Russian Keyboards

[Patricia Chaput]

I, too, have been reluctant to enter this discussion, but the longer it 
has gone on, the more it has reminded me of past debates about the 
teaching of foreign languages.  So many certainties--audiolingualism, 
direct method, grammar-less communicative method, target-language only, 
etc.  Supporters of different theories so often tried to make students 
conform to "methods," rather than taking advantage of the fact that 
students learn in many different ways (and will learn best if they are 
not denied the use of their strengths).  No language "method" has proven 
itself to be the ultimate answer, and there is certainly no answer today 
for tomorrow's keyboarding needs.

Technology is a tool, and to deny to students the choice of what is 
efficient and effective for their own purposes sounds no more advisable 
than insisting that they all write with the same (right) hand. As the 
postings show, different paths have been successful for different 
individuals.

Students constantly confuse the process with the outcome ("If I do all 
of these exercises, will I get an A?").  Let's not do the same.  Tell 
students what you want them to be able to do with their keyboarding, 
give them the choices and your opinion, and let them choose.  The 
ultimate measure should be in what they can do, not how they go about 
keyboarding it.

Patricia Chaput
Harvard University


On 3/1/11 1:06 PM, Beyer, Tom wrote:
> I have been reluctant to enter the discussion ...
> As we try to facilitate learning, I recommend we
> give them choices, not dictates.
>
> �� ���� � ���� ��������� ���!
>
> Tom Beyer
> Middlebury College
>
>

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