mguhlin

Online Typing Tutors #moodle

In this short blog entry, I share free typing tutors available, as well as a great for-cost solution that can be deployed as a SCORM module in Moodle.
FREE ONLINE TYPING TUTORS

A colleague recently shared with a teacher the following list of typing tutors, available at no charge online:

BBC – Dance Mat Typing:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Online Free Touch Typing Program:

http://www.sense-lang.org/typing/

Peter’s Online Typing Course:

http://www.typing-lessons.org/

FreeTypingGame.Net:

http://www.freetypinggame.net/

Here are a couple of good online free keyboarding resources, Sherry:

WHAT ABOUT A MOODLE TYPING TEST? 

But what about Moodle? Some of you may recall that I sent out request for a Typing Assessment that I could run in Moodle. It should be something I could activate from within Moodle–a SCORM module–that would save the results in the Moodle Gradebook. I also had some follow-up questions:


#1 –  “Can the content of the typing test be customized?”

#2 – Would it be possible to construct a typing assessment that looks like the instructions below?



“You will be given two three-minute practice typing sessions.  After completion of the practice session, you will have two 5-minute typing tests. The best typing score of the two 5-minute tests will be your final typing score.”

#3 – Finally, would you have any idea as to whether this solution would work if there was no outside Internet access? I’m concerned that the Test module had to connect to another site via the Internet. I’m looking for something self-contained within the Moodle that won’t go “outside” our District network, since we have intermittent Internet problems. Such problems have caused issues for folks in the past.

TypingMaster.com definitely fit the bill! What a great group of folks to work with and I can, without reservation, say they bent over backwards to get the solution I needed, providing a free trial that allowed me to design the Typing Master test I needed, save it as a SCORM module that I could then import into Moodle.
Here’s what their online setup looks like…it’s the second screenshot that really caught me on fire!
That’s pretty much one of the opening screens for their Touch Typing Course. Note that you can download that course as a SCORM module and drop it right into Moodle. Since I wasn’t interested in a Typing Course, this really wasn’t something I investigated TOO much.
What we needed for a clerical assessment was a Typing Test. This next screen features the Typing Test, which I created online and then saved the SCORM package:
As you can see from the screenshot above, I actually made two items, although the first one wasn’t needed…it was just for demo purposes. The second one is the one actually used. What I also did was use custom text for the typing test, which you can set up on the next screen:
Even though there are many choices available, you can see that 1. Clerical Assessment is the one used. The results you get from typing also appear in Moodle, but you can access them via the TypingMaster.com web site:

What about pricing? I was worried that this would cost a fortune, but TypingMaster was extremely reasonable and customized the pricing to what we would actually download and use. Licensing was available in a variety of formats.

Software: TypingMaster for LMS with agreed use of two typing tests only (no typing courses)




[REMOVED BY REQUEST]

The above subscription fee includes free technical support during the subscription period (standard level support by email, phone support by appointment) and free upgrades and maintenance.

It’s not every day I come down so much in favor of a vendor, but I can’t help it in this case. These folks did everything to match their future customer’s needs, rather than their schedules of what should be.
Keep up the great work, TypingMaster.com!! Their contact info:

Attn: Ruth Marasco
TypingMaster Sales
StepWare Inc. (Federal ID number 84-1418927)
320 Dakota Drive
Grand Junction, CO 81503

Tel: 1 866-211-8973 (Toll free USA)
Fax: (970) 243-9482
International callers: +1-970-243-3549

Disclaimer: I’m not receiving any compensation, personally or professionally, for writing this blog entry. I just want to share quality product for Typing Tests that work in a course management system (or LMS as they refer to it) like Moodle…so nothing to declare!
That said, thanks to all the free online typing tutors out there, as well!

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