Computers Archives - Eva Varga


April 4, 2019

I have vivid memories of sitting in front of an electric typewriter in a room with 36 of my peers typing as rapidly as we could, “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy moon.” The clack clack clackety hum of the keys would inevitably cause me to develop a mild headache by the end of the class.

I remember asking my parents for a typewriter for Christmas. My parents didn’t see the value of a computer at the time but agreed. As a college student, I would be expected to write many papers and a typewriter would be a tremendous help.

Image of two teens using the Typesy Homeschool Typing program

By the time I chose to homeschool my own children, the presence of a computer and keyboard was common place. It seems they have grown up typing – composing short essays and writing emails to Grandma and Papa. Though they are familiar with the key placement, they have not had formal typing lessons since primary school.

Both teens are now dual-enrolled at the local community college and like myself, they are expected to write a significant number of essays and research papers. When my son claimed he could type faster than me, I took him on. While he is in fact faster, his accuracy is less impressive. I knew it was time to dedicate time to improving our typing skills.

Our family received access to the Typesy Homeschool Program in exchange for our honest review, and I was compensated for my time writing the review. All opinions are our honest thoughts and we have been using the program during our school time. Please see our disclosure policy

What I Love About Typesy Homeschool Typing Program

Cloud-based Program

I love that Typesy is an online program – everything is stored in the cloud and thereby we can log in from anywhere and automatically stay in sync. You do not have to download anything. We can begin training on our desktop at home and continue with lessons when we travel. Students have access to the same account, results, and course content no matter where they are physically located.

Individual Instruction

Typesy can also be used by multiple children – each at their own level. The lessons are adapted for each child; adapting to their individual needs. If a student is struggling with particular letter sequences, these will be repeated. The level of difficulty within the games will also adjust based on student progress.

image of a teen boy practicing typing skills with Typesy Homeschool Typing programThere are over 375 lessons broken into units that focus on specific areas of the keyboard (home row, top row, bottom row, shift keys, punctuations, numbers, and symbols) and many games.

With this program, students have the option to take the typing courses to learn proper fingering and key placement or play games to increase speed and accuracy. The games keep it interesting while the progressively challenging lessons ensure skills are taught correctly.

screen schot of Typesy Homeschool Typing Program

Each of the study units includes a step-by-step video , effective exercises, and fun games. Proper hand positioning is demonstrated and the keyboard strokes are explained – for visual learners, this is huge! I haven’t seen another program that provides this.

Goal Setting

While my teens are independent learners, I still find that I need to check in occasionally and encourage them to stay focused (particularly my son).  I love that I can schedule or assign lessons and keep track of their progress. I can even set word per minute goals and accuracy goals for each child.

Progress Reports

With Typesy Homeschool Edition’s admin accounts, parents can easily see student progress and print reports. Individual students can also see their own progress on their account pages. The stats page shows students several graphs: Typing Competency, Typing Speed, and Typing Accuracy.

screen shot of Typesy Homeschool Typing ProgramThe student dashboard also gives students their current typing speed and accuracy levels, thirty day progress, and their current level. There is even a “Hall of Fame” that lists the top fifty Typesy Homeschool Edition students based on points. If your child is like my son and thrives on competition, this is really great.

Well-Organized and Teen Friendly

I am grateful to have Typesy available for my teens. The lessons are very well organized and thorough – focusing on teaching accurate skills. This is a huge help for us homeschool moms who juggle so much. It is nice to know this skill is covered.

My daughter appreciates that the program is clean and that there are no cutesy graphics to distract from the material. “It’s not babyish and boring like most typing games,” she stated.

Typesy Package Details 

It only takes a few minutes to get started with Typesy. They have several different plans from small family (up to four users), large family (up to ten users), or even co-op! Each subscription also includes accounts for two or three parent-teacher admins.

Perhaps best of all, the entire site is 100% ad free and the subscription package is good for FIVE YEARS! 

I definitely recommend Typesy Homeschool if you are looking for a typing program. Visit Typesy to get started with the best keyboarding program today!  I plan to continue using it myself, also. Maybe I can even surpass my high school PR.

 

 



February 28, 2015

I was provided an opportunity to preview this product in advance to give an honest review of these products and services. All opinions expressed are true and completely our own. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.

piper4

I can not express how excited I am to discover Piper! It is an amazing little hacker toolbox based on a Raspberry Pi that shows you how to build electronics by playing Minecraft.

I have been wanting to purchase a Raspberry Pi for a long time but just haven’t found the right way to grasp my kids’ attention. Until now!

My kids LOVE Minecraft!! Especially my son who, if permitted, will spend his entire day building elaborate cities and mini-games for his own server.

Over the past few years, I have shared with him a variety of tutorials and computer programming programs to encourage him to take his love for the game farther. Nothing has really stuck until we tried Piper earlier this week.

piper3Learn With Piper

The creators behind Piper have created a system that will empower children to build electronics, gadgets and sensors – including a responsive flashlight, an ambient light detector and a sound and light keyboard – all by playing Minecraft.

Play Minecraft. Build Electronics. 

They have been able to modify Minecraft on the Raspberry Pi to detect whether circuits are built correctly, and have structured the software to guide students through the basics until they reach more complex levels. Kids will enjoy playing Minecraft in a new way and parents will love the simplicity!

To see Piper in action, watch this tutorial on Vimeo.

“We created Piper to bring back the tinkering and building that inspired so many generations of inventors and creators throughout history. We want to give kids a way to start their journey into making and engineering, and we want it to be fun.” ~ Mark Pavlyukovskyy

piper2

My kids and I had so much fun playing with Piper that we didn’t want to leave. The Minecraft interface captivated their attention – allowing them the freedom to be creative – all the while teaching them how to add different electrical components.

Both of the kids wanted to tinker with the gadgets and they each remarked on the cool lazer cut “hacker toolbox” that houses the Raspberry Pi and other components. Lazer etchings were subtle and the box can be personalized to further express a child’s creativity.

As we walked out the door, my son exclaimed, “That was awesome! Piper is so fun!”

Piper is planning to launch its hacker toolbox early next week. Sign up today to find out how you can get Piper at a discounted rate of $149!

You can also enter to win your own personalized Piper kit. As a special perk your name will be printed on the front of the box!

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