MMSD Elementary Keyboarding - School Planning Guide

Identify:

Keyboarding Contact

the person in charge of coordinating the scheduling, AlphaSmarts, resources, etc. in your building

Keyboarding Team Members

this will generally involve grade 4 and 5 teachers as well as the REACH technology teacher

AlphaSmart Rotation Schedule for your Building

to know when keyboarding instruction will need to be scheduled

Coordination of Resources

UltraKey should be installed on your server

UltraKey CD and keyboarding videos should be in a central storage location with checkout method (teachers have the right to install UltraKey on their home machine)

AlphaSmart Tubs need a process to be cleaned & organized before moving on

Determine how your school will address the following:

District Guideline	Responsible Staff	Timeline	Method
Grade 3 (Introduction): All third grade students receive an introduction to pre-keyboarding skills.
Grade 4 (Instruction): All fourth grade students receive keyboarding instruction for 20 - 30 minutes a day over a six-week period using one of three methods: Keyboarding Video Series with AlphaSmart Keyboards and PAWS texts AlphaSmart Keyboards and PAWS texts using teacher-directed instruction Computer workstations with UltraKey or PAWS text and a word processor
Grade 5 (Review and Reinforcement): All fifth grade students receive keyboarding review (i.e. a 4 - 6 week period at 20 min. a day, or 10 min. a week all year, etc.) and reinforcement through the elementary curriculum in grade 5. This instruction can be delivered in one of three methods listed under Grade 4.
Assessment: UltraKey Skill Level 9 is the assessment tool to determine a student's level of keyboarding proficiency for the elementary report card.

Consider the following purchases for your school:

AlphaSmart 3000 Keyboards

UltraKey Home Bonus Program
As users of the school version of UltraKey, Bytes of Learning offers you home use editions for sale through your school. The products is offered at attractive prices but even better, Bytes of Learning grants a portion of the total sale to your school to help purchase additional technology. This "Take It Home Bonus" enables students and their families to take our software home while the school receives a bonus grant for sales achieved.

UltraKey is made available in a jewel case edition through this licensing program. These are Hybrid CD-ROMs for Windows 95/98/NT, Windows 3.1 and Macintosh and include a reproducible manual on the CD-ROM. The software can be sold through your school on the following basis:

Bytes of Learning provides sales literature with a suggested cover letter to send home.

Willing parents order the software by providing a check or money order payable to Bytes of Learning.

A summary report and checks are sent to Bytes of Learning.

Allowing time for checks to clear, the order is sent to the school in about 3 weeks.

A grant check is sent to the school.

Schools may offer the software many times.

A minimum of 6 units must be ordered each time.

Bytes of Learning warrants against any defects in the media at time of delivery.

If you would like a Take It Home Bonus Kit mailed to you with promotional flyers, please contact Bytes of Learning at 1-800-465-6428 or by email at custservice@bytesoflearning.com.

UltraKey v3.0 (Hybrid CD-ROM in Jewel Case) is $19.95, with a $5.00 grant to the school.

Keyboarding Support:

MMSD Teaching and Learning provides a variety of support for the Elementary Keyboarding Program. Please contact Mark Lea or 663-1925) to arrange for assistance or to provide information.

Keyboarding Home Page

Language Arts | Technology & Learning | Teaching and Learning | MMSD

Updated: August 14, 2007 11:21 AM
Editor & Publisher: Paula Srite, psrite@madison.k12.wi.us
Webmaster