Home Schooling – Grade 3 to College and Career Readiness
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.