I don’t know about kids these days but I was first introduced to computers and typing in the fourth grade. Typing is a basic skill that is needed these days whether at home, school, or work. What I find extremely frustrating is watching my old man use two fingers to type while staring intently at the keyboard for those long e-mails. It seems like hours pass just to write a few paragraphs.
Well, if you are one of these folks or if you know somebody that types via the “two finger” method, I have come across the perfect tool to help you improve. Unlike most options, this one is free and entertaining. Z-Type, a free browser-based game, encourages you to type quickly as waves of ships head towards you. Each enemy ship will have a word on it which you need to correctly type in order to destroy it. The game keeps you on your toes as some motherships actually spawn new enemies while some enemy ships will shoot out a barrage of missile letters your way. Never thought I would say this, but typing is actually fun with Z-Type!
This is a pretty cool “game”, very good for those that can’t type fast.
The thing about learning something through a game is that the focus in your mind shifts slightly. Here, you are focusing on beating the clock and watching the ships explode rather than getting your fingers on the right key. It reminds me of the idea behind the “Inner Game of Tennis”: you trust your ability to do or learn something and not focus on “learning”. Your brain is way ahead of your “intentional learning” anyways. That’s also the principle behind our language learning experiment gamesforlanguage. I think the new wave of (educational) games that have come on the market is definitely giving us new chances to learn things in a fun and effective way. I love this typing game!