Typing skills for students can be a real time saver when the workload increases later in life. There are many different online programs to help students learn or practice their keyboarding skills. I have listed them in order from most basic to more advanced.
– takes kids very slowly through the home row and use of different fingers for different keys (great for absolute beginners)
BBC Dance Mat Typing
– a bit younger in presentation but they do a good job of progressing the kids through the different keystrokes
– begin at level 1 to do the home row keys then progress through to level 4 for punctuation etc…
Typing Web (Thanks to Noella at Kingswood for suggesting this one)
– each student has an account, without having to use an email; teachers can also have a class account
– begins with the home row and progresses through rest of the keys
Power Typing
– good for those who need a refresher on their keyboarding skills
– does not go through the home row in depth as it assumes the kids have this understanding
Keybr
– assumes kids already have typing ability and is more for practice once they know their home row etc…
– gives wpm for those who are motivated by how fast they can type
Typing Chef
– for those kids who already know the home row
– takes a bit of time to load but is fun
These sites could be an option for early finishers (esp. if you have a classroom computer) or as a warm-up before working on a project in the computer lab.