Keyboards

• Just because a keyboard came with your computer, doesn’t mean that it is the best model for your students to use.  Keyboards are usually very cheap, so it’s often useful to try out a few different models to find what best suits your students. For classrooms, I like a simple and novel solution, like a keyboard with only basic keys that plugs into a computer. 

• Everything else (extra keys, wireless bits) can cause problems, which means I need to keep walking over to the computer to get things back to normal. 
  

• More importantly, you should be thinking about is ergonomics.  It’s all a bit obvious, but sometimes we forget about it, especially if we use laptops or UMPCs.  Even with laptops, you should either use the laptop keyboard and have a separate screen, or use the easier option, the laptop screen on an elevated stand and a separate keyboard on the desk.  Its pretty impossible to have good laptop ergonomics without this type of setup.

• (As a side note, remember not to start touch-typing with your students until they are at least ten years of age. Research has shown such repetitive and unnatural movements for younger students can affect their physical development.)

• Size:  are the keys big enough, or too big for your students?  Younger students will always benefit from a smaller profile keyboard.

• Visuals: are the letters on the keys easy to read and see during the day and early afternoon?  Large white letters on black keys creates a good high contract effect.  Small grey letters on a black background are not as effective.  For younger students, you could also stick letters onto the keys that replicate the handwriting style you are teaching in class. 

• Ergonomics: is the keyboard raised at a slight angle, or can the keyboard be raised with extra feet?  If you are using the keyboard on a laptop or UMPC/EeePC, can the keyboard be raised at a slight angle?

• Kinaesthetic feedback: can students feel the keys ‘click’ when pressed, providing a form of kinaesthetic feedback that can assist with confident typing. Some very slick and expensive keyboards don't have this, and they can be very strange to use.

• Audio feedback: do the keys make a sound when pressed, or would you prefer to have a silent keyboard so you can’t hear typing?

• Extra buttons: does the keyboard have extra buttons that you can program to perform specific functions?  Will your students use these for their benefit, or will they become a problem with students pressing them by mistake and shutting the computer down or other unwanted activity?

• Cable length: is the cable able to reach to a lower desk, another student at the computer table or to a higher shelf for a teacher to temporarily type without bending over?

• Wireless: do you need a wireless keyboard?  How are you going to manage weekly battery replacements or charging?  How will you ensure the keyboard doesn’t get lost, stolen, or accidentally stepped on?

• Bluetooth: do you need a Bluetooth keyboard?  Will other students ‘hijack’ the keyboard with a laptop another Bluetooth device?  How will you manage re-pairing the devices and battery changes?

• Cleaning: realistically, what’s going to drop into your keyboard?  How strict are you about no food/drink rules near the computer?  Do you make sure students have clean hands before they use the computer?  Can the keys be cleaned easily using a wet cloth, or is there no way to clean the actual keyboard recess?   What are you going to do when the keys become sticky or dirty?  How will you ensure your computer keyboard is part of a clean and safe learning environment? Is your keyboard, as one of the few devices in the room that EVERYONE touches, going to be responsible for the spreading of some biological based influenza that’s going to get you on the news?

• Durability: Are the keys easy to remove and rearrange (always a fun discovery for you to make).

• Waterproofing: Is the keyboard waterproof?  Do you want it to be waterproof?  Can you use a silicone keyboard protector instead?

• A great idea is to have a few keyboards per computer.  For example, if students are using your laptop, plug in an extra keyboard so they don’t have to touch your keys.  Also, if students are playing an educational game that requires them to hit certain keys again and again, always use an extra keyboard so you don’t wear out your laptop.

• You can also get some very cheap roll-up keyboards made of silicone, that students will just love.  Most of the time, you won’t have students typing above 40 words per minute, so these cheap keyboards will be great.  They can also be washed in warm soapy water at any time, so have a few spares around if your keyboards are looking a bit filthy. 

• If you are going to use the computer and you are a fast typist, you will need to switch back to a regular keyboard as the silicon models will not be responsive and accurate enough for fast typing.  Luckily, most computers are happy with you unplugging keyboards while they are on and can easily deal with the change-over.  Because keyboards don’t use a lot of electricity, you can easily plug them into hubs, so your don’t have to access the back of the computer constantly.  A hub can also keep a few keyboards plugged in constantly, so if a student prefers smaller keys, they can just pull that keyboard down from a shelf.

• A great innovation is to have wireless numeric keyboards attached to computers that perform repetitive functions, like business managers/registrars or library staff using numeric codes for data entry.   Even if your desk is covered with books and paperwork, a small wireless numeric keyboard can sit on top of everything, or move around like a calculator and provide input for your computer.  You could even secure it to the wall or hang it from a chain from the ceiling, so its always available to input data or play, stop or change the volume of media files (it costs a lot less than a specialized wall-mounted computer/media controller).

• Some schools may even have specialist software applications that could use this instead of a regular keyboard and mouse set.  For example, some canteens require student cards and input for payment, some library photocopiers are linked to computers for payment.  Or it could be used in a school foyer for parents to access school information through a kiosk, with only the keypad and monitor visible to operate the entire kiosk system.

• Of course you can get keyboards that can give much more functionality to your cell phones and PDAs.  A simple BlueTooth keyboard can be used to write or edit a document on a cell phone.  Although some students can use their thumbs to do all sorts of tricks, it's probably a better idea to have a few QWERTY keyboards available for students, reducing the risk of repetitive strain injury.

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• Keyboards