Researchers call for more typing education in schools

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Researchers are calling for more typing classes in early childhood education, after finding year 2 students in Perth, produced longer and higher-quality texts when handwriting.

Transcript

00:00 As part of a larger group of researchers, we've conducted this research here in Perth,

00:07 looking at how year 2s were able to produce text, short stories, using one modality and

00:13 the other, writing using a computer and writing using paper and pencil.

00:18 Overall we found that children wrote longer and higher quality text, that is text with

00:28 more cohesive, larger vocabulary and greater awareness of the reader etc. using paper and

00:38 pencil than when compared to using a computer.

00:41 So were you surprised by the results then Annabelle?

00:44 You'd think that kids would be more used to typing than writing by hand.

00:48 So we think that obviously because we live in the digital world, isn't it, and we assume

00:53 that children will be more able to write using computers but that's actually, it seems not

01:01 to be the case.

01:04 Obviously we want to emphasise that it is important for children to continue on and

01:08 learning to write using paper and pencil because of the advantages of using paper and pencil

01:16 for cognition, for memory etc.

01:18 So it is important to actually develop ways in which kids are able to produce text in

01:26 both modalities, that is to become hybrid writers per se.

01:30 So we, and not only obviously here in Australia but we found also looking at other educational

01:39 contexts that we are potentially facing a change in the digital way that we communicate

01:47 and that is what we are seeing in terms of using digital devices that potentially children

01:53 are not being introduced to develop devices in the early age and obviously that has contributions

02:00 to the way they are able to compose text in both modalities.

02:03 So as you say then Annabelle, keyboards and typing are now part of life, aren't they?

02:08 Do kids then need to be taught how to type?

02:11 Is it a skill that needs to be learnt properly or is it something that they'll just pick

02:15 up?

02:16 So what we know, obviously there are many questions around the development of both skills

02:24 but in terms of research we know that it will be, it is important for children to develop

02:30 their keyboarding skills and so that is an emphasis that we want obviously to take here

02:39 and to make the case that again we need to find ways into working with schools and parents

02:47 to promote development of both skills and that is the big message of our research per

02:56 se.

02:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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