Get a FREE fully-working copy of Steganos Security Suite 7 (worth £49.99) when you sign up to the Practical PC Newsletter. Review: Kaz Keyboard A-Z Typing Tutor
If typing is not your strong point then take a look at Kaz Keyboard A-Z Typing Tutor. Review by Kai Chandler.
| Product | Kaz Keyboard A-Z Typing Tutor |
|---|---|
| Company | Gotham New Media |
| Web | www.kaz.co.uk |
| Price | £24.99 |
| We like | British diction. Guardian Angel to prevent RSI and fatigue |
| We don't like | Lacks graphs of your progress with time |
| Rating | 9/10 |
| Requirements |
The keyboard still rules
Until the keyboard is replaced by voice recognition or some other technology, your typing speed will determine how quickly you can use word processing and other applications on your personal computer.
As generations of secretaries will tell you, touch typing is much faster than "hunt and peck" where you have to search for each key. Enter Kaz Keyboard A-Z Typing Tutor which promises to teach you how to touch type in just 90 minutes.
Kaz comes on a single CD-ROM and is easy to install. It comprises two programs: Kaz Guardian Angel and Kaz Typing Tutor.
The typing tutor lets you log in by name so it can remember what you did on a previous session. It comprises five sections.
Flying Start: this is a series of short audiovisual clips to show you around the program and most importantly, how to adopt the correct posture.
The Basics: this is a 90 minute lesson to teach you where the 26 alpha keys are located and which fingers to use. Kaz's approach is to use simple key sequences such as "if mike jived" and "rude dunce" followed by a test. If you do well, you are rewarded with cheers and claps. Kaz tells you which letters you missed so you can practice them further. You can click on a picture of the keyboard at any time for guidance on which finger to use for a particular key.
Just do it: this provides more practice on the alpha keys
And the rest: to learn the shift, number and punctuation keys
Kaz Speedbuilder: this gives a variety of phrases to type as quickly and accurately as you can. After each phrase you are told your speed in words per minute and your accuracy. After the exercise you are told your overall speed and accuracy.
The program is introduced by a cheerful character called Kaz. He's not too annoying and is suitable for children as well as grownups although he might be a bit frivolous for an open plan office. Narration is in crystal clear Queen's English so should be easy to follow.
Although the program appears to be aimed at the British market, the practice texts include dollar rather than pound signs or perhaps I was unlucky in the texts that I saw. It would have been interesting to see a graph of how your speed and accuracy improves with time. The exercises do not take account of your particular weaknesses but seem to be selected at random from a bank appropriate to a particular skill level.
Can it teach you to touch type in 90 minutes? Well, probably not but it should give you some of the basics in that time. After that, it's just practice! It's still one of the best keyboard skills programs that I've seen.
Another program on the CD-ROM is Kaz Guardian Angel. This lurks in the background and provides regular reminders to take a rest, stretch your wrists, or to do some other exercise to prevent Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) which is the curse of typists everywhere. You can modify the settings, for example, to set how frequently the reminders should appear.
Verdict
To sum up, Kaz Keyboard A-Z Typing Tutor provides an excellent tool for learning to touch type and is suitable for all ages. The Guardian Angel is also useful for preventing RSI. It is reasonably priced at £24.99 including post and packing.
