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Is it time to be typing instead of writing?

Students are now typing their homework and this is common practice these days. Within the classroom recording practices are changing. Parents are telling us that their child’s school is saying a Chrome book or an Ipad is the answer to poor writing. Worryingly we are hearing this more and more. But is this the right option for your child?

Typing is the solution for some.

It does help teachers assess the level of knowledge that the child knows. Yet, it is not always the best answer. Research tells us that those that type often type verbatim. They are not taking on board what they are hearing. This affects their learning. Harvard University analysed the level of knowledge retained 24 hours after a lecture. Of those that had been typing, they recalled less than those that had been handwriting.

For many parents, handwriting is a life skill that they wish their child to master. Yet if you are reading this post you are likely to be considering that typing might be an option for your child. In this article, we will cover a few key areas to keep you informed.

Handwriting speed vs legibility

Often typing is an option thought of when someone is slow to write or when their writing is difficult to read. Yet, when it comes to exams they are clear criteria about when a student can and cannot use type. To type in an exam, a school Senco needs to do an application form called ‘Access Arrangements’. This is then sent to the exam boards along with supporting evidence. One test that is often used as evidence is the DASH (Detailed Assessment Speed of Handwriting). This measures the legibility of the work completed over specific timeframes. It is a standardised test and is internationally recognised.

The criteria to type is strict and it is not given for reasons of slow handwriting. A student can type if their handwriting is difficult to read. But, they have to have been using a laptop or typing facility for the last six months before an exam. This is to show that it is their usual way of recording the work.

At the moment we do not have equity amongst all school provisions. The likelihood of GCSE’s being typed is not here yet but it will come in the future.

What the exam boards are telling us.

For now, we are taking advice from the exam boards. They suggest that the lower-marked questions are quicker to handwrite than to type. Sometimes a student can be switching between typing and handwriting in one exam. The ‘heavier’ writing subjects are English, History and students tell us Computer Science.

Typing is not always the easiest option for science and maths subjects. It is that still important to make sure that the handwriting can is clear. Particularly when writing equations, chemical elements and labelling diagrams.

When is the right time to teach typing?

There is no set age on when is the right time to start typing. From the age of seven kids have the hand-eye coordination skills to be typing. In Finland, they teach typing over handwriting. Yet, it is important to acknowledge that they start school at 7. Meaning the children have the developmental and physical hand skills to do this.

The decision to type should be in partnership with your child yourselves and the school. Although many of us use typing in our everyday lives, we still are handwriting. This should clearly said to the children who are typing. Typing doesn’t remove the need to write in everyday life. There are some jobs where writing is an essential part. For instance, when a pilot lands a plane, he or she has to fill out a flight log and this is handwritten.

When is the wrong time to decide to switch?

The worst time to consider typing is a few weeks before an exam. As mentioned below handwriting speeds take time to develop. It is more important to develop accuracy before speed.

Check out your school has a policy.

Research into the provision of typing in schools reveals many do not have an official policy. Parents are often encouraged that their child uses a typing app at home. Or enrolls them in an online or holiday club to develop their typing skills. For younger children aged 7 to 11 years, many occupational therapists recommend BBC Dance Mat. Older students may prefer a combination of formal typing instruction and typing games. There are good free typing games available online. Often aimed at tweens and teens by involving racing cars or typing in words before the bombs go off.

How long until is it until the typing becomes good enough?

Typing is like handwriting, it needs to be practised. For many years your child has been practising writing using one dominant hand. Their neural pathways have developed speed. Sending messages from the brain to their fingertips down their dominant side.

When we are encouraging typing we need to use two hands. We need to retrain our brains to send messages at speed to both hands.

When someone first learns to type studies suggest it should begin in the 3rd grade. This is equal to Year 4 in the UK, where a child is between the ages of eight and nine. They say formal typing practice should be 20 minutes per day, lasting for at least the next two months.

Typing techniques

Where the fingers sit on the keyboard and how many type is crucial. Some students believe that if they are good at gaming, they will be good at typing.

Yet, the skills are very different. To be typing at 40 words per minute you need to use all 10 fingers and to sit well. If we use a ‘hunt and peck’ approach, the number of words typed per minute decreases the 27. (Hunt-and-peck refers to when a person looks at the keys and types usually with their index fingers. So the technique is crucial.

Another interesting fact is the levels of accuracy. For a child in kindergarten to grade 2 they would be looking to have between 80 to 85% accuracy. From grade 3 to 5 it increases to between 85 to 90% accuracy. Lastly, from grade 6 to 12 it is between 90 to 95% accuracy.

Should I be thinking of anything else?

Other considerations include where will the laptop be stored? Who handles charging it? Does your son or daughter know how to save and organise their work in folders? Organising folders on a desktop is as important as organising school workbooks.

Another consideration is the amount of screen time a child has if they are to be typing. Typing for long periods can lead to muscle fatigue and discomfort. For every 50 minutes typed, we should take a 5 to 10 minute break. Learning how to sit and type is as important as learning how to sit and handwrite. We need to teach that the screen has to be at a good height so that a modern day hunchback position does not occur.

And our view?

We actually support typing. As a handwriting company, people often presume we will only be supporting handwriting. If we were to do this, then we would be not working with the technology that we have around us.

Handwriting is about communicating our ideas and thoughts. For a child, their role is to learn and unfortunately to have assessments on their level of knowledge. There are times when writing long pieces of text can produce illegible handwriting. It serves the child no benefit to be writing a piece of work that cannot be read, by either their teacher or an examiner. Our role is to help make all writing as readable as possible. If you wish your child to improve their handwriting, check out our courses or lessons.

Written by Sheilagh Blyth MSc OT (Hons)

Sheilagh is the founder of Help with Handwriting, a children's occupational therapist, handwriting expert and author.
Her and the team at Help with Handwriting help kids across the world have lightbulb moments about their handwriting. Showing them how to make improvements and giving them back their self confidence to have readable handwriting.

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