Contents...
Effective touch-typing training solutions for schools.
Type&Test are the UK’s leading specialists in online touch-typing training for schools – for both students and teachers.
Our courseware and typing assessments are the only ones to have been used over the past 10 years by UK Awarding Bodies to prepare candidates for nationally accredited qualifications.
In 2005, I set up the company when I moved from being a two-finger typist to a touch typist. I learned to touch type because I had begun to realise that I was spending more and more time at my computer and that I needed to maximise that time. I thought that if secretaries could learn to touch type back in the old days, why couldn’t I?
I must have saved myself literally thousands of hours since then. I can honestly say that it is one of the most useful skills I have ever learned. And that is what drove me to set up Type&Test.
Now my objective is to spread the word about how profitable, efficient and liberating learning to touch type can be and give people of all ages the chance to learn to touch type as easily and quickly as possible, like I did.
Andy Stevenson
Managing Director
“I can honestly say that it is one of the most useful skills I have ever learned.”
Why should students (and teachers) learn to touch type?
Did you know that a student who learns to touch type will usually be able to type at least 40 words per minute, which is twice the speed of handwriting?
A recent survey conducted by the Chartered Institute for IT found that, on average, secondary school students are using a computer for around 3 hours every school day. Imagine the increase in their output if they could double their typing speed!
In this computer driven age, the ability to type quickly and accurately is an invaluable skill that, once learned, lasts a lifetime. Look at the benefits for both students and teachers:-
Students:-
- Students make more productive use of the computer
- They are able to concentrate effortlessly on the content, not on the chore of typing it out
- They will complete assignments more quickly and on time
- Fast, accurate typing skills frees up more productive and creative learning time
- Students' work is always legible and therefore easier to mark
- Effortless typing helps develop spelling and grammar.
Teachers:-
- You’ll save around one hour a day, or more depending on how long you spend at your computer. Think of what you could do with 5 additional hours per week!
- Touch typing is better for posture and avoids repetitive strain injuries.
- It reduces stress associated with heavy workload and pressing deadlines.
It won't be long before many exams will be computer based, which will mean that fast and accurate typing skills will become essential. So why not make this the year that you equip your students with the skills that will give them and your school an advantage?
“By learning to touch type, a student will be able to type at least 40 words per minute, which is twice handwriting speed.”
Our Courseware
Our courseware is delivered online via the web, so there is no software to install. Students and teachers have access to it 24/7 – at home, in school or on any computer that has a broadband connection.
Typequick for Students is our popular program for children. It includes a cartoon story about ‘Kewala’, who embarks on a journey in which he meets quirky characters and learns to type along the way. There are around 60 hours of content – more than any other online program – which will keep your students engaged and entertained whilst they first learn the correct touch-typing finger positions before going on to develop their speed and accuracy.
Typequick Professional is our program designed for older children and adults. It lacks the cartoon images of the Students’ program, but uses the same proven teaching methodology that has successfully trained millions of people to type world-wide for over 30 years.
Included with every courseware program is the Typequick Administration System. Through this, a teacher or administrator can enrol students onto the course and track the progress of every individual or group.
Each learner will have access to detailed statistics about their progress in their own personal course log. Every lesson is scored in terms of speed and accuracy, down to every individual key if required. The course uses artificial intelligence to provide tailored lessons so that students can practise more on their weaker keys.
You can see a sample lesson from both courses by clicking on the ‘Try’ panels on our web site home page at www.typeandtest.com
“Our programmes have successfully trained millions of people to type world-wide for over 30 years.”
“My pupils really enjoy the course, I have never had girls begging to be allowed to get on with Touch Typing before!”
Anne Thornton, St Mary’s School, Calne
Skill Evaluator
Skill Evaluator is the quick and easy way to assess typing skills. It can be used to assess skills before, during and after completion of the courseware, to provide clear evidence of improvement.
Through the administration system, you can set students an assessment whenever you wish, and adjust the duration at between 2 and 10 minutes. The result, expressed in terms of speed and accuracy, will appear on screen immediately the assessment has concluded, so there is no marking involved.
Meanwhile the Administration System automatically gathers all the results for later analysis. You can even see an exact replica of the passage your student has typed, with any errors highlighted.
Skill Evaluator will also generate a Certificate of Achievement for every student who has taken an assessment, and the certificate can be customised to reflect your school’s name and logo. You can organise competitions and challenges and easily identify a winner.
For more information about this and our other products, complete our online enquiry form.
“Skill Evaluator provides clear evidence of improvement.”
The ‘Type-Net’ annual licence scheme
The Type-Net annual licence is a cost effective way to provide courseware (and Skill Evaluator assessments if required) to large numbers of school students.
Priced from just £195 (ex VAT) for a licence for 150 students, your school will be able to provide the courseware to the whole school role or for selected classes and year groups. There are discounts available for two or three-year licence terms.
Every Type-Net licence comes with the Administration System, so that you have full control over student enrolments, and can monitor the progress of every student who has undertaken the course, wherever they may use it.
At the end of each year term you will be invited to renew the licence. If you do, then we will top up your subscriptions, enabling you to enrol new students or extend access to the course for existing ones.
For prices and further information, email us at enquiries@typeandtest.com
“It’s the cost effective way to provide the courseware to large numbers of school students.”
‘Pay-by-User’ Licence
The Pay-by-User (PBU) scheme is the easy and flexible way to provide courseware and assessments to smaller numbers of students.
The PBU scheme is not an annual licence. Each student requires a ‘subscription’ or licence to allow them to access the course for up to a year. You simply purchase a quantity of subscriptions as you go. Once you have allocated them all you can order some more.
You will always have access to the complete Administration System, for student enrolment, monitoring and tracking. You can add Skill Evaluator as an optional extra if you wish.
Prices are £10 (ex VAT) per student subscription if you purchase less than 10 in one go. Buy more than 10, and the price reduces to just £7 (ex VAT) per head.
You can place an order for a PBU licence using our online order form which calculates the price for you before you hit ‘submit’.
“It’s the flexible way to provide the courseware to smaller numbers of students.”
‘Practise at Home’ Scheme
If your school can’t access a budget for touch-typing training, then the ‘Practise at Home’ scheme could be for you. Not only will it cost your school nothing – it will generate valuable income which the school can spend however it wishes.
Not only that, we’ll do all the administration for you!
All you would need to do is to send a communication to parents (we’ll provide a draft that you can tailor), preferably via email, that invites them to order the courseware from us directly through our web site using their credit card. They will be able to order via a page not visible on our public web site, so that they can get a discount of 25% on the normal retail price of the course.
For every order we receive, we will pay the school £5. Payment will be made in one lump sum three months after you have sent parents the invitation to purchase.
Students can then access the course for one year, using it at home and in school or anywhere they can access the Internet. The school can monitor students’ progress if they wish to do so, using the Administration System.
Through this scheme, the average donations made so far to participating schools amount to around £200.
For more information, click here.
“The ‘Practise at Home’ scheme will cost the school nothing – and in fact will generate income for your school.”
“It’s a great scheme, and what a bonus to get some cash back!”
John Carver, ICT Teacher, Cothill House School.
‘Type Faster, Work Smarter’ – a unique course for teachers with guaranteed results.
If you are like most teachers, you are spending significant amounts of your day at the computer keyboard. By learning to touch type, you are likely to save or gain an hour a day or more, enabling you to blaze through your workload.
Furthermore, touch typing is the healthy way to type. By keeping your head up and eyes on the screen, you will reduce the likelihood of repetitive strain injury to the neck, upper back and wrists and your speed will equip you to meet tight deadlines, thus reducing stress.
‘Type Faster, Work Smarter’ starts with an initial assessment of your typing skills, which takes around 5 minutes and which you can do at your desk at a time that suits you. There follows an online induction session with your personal tutor who will agree your training plan, duration and objectives.
Your tutor will be available to you via phone, email or skype for feedback and guidance throughout your course, which may take anything from 6 to 13 weeks, depending on how regularly you are able to practice. Normally, you should only need to find between 15 and 30 minutes at most per day most days a week during your course.
The course will finish with a final assessment and a certificate of completion, whilst for schools putting forward several of its staff, a Return on Investment Report will be provided, detailing how many hours will be gained (and how much money will be saved) as a result of the course.
For more information, email enquiries@typeandtest.com.
“By learning to touch type, you are likely to save, or gain, one hour a day or more”
‘Total Typequick’ – the complete managed solution.
If you don’t have the time or resources to implement and administer touch-typing training for your pupils, but would really love them to be given the opportunity to learn to touch type, then ‘Total Typequick’ is for you!
‘Total Typequick’ is a managed programme which provides your school with the most effective high quality online typing training resources, delivering remarkable results and all without drawing upon scarce teaching time and resources.
With ‘Total Typequick’, the only thing the school will need to do is to send us a list of pupils’ names and nominate a teacher or administrator as our main contact for the service.
Otherwise, we do everything for you, such as:-
- All pupils are enrolled on the courseware - at the outset and ongoing
- Each pupil is provided with simple log-in and user instructions
- Ongoing support for pupils via email, with response within 24 hours
- Pre and post course assessments set up remotely, with full result reporting back to the school
- Printable Certificates of Achievement, personalised for each pupil and customised with the school’s name and identity
- Ongoing monitoring of pupils’ progress, with monthly reports sent to the nominated teacher or administrator
- Access to all your pupils’ progress data, online, whenever you want it
- In-school typing competitions set up and managed remotely.
For prices and further information, please email enquiries@typeandtest.com or call us on 01768 342821
With ‘Total Typequick’, all you will need to do is send us a list of pupils’ names.
Registered Number: 5465212.
WWW: www.typeandtest.com
Email: sales@typeandtest.com
Tel: 01768 342821
