Keyboarding in Brain Boosters

Elementary schools offering the Technology Brain Booster in Canyons School District may now choose to include keyboarding support as part of that Booster. This page explains the details about this option.

What is the purpose of including keyboarding as part of the Technology Brain Booster?
The purpose of including keyboarding as part of the Tech Booster is to:

give students more time to practice keyboarding technique,
support the keyboarding instruction provided by the classroom teacher,
improve follow-up keyboarding instruction after initial instruction is completed,
give students who may not have home access to full keyboards more time to practice keyboarding skills at school,
create a school-wide culture of proper keyboarding technique any time students use a keyboard,
and improve keyboarding technique in order to improve writing composition on the computer. (When keyboarding skill is solid, the keyboard can be a tool to enhance composition and creativity rather than a tool that interrupts the writing process.)

What will the classroom teacher be responsible to teach?
If your school chooses to include keyboarding in your Tech Booster, the classroom teacher's responsibilities will not change much. The teacher will:

participate in the Elementary Keyboarding Instruction course on Canvas to learn/review how to teach keyboarding.
be the primary keyboarding instructor for his/her students.
teach Keyboard Chatter for 20 consecutive days, 30 minutes per day as part of the first ELA block during the first 6 weeks of the school year (as outlined in the elementary curriculum maps).
teach follow-up keyboarding every week except the weeks it is tough in Tech Booster to review technique and build automaticity, accuracy, and speed.
reinforce proper keyboarding technique any time students use a keyboard, particularly during writing.
communicate with the Brain Booster technician about student keyboarding progress and goals.

What will the Booster technician do?
If your school chooses to include keyboarding in your Tech Booster, the technician's responsibilities will include:

Participate in the Elementary Keyboarding Instruction course on Canvas to learn/review how to teach keyboarding.
Attend the Technology Brain Booster training in August to learn/review the content of the Tech Booster blocks, including the new Keyboarding lessons.
Teach a keyboarding lesson once a month during the Technology Brain Booster time for grades 3-5 using the Keyboarding for Kids, Keyboard Chatter, and Keyboard Craze programs. (If schools wish to do some keyboarding instruction in 2nd grade as well they may.)
Conduct keyboarding assessments to track progress.
Communicate with the classroom teacher about student keyboarding progress and and goals.
Create and maintain the keyboarding "race track" bulletin board to track school-wide keyboarding progress and reward students.
Assist in conducting the 5th grade keyboarding assessment in the spring as time allows. (Optional. If the 5th grade teachers wish to conduct this themselves they may.)

How will keyboarding fit into the Technology Booster schedule?
Keyboarding will be the topic for the Tech Booster lesson the last week of each month except August and December, resulting in 8 keyboarding Booster lessons. In order for keyboarding to fit into the Tech Booster schedule, the Booster blocks will need to be taught in 4 lessons instead of 5 for grades 3-5. For those following the standard Tech Booster schedule of 30 minutes per week, the schedule will look something like the following table. (Note: This is a tentative schedule. Dates may change.)

For schools who have adapted their Tech Booster sessions to be 40 or 60 minutes, the above keyboarding schedule may be adjusted. The principal, Ed Tech Specialist, and Booster technician may work together to build a schedule for the school.

How will my Booster technician be trained?
Brain Booster technicians will be invited to participate in the Elementary Keyboarding Instruction course on Canvas. They will also participate in a Booster training in August that will include keyboarding training for those who need it.

How can my school participate?
Principals may choose to include keyboarding in their Booster schedule if they have chosen the Technology Brain Booster for their school. To opt in to this keyboarding adaptation, please notify Katie Blunt via email no later than August 1. Please email Katie if you have any questions. kathryn.blunt@canyonsdistrict.org

Links:
Keyboarding Home
This We Believe About Keyboarding
Why Teach Keyboarding?
District Keyboarding Program
  Keyboard Chatter
  Keyboard Craze
  Keyboard Connection
  Keyboarding for Kids
  Keyboard Mastery
  Keyboarding Activities
Tips for Keyboarding Success
Keyboarding in Brain Boosters
5th Grade Keyboarding Assessment
Keyboarding Core Curriculum
Literacy and Keyboarding
USOE Keyboarding Website

Documentation:
USOE Keyboarding Movie
Middle School Stand-Alone Schedule
Middle School Embedded Schedule
Keyboarding Data for Middle Schools
Middle School Keyboarding Curriculum Comparison

Keyboard Images/Handouts
Colored Keyboard
Colored Keyboard Finger Families
Colored Keyboard Finger Families
Black & White Keyboard
Blank Keyboard
Black & White Keyboard (Windows)
Laptop Keyboard (Windows)
Black Keyboard (Chromebook)
White Keyboard (Chromebook)