactly the same time. 

(Out of interest, from the typing tests taken, the remaining 30% typed in excess of 50wpm or much higher!)

Now what if I told you the average speed test of those 69.7% tests taken,was just 18!

Imagine how much of your life you can potentially save. Wouldn’t you prefer to be more productive or be doing something else with all that time?

So continuing …

Current age: 35 (retire at 65)

Wpm: 25 (taken from KAZ free typing test)

Working 5 days per week and spending 2 hours per day at the computer

You already know you could save 5 hours per week by learning to type properly.

5 hours x 52 weeks = 260 hours per year saved

260 hours x 30 years working life remaining = 7800 hours used up or saved – You decide!

That actually amounts to: 325 days  (7800 hours / 24 hours per day)

Now imagine if you are one of the 69.7% typing at 18 wpm or less and spending a longer time at the computer? I’ll let you enjoy the math on that one… but it’ll save you over a year!

Ever wondered what you would do, if you had an extra YOU… Well, here’s how to save a year at least!

The KAZ method was developed through years of research and with huge investment from the 3i group. It was designed through innovation, using an accelerated learning teaching method and was tested in over 300 education centres across the UK, prior to launch. It was only launched when 93% of learners touch typed the a-z keys in less than 90 minutes. Furthermore, it was tested by the Open University, who were so impressed with the results, they produced a white paper and deployed KAZ to all 90,000 + students per annum for over 14 years.

It is still the only typing tutor available on the UK’s Learndirect site and the US’ OpenSesame.

Missed out on learning this skill in the past, don’t miss out on learning it now. These figures should help you decide.

The KAZ Worldwide Touch typing Tournament 2020

KAZ touch typing software was designed for minimal teacher intervention. Being online, students can access the course from both school and home, allowing learning to continue beyond the classroom.

The KAZ admin panel has now been further developed. It is simpler to use, fully comprehensive, yet easy to navigate.  Class lists can be uploaded in seconds and that includes emailing all students with logon details! Additionally, teachers have the ability to monitor all student progress from the comfort of their PC.

Our new worldwide typing tournament was developed through requests from Head and IT teachers and designed to encourage the natural competitive spirit within students and to incentivise them to learn the skill quickly. With prizes for the winning student and school, there really is nothing to lose. The only thing we ask is that schools either have a current licence or take out a KAZ licence, in order to compete!

Furthermore, teachers can now also hold their own school competition, as all data from the testing will be available in their admin panel. Students will be ranked in highest scoring order.

(Please note: teachers will only have access to their own student data.)

Only KAZ administrators will have access to the cumulative student data and the results of the top students will be published on our site, at the end of each month. Naturally we will display a pseudonym for the student but will display the school name.

Teachers, it really couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is click the ‘Typing Tournament’ tab in your admin panel and all students already uploaded will automatically be entered. Students simply log on via the ‘cup’ on the header bar of our website or follow this link : Typing Tournament 

There is no limit to the number of attempts, however only the highest score will be registered in the School admin panel and KAZ Super admin panel. At the end of June, the student with the top score will receive the winner’s certificate and a free City & Guilds Licence and their school will be awarded the winners trophy, free annual renewal of their KAZ licence and lots of publicity!

The advantages of learning typing skills are really too numerous to mention but in life and work the skill is invaluable. Reports, essays and emails all typed in as little as 30% of the time taken as opposed to the conventional ‘hunt and peck’ method. 

Teachers, give your students a head start – Teach them to type – Make it fun – Enter the tournament!

The majority of businesses now use computers in some capacity, either in operations and/or maintenance. As a consequence, computer skills and software knowledge are becoming essential. One of these skills is touch typing, understated and often overlooked.

What is touch typing ? 

This is a typing technique where keys are identified on the keyboard by the sense of touch, rather than sight and involves the use of all fingers and thumbs of both hands. The orthodox ‘hunt and peck’ typing method involves visually seeking the keys, and then using typically one or two fingers to type them.

Touch typing has numerous advantages over ‘hunt and peck’ typing and there are numerous softwares and websites teaching this skill.For business organizations,investing in a good touch typing software can be so beneficial for staff and more importantly your company:

Speed: Touch typists can reach typing speeds in excess of 70 words per minute, while hunt and peck typists will struggle to reach 30! This huge difference speaks for itself, in regard to the benefits of touch typing. From daily routines in business operations to those all important email communications with clients, everything gets done much faster, if you can type quickly. Writing information and taking notes are also easier, as the need to keep alternating between the screen and keyboard is eliminated.

Accuracy: No matter how fast you type, accuracy whilst typing is essential. Making mistakes whilst typing, not only takes up valuable time with correcting but if un-checked, renders documents error strewn and in some cases, un-readable. Accuracy is the second most important part of learning touch typing skills and what all good research based software will teach you. Finally, speed should always come last, as this develops with practice.

Fatigue: In business, touch typing can greatly reduce both mental and physical fatigue. Learning the skill negates the constant shift of focus and attention between keyboard and screen. As the skill is automated, there is no need to search for the keys, so focus can remain on the task at hand and on what you actually want to type. With correct posture, physical fatigue is also reduced, as the body is aligned correctly and not hunched or bent over the keyboard.

Health: Touch typing is also better for health. Sitting with correct posture whilst typing, as opposed to hunched over the keyboard, avoids straining the hands, wrists, neck, back and spine. Hunt and peck typists are at risk of developing Repetitive Strain Injury as opposed to trained touch typists.

Focus: Orthodox ‘hunt and peck’ typists’ attention is split into two parts: having to first think about the response and then searching for the correct keys to press. This is inefficient, time consuming and spells delays, inefficiency and reduced productivity for businesses, especially if dealing with time sensitive information. Touch typing develops muscle memory to the point where it is no longer necessary to think about where the keys are located, as fingers move automatically to the desired keys. This is termed, ’think-type’ and allows you to maintain complete focus on the minute details of your response.

Editing: Apart from teaching accuracy, touch typing allows you to edit mistakes as soon as they appear on the screen, as with automation, the cognitive mind knows immediately when a mistake has been made. ‘Hunt and peck’ typists usually only notice mistakes much later, as their concentration is on writing the word and searching for the correct key to press. The need to return to make corrections is both tedious and time consuming. Additionally, not just required when proofreading but typing grammatically correct sentences is essential when presenting proposals or writing emails to clients.

Even though individuals may have confidence in their ‘hunt and peck’ typing skills, learning how to touch type correctly, using an approved and effective touch typing software for your business is essential. The points above highlight the benefits, even to the skeptics who may feel the effort required may outweigh the benefits or just seem not worthwhile. However, as the above benefits clearly explain, touch typing is by far superior to hunt and peck typing. It may appear difficult to learn but with a bit of patience and practice it will help elevate your business to a much higher, more efficient, productive and profitable level.

Even with the ubiquity of smart mobile communication devices (cellphones and tablets) in the field of education, typing on a keyboard remains an essential skill for all students, whether researching or writing assignments. Slow and incorrect or improper typing can significantly set them back.

Typing should ideally be as effortless and natural as writing. One should not need to search for the right keys to press on the keyboard to type sentences. This method of typing is popularly known as ‘hunt and peck’ typing and as the name implies, typically involves looking for the correct keys on the keyboard while typing with just one or two fingers of both hands. The better and more natural typing technique is called touch typing. This method uses all five fingers of both hands to identify keys by the sense of touchrather than by looking at the keyboard.

So what are the advantages of learning to touch type for students?

Speed and accuracy: 

Touch typing helps build muscle memory, eliminating the constantneed to lookdown at the keyboard to identify which keys to press. This significantly speeds up the typing process, letting students achieve speeds upwards of 60-70 words per minute. With repetition, touch typing also improves typing accuracy, reducing mistakes and the need for continual editing. The result is that students finish their work faster and more efficiently, leading to improved productivity.

Students can produce lengthy assignments quickly and those involved in higher education and research can use this skill in class to take notes efficiently.Additionally, subject to access arrangements, they can use their skill in exams to their benefit, as sub-conscious touch typing leaves their conscious minds free to concentrate on the question in hand.

Work quality: 

The muscle memory developed for typing not only allows for increased speedsbut also automates typing skillsso that it is no longer necessary to think about the keystrokes consciously. Experienced touch typists have been seen to type at speeds in excess of120 words per minute but are often flummoxed if asked about the exact location of a particular key on the keyboard! The conscious memory takes time in catching up to well developed ‘muscle memory’.

So, what does this automation achieve? It frees up conscious thought and cognition, allowing concentration on ideas to be typed rather than just focusing on the language itself. Thoughts are represented immediately, referred to as ‘think-type’. Students conscious minds are free to plan, compose, process, proof-read and edit – improving the overall quality of work delivered.

Improved learning: 

For younger children, learning tophysically touch type, together with reading the word and hearing the word spokencandramatically improve the learning process. This is the basis of multi-sensory learning.Children hear a word, read it on screen and then type it out with the help of touch typing. This involves the use of the major senses,speeding up the learning process, improving understanding and helping childrenretain what they learn.

Helps students with learning difficulties

Touch typing can also be an invaluable tool forstudents with specific learning difficulties such as dyspraxia, dysgraphia, dyslexia where they struggle to write by hand. Additionally, learning how to touch type and the repetition of touch typing vocabulary can help reinforce literacy skills. It also offers an alternate form of communication.

The above are just a few of the advantages of touch typing over the hunt-and-peck typing method, allowing students to work faster, with accuracy and to be significantly more productive.

Home Schooling – Grade 3 to College and Career Readiness

Home

It is always refreshing to be contacted by individuals and organisations concerned about the best education resources available for students, in this case home schooling.

We are aware that computer literacy is now a core element of K-12 education, with students expected to have mastered keyboarding skills before college. We are also aware that several of the Common Core Standards require keyboarding.

KAZ’s School Edition is designed to typing skills quickly and help students meet and exceed the Common Core Standards. Whilst I won’t just regurgitate the common core requirements, which can be read by clicking on the link above, I will explain here why KAZ meets and exceeds these:

1.           All students can learn typing skills together – both mainstream and SEN/Dyslexia.

2.           We have Junior, Adult and Corporate editions available, taking the learning experience from 6+. 

3.           Our software uses a unique and proven ‘Accelerated Learning’ teaching method, which has been tried, tested and proven to teach the A-Z keys in just 90 minutes. It is based on 5 scientifically structured phrases which are protected by copyright. Incorporating both ‘muscle memory’ and ‘brain balance’, the method engages the major senses of sight, sound and touch simultaneously, radically enhancing memory retention and recall – which is why it is so effective.

4.           The course is simple to navigate and designed to be used independently, with minimum teacher intervention and with the emphasis on learning quickly. All we ask is that students start at the top and work through each module in order.

5.           All our learning modules are designed not to overload the working memory. They can be broken down into sessions; daily, weekly or to suit the student and their attention span.

6.           All the learning modules allows learning through making mistakes. However, all testing modules will not allow progression unless the correct letter is pressed and will highlight the keys student are having difficulties with.

7.           The student does not have to pass any badges or achieve any particular wpm before progressing onto the next module. This is key as this increases the learning process 10 fold. At KAZ, we place emphasis on speed and accuracy at the last stage. The learning modules are specifically designed to encourage learning, awareness of finger placement and the building of muscle memory. Speed and accuracy should always come later.

8.           Our SpeedBuilder module offering 20 random phrases is designed to increase speed and accuracy with daily practice. All data is saved and progress can be monitored in the teacher’s admin panel.

9.          Our courses do not contain gaming, as this has been proven to delay or extend the learning time. It is however delivered in a fun and light hearted way to encourage interaction and learning.       

10.        There is a short module on the importance of correct posture and RSI in today’s IT led world.

Our course has been proven to encourage learning quickly and efficiently, which is why we are now getting industry recognition and becoming the preferred choice amongst teachers, SENCOs and home schoolers. https://kaz-type.com/case-study.aspx 

Firstly, a roundup…

KAZ Type Limited has been successfully serving the education sector in the US, UK and rest of the world for the past 20 years with our award winning and inclusive touch typing software.

As all individuals are unique and have different needs, our company’s ethos is to ensure our site and software is suitable for all and to make a difference to the lives of both mainstream and neurodivergent individuals through innovation and technology.

With this in mind, we spent the past 3-4 years upgrading our software into the latest html technology, including new user interfaces and imagery.

In addition, to cater for neurodivergent students, we contacted the British Dyslexia Research Trust and with their advice and guidance, spent 2+ years with them producing our SEN/Dyslexia edition. (If you are aware about blue and yellow filter colours helping students with dyslexia, the DRT are the research specialist who discovered and produced these filters.) They very kindly gave us access to all their 20+ years of research, which enabled us to produce the edition and our unique ©preference screen which minimises visual disturbances, tailoring the course to the student for maximum visibility comfort.

We refuse to ignore children with SEND and our course is now suitable for individuals with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, ASD, Tourette’s, visual disturbances, amongst others. We can also confirm that recent studies show that KAZ has proven to help individuals who have suffered brain trauma.

At KAZ, we believe that no one should have to pay a premium for needing a little extra help and so we offer all our SEND courses at the same price as our mainstream courses. Additionally, all our educational licenses include our SEN/Dyslexia option for free! 

Our courses and software are used worldwide. We have always produced a US edition since inception and have always historically had a greater ‘user base’ in the US.

The US is far more progressive than the UK as Prof. Marc Eisenstadt, a founding member or the UK’s Open University and champion of KAZ, confirms in his recommendations and approval for KAZ. The report is now several years out of date but the detail is still very current: https://kaz-type.com/newfolder/OU-Support-for-KAZ.pdf

Whilst touch typing in the US is very much part of the common core, here in the UK it is not.

However, in the US, we are very proud to be supported by all schools, including home schools and especially Christian schools and recognised by the American Dyslexia Association, where you can find several blogs on KAZ.

Moving on…

KAZ is evolving into one of the most respected touch typing companies. This year we have been shortlisted for several academic awards – BETT 2019 and currently Teach Primary 2019 and Teach Secondary 2019.

We believe that in today’s world of computers and technology, teaching students the three R’s is not enough. We believe that the invaluable ‘life skill’ of touch typing is essential, as it gives students, both mainstream and neurodivergent a huge advantage, preparing them for college, the working environment and life.

https://www.dyslexia.me/kaz-types-sen-dyslexia-typing-software-receives-recognition-by-judges-at-the-bett-educational-show-london/

‘Thank you for caring and investing in tools for Dyslexia. You have helped me make a break through!’ K.Hamerski – US

‘Thanks for letting me trial KAZ which I found surprisingly easy and I am touch typing this email!  I need to speed up a lot but only practice will do that!’ Kate Ireland – Learning Support – City of London School

‘Honestly, your method is like magic. I sent your website to other friends with dyslexic kids and another adult friend who never learned to touch type. Thank you so much for you method. I feel so lucky to have discovered KAZ. I love typing now.’ Rachel Rosenthal – US

‘We loved the ability to customize your screen display to ensure you can read comfortably, and the typing and demo areas on the screen are clear and easy to use.’ The School Run magazine Review

https://kaz-type.com/dyslexia-edition.aspx

At a recent dyslexia fair at Bell House, Dulwich, we demonstrated our software and presented to a crowded room full with teachers, sencos and parents. Additionally, we engaged with over 400 parents during the course of the day. 

It was also nice to catch up with fellow speaker, Helen Boden – CEO of the British Dyslexia Association, who have assured our typing course and to which we are members.

The day and presentation re-iterated just why KAZ is successfully addressing and meeting the challenges of individuals with SEND. Parents and individuals were overwhelmed with the variety of software and support available and were reassured that it really was possible to ‘level the playing field’ for both themselves and their children.

What impressed so much was:

1. The course builds self confidence – which many children and adults lack.

2. Sencos and teachers really liked the course layout, which allows students to learn in short sessions.

3. The course does not overload the working memory.

4. Students are not penalised for making mistakes during learning. It is understood that learning through mistakes is important, otherwise dis-interest soon follows.

5. Sencos were really pleased that the child does not need to collect bonus points, badges  or attain a particular typing speed to progress. This was outlined as a major deterrent  and yet another hurdle / obstacle that the child had to contend with.

6. Only real words were used in all the learning modules and their repetition developed muscle  memory and engrained spelling.

7. The course was delivered in a light-hearted, friendly but non childish manner. The absence  of gaming was surprisingly and specifically applauded, as it ensured that focus was on  learning typing skills.

8. Price – one of the most affordable SEND technologies available, which will undoubtably  provide students with a portable ‘life skill’ they can take forward with them.

9. Sub-conscious typing as opposed to two fingered ‘hunt and pecking’ was understood.  The analogy of driving all day in first or second gear irrespective of town or motorway  really hit home. Parents could not understand why typing is not compulsory. We have  written to the Minister of Education.

10.  Our  ©preference screen, minimising visual disturbance, brought aaahs, wows and hand  clapping’! 

A tutor with an OCR Level 5 Diploma in teaching learners with Dyslexia/Specific learning difficulties said that her colleague, a dyslexia expert was currently using our course in class, with huge success and was aware that it was based on neurolinguistic learning principles. A method of learning engaging sight, sound and touch simultaenously, which is why it is so effective.

Thank you – we couldn’t have put it better ourselves!