TTRS provides users with everything they need to master the art of touch-typing, but it is through your guidance and expertise that they build confidence and develop the skills they need to achieve their full potential.
Whether you are focused on enhancing a learner's reading and spelling skills through sight-word recognition and phonemic awareness, or on confidence-building via self-directed learning and touch-typing instruction, keep in mind the importance of motivation.
Every milestone reached, no matter how great or how small, is an opportunity for delivering praise and encouragement which can go a long way in helping learners make steady progress.
Read and Spell articles have plenty of ideas for teaching children and adults with dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, ADHD, ADD, ASD, Down syndrome, English as an additional language and visual impairments, including strategy work and lists of classroom accommodations.
Have a look through our articles (link to: http://www.readandspell.com/blog). Strategy training used in concert with skill development can be a powerful thing!
Getting started
Help users configure their display settings. You may want to adjust the font to a dyslexia-friendly typeface or increase font size and text/background contrast for a student with visual impairments. There's an option for the student to upload a profile picture, which can be especially fun for younger learners who may wish to use an avatar.
Explain the program so the student feels in charge of his or her learning. TTRS is composed of sequential lessons built out of individual modules. In this way a student can work through the material at their own pace. Explain how the course is structured and that every fifth module will be a dictation exercise.
Show the user how to log in and explain that the course will remember their progress point. Ensure the student knows his or her username and password and where to enter them on the TTRS website to log in. The course will remember the last module a student has completed and automatically start them there.
Explain the meaning of the bars on the screen. The course will show both progress and accuracy as a percentage score. Point out these bars and explain their meaning to the user.
Make sure the student knows how to manually select modules. For those students who have missed a module or would like to go back and review, it's important they know how to manually select modules from the level overview screen.
Show students how to use the messaging feature. Encourage learners to communicate with you via the message center. They may wish to send you a message if they have any hesitations or concerns about the course or simply want to share their success and achievements.
Typing practice
Check for safe posture for typing. It's very important that learners adopt correct posture for typing so as to avoid injuring their wrists, fingers or back. Ensure their workspace including screen, keyboard, desk and chair are set-up correctly and make adjustments where appropriate.
Ensure students use only one finger at a time. Keep track of correct finger usage for each key and make sure only one finger is used at a time.
Teach "Good Hands" in the middle. Learners should return their hands to the home-row position when at rest. Use the G-H which stands for "Good Hands" to guide them to correct finger placement.
Keep track of the screen hands. Encourage students to take the screen hands away after they reach level three. Keep in mind for some learners it may be appropriate to keep the screen hands on for longer. Evaluate progress-made, motivation and skill level before making this suggestion.
Suggest alternative practices to keep students from looking down. If a learner has difficulty keep their eyes on the screen, you might suggest covering the hands with a tea-towel or a shoe-box with one side cut open.
III. Confidence and motivation
Look for opportunities to deliver praise. You will find there are plenty of aspects of course usage you can praise, from general progress made to success rates in individual modules, and overall posture and form in typing. Ensure praise is commensurate with the task to avoid patronizing comments and to help learners build confidence in their abilities.
Regularly view a user’s usage performance from your Admin account. Checking course usage over time can help you evaluate a learner's work and progress, and give appropriate feedback, praise and support.
Have the student stop before they become tired. This practice should always be followed, even if it means finishing a session earlier than anticipated. The reason for this is it ensures a session ends on a high note with a bar graph showing an 80% accuracy score. Coming away from the course with a feeling of success will help learners stay motivated and ensure they're more likely to sit down to their next session.
IV. Reading and spelling skills
Have students read aloud. Ask the student to read the words on the screen when necessary. Verbalizing can help them connect letters and sounds and reinforce the multi-sensory learning. It can also help you observe any underlying phonics issues that need clarification
Ask the user to correct mistakes as they go along. Some students may be tempted to pursue speed over accuracy but this practice can be detrimental in the long run. To avoid fossilized errors in spelling and typing, it's important that users correct any mistakes as they are made and before moving on to the next module. Ensure the one mistake option is turned on under the correction settings panel. This will prevent a user from completing a module without typing all words correctly.
Allow level movement. Those users whose spelling ability is above Level 3 and are able to touch-type, should have the choice to jump to a different level if they prefer. Note that TTRS offers Subjects which can be of use for school-age learners who are looking to strengthen their word knowledge around a particular core subject.
Print out word lists and use them in additional activities. To reinforce decoding and spelling skills, use TTRS word lists in different activities. This allows you to extend the learning and bring a measure of creativity into your sessions. For example, you can print out a set of modules and have the learner practice typing them as part of a sentence or paragraph level writing exercise. You can also have them practice typing these words in a Free Writing session.
Point out spelling features. Later, and only if needed, show the student how they can use the Remember and repeat option in settings to help with the spelling of difficult words.
V. TTRS shortcuts
Repeating words. Pressing number 2 on the keyboard will repeat the current word in any module.
Modify dictation modules. Pressing number 5 will show the words on screen for a dictation module.