Timberdoodle Typing Instructor for Kids Review

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Windows System Requirements:  Pentium® 133 PC or Higher • Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, XP, ME, 2000, or 98 • 50 MB RAM available • 580 MB Hard Drive space (full install) • Double speed CD-ROM Drive • 800 x 600 16 Bit or higher display • 16-bit Sound Card • Speakers or Headphones • Mouse •
Recommended: Internet Connection • Required for Typing Games: DirectX® 8 – compatible video card

Kid’s Version System Requirements:  Pentium® class PC or higher • Microsoft® Windows® Vista, XP or 2000 • 480 MB Hard Disk Space Available • 128 MB RAM • CD-ROM Drive • 800 x 600, 16-Bit Color Display • Sound Card • Speakers or Headphones • Mouse • DirectX®8 Compatible Video

Now onto the fun stuff.  When I was in school I took the computer classes from Grade 9 through to Grade 13 and I wished we had better typing classes while in the younger grades.  I come from a very wide computer background so I was not stranger to using computers and typing but I did see others around me struggle and I felt terrible for them.  Now with this software I know my kids will have a good headstart on their typing knowledge.  Typing Instructor for Kids has 13 multi-level games, graduated drills and lesson plans, hundreds of activities, exercises and tests and can be made to be in both English and Spanish.

Chase and Blake both took the time to test out the typing software and they really enjoyed playing it, they started with the basics teaching them hand positioning and the simple keys, then they got into the adventure accompanied by a talking parrot which they seemed to really respond to.  I liked that they could have fun and I could see where/if they struggled to ensure I was helping them learn as much as I possibly could.

Taken right from Timberdoodle: Using proven typing techniques, children will master the keyboard while journeying with Toby and Lafitte to five imaginative lands where they learn proper typing techniques and build keyboarding skills. Just choose a Typing Plan, set a word-per-minute goal, and as your child explores Typer Island he will learn typing along the way. The engaging lessons and exercises teach children important typing skills, including speed and accuracy. If your children find your old typing program boring, and if you are looking for the right balance of education, entertainment, and motivation in a typing program, then consider the award-winning Typing Instructor for Kids 4.0.

This latest version of the interactive fiction typing game, Typing Instructor for Kids 4.0, offers thirteen action-packed, multi-level games; graduated drills and lesson plans; hundreds of activities, exercises, and tests; and bilingual learning in English and Spanish.

Lee and I both have laptops and the boys are each getting one for Christmas so we have only had the chance to use this on our laptops but i am sure that it is just as beneficial to them to use this on our laptops as it would be on a desktop, although my laptop has a full sized keyboard and so will the boys.  This will be the first thing installed on the new computers so that the boys can continue their typing practice, I am very happy we got this chance to do this review and know that we will use it for years to come.

As you can see in the system requirements it also comes in a version for Mac that costs $16.00, for PC in a Deluxe Version 17 for $9.95 or the Typing Instructor for Kids for $8.00.

(Disclosure: We were provided with this program, free of charge, by Timberdoodle, in association with MamaBuzz.)

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