Typing is key to learning computer software

Deborah Mosley likes to offer a history lesson to her computer applications students.

This was a typewriter, she tells students at Adams Middle School, showing them the machine. You couldn't spell check - you had to blot out mistakes with White Out or correction tape. You had to know how to change the ribbon when it ran out. You used carbon paper to make multiple copies.

Mosley, 40, took typing as a student, but it's foreign territory to children who have grown up in a Google world. Traditional typing classes that emphasized secretarial skills and words per minute have disappeared in the schools.

The classes that took typing's place - keyboarding and computing - are more important than ever to keep pace in a technology-heavy society, teachers say.

Everyone from waiters to software developers needs some computer knowledge, said Chris Stephenson, executive director of the Computer Science Teachers Association. Although students seem like they would be in good shape because of the many hours they log texting, e-mailing and sending instant messages, exposure to computers does not equal proficiency.

"Because students use technology their whole lives, we assume they know what they're doing," Stephenson said. "Their knowledge is very broad but very shallow. It's like all of us with electricity: We know how to turn it on and off, but we really don't have any idea how it works."

Savion Doucette, 12, started using a computer regularly at age 10 and mostly plays games and chats at home. He signed up for Mosley's computer applications class for skills he could use in the future.

"I thought it would be pretty cool," said Savion, a seventh-grader at Adams. "I thought I'd learn more about the computer."

Stephenson's organization represents teachers from kindergarten through high school and would like to see computer classes start as early as elementary school with the basics. When students enter middle and high school, they need more intensive courses.

Middle school students can learn applications, such as Microsoft Office or Web design, and begin problem-solving and programming. High school students need a rich curriculum, Stephenson said, and that includes software development. Businesses are demanding graduates with high-level computer knowledge.

Hillsborough County public schools have started including certifications students can earn for proficiency on certain software, such as Adobe applications, said Chris Jargo, the supervisor for business technology education. The certifications make the students more marketable to businesses and also give the classes national standards to work toward, he said.

The district's elementary schools introduce children to computers through reading and math programs. More formalized technology courses start in sixth grade that bring in some computer skills and applications. Seventh- and eighth-graders take more in-depth electives, with some students pursuing high-school level classes, Jargo said.

At Adams, Mosley teaches courses ranging from the sixth-grade overview to more advanced game development. But her lessons start with typing. That includes proper posture, proper hand position on home the row keys and proper typing technique. Many of her students arrive with bad habits, using a fast hunt-and-peck.

"You have to get them acclimated to typing the correct ways," she said.

Typing software and games where computers track students' speed and accuracy gives the old-fashioned lessons a modern twist.

With that knowledge, Mosley's classes delve into other areas, including spreadsheets, Power Point and Internet safety. The computer applications class familiarizes students with Microsoft Office programs by having them market a fictitious business with logos, newsletters, letterhead and customer correspondence.

Rachel Baker, 12, knew some of the programs when she started, because her brother began teaching her on the computer at age 7. She wanted something more advanced, though, and liked the real-world emphasis in Mosley's class.

"Normal computer classes focus on typing," the seventh-grader said. "She focuses on projects that involve typing but also creativity and using our imagination."

Julia Ray, a North Carolina high school teacher and member of the Association for Career and Technical Education, said she makes sure her students know they are learning techniques they will need for future jobs.

Her school, Dare County Alternative, is located in the Outer Banks and draws students who may go into fishing, boat building or the tourism industry. If they don't know computers, she tells them, they won't know how to bill customers, list supplies or track fishing catches.

"It's hard to find an industry where they don't need a computer in some way," Ray said.

Ray started her career in 1978 teaching typing on manual typewriters but by the mid-1980s was beginning to teach basic word processing skills. By 1993, state tests in North Carolina still were set up for both computer and typewriter, but the old typing class was vanishing in favor of computers.

"It was becoming obvious this was a skill for everybody and not just for secretaries," Ray said.

Now she makes sure her students learn everything from basic HTML to Boolean searches to the computer's components. The most important skills she can teach is how to find answers and solve problems rather than memorize a certain computer program that eventually will become outdated. As typing classes had to evolve, computer classes must change regularly as well to keep up with new technologies.

"We have to continue to adapt to the times," Ray said. "We're teaching kids for jobs that won't exist for 10 years."