WEEK 1 Touch Typing for Kids: An Essential 21st Century Skill S tudents are now engaging with the world through their keyboards more than ever before, recording notes, completing homework assignments, and even taking standardized tests. For today’s kids, learning to type from an early age should be alongside learning to write, read, and perform arithmetic. What Is Touch Typing? In contrast with normal typing, touch typing is simply pressing the keys without looking at them. If you can keep your eyes on the screen without looking down, you can touch type. This method is more efficient, less tiring, and comes with some surprising cognitive benefits, as we’ll see below. Touch typing has a noticeable effect on the brain, psychologists say. “The single most important thing is if you can type without looking down… If you can do that, what’s happening in your brain changes,” says Sue Westwood, a child psychologist. “Muscle memory is a physical skill—so once it’s trained, it