Typing Instructor for Kids Platinum 5

I had read in some of the other reviews that this product might not work on the Mac. We have several computers in the house - both Windows and the Mac - but wanted to put this one on the Mac for the kids. And I couldn't find a better one for the Mac so I bought this one. We installed it on both (Windows7 and the Mini Mac) and it works seamlessly on both. We are working with two six-year olds and they like it very much. Don't get me wrong - it is work for them and they quickly get bored but then they happily go back to it the next day and learn a little more each time. At this young age, small doses seem best and we figure that over time they will become good typists. And as they get further along, I hope that there are more games than drills and that would spur them on.If there was one little feature I found aggravating it was getting started - you click on buttons (like Go) and then it seemed to get no where until we finally figured out that we had to click on the island itself and that resolved it (and I'm a programmer!). For me that was not intuitive but I think the kids get it better than I do.A little history: In the mid 1950s I learned to type when my dad brought home an old typewriter and a book on typing. My typing skills carried me through all my life (I was amazed in college that none of the men could type and therefore couldn't log onto the mainframes fast enough to type their passwords so I was grateful for my typing skills). In the mid 1980s I bought one of the first DOS computers available for my little girl and a DOS typing tutor that was mostly games. She loved it and her typing skills served her well through college and engineering school and now as a professional woman. Now we are trying to teach her children to type. But the big question is will typing be needed in the world they will face?? Hard to tell but they will be prepared!

Well, I wish I had read further into the reviews when I bought this program. Overall it is a (moderately) entertaining program for the kids. Much better, of course, than many of the online forums that simply leave you with a list of letters and keys to dictate back to the computer. Many games online don't have any real pattern or teaching process. The major downfall of this program (and it might not matter to everyone) is that the program just keeps going. There is no easy way to review a section that the kid is struggling with. The only option for renewal is to start at the beginning or wait until that "key" or set of keys comes back up in the program. In the meantime this leaves the kiddos hunting and pecking. Apparently, many other reviewers felt the same way I do. I just didn't read all the reviews before buying - I give the program 3.5 to 4 stars (still on the fence as it's only been a few cumulative hours that the children have used this learning game). I deducted the rest of the star because the package came MUTILATED in the mail. It arrived in a padded envelope. Apparently, not the best way to ship a cardboard box. Thus, not suitable for a gift, if you hope to resell or pass off, or if you tend to store the CDs in their original packaging.

We homeschool and wanted a program that would be easy for the kids to use and not too boring. They love this program. It has different difficulty levels to choose from and makes the whole process of learning typing very interactive. It's nice to have a program that doesn't give us a bunch of pop-up ads. It was very easy to setup and get the kids going on.

This is supposed to be the Platinum version but the dial inside was the Gold version.The program introduces letters for typing 4 at a time. Is easier for young learners to begin with 2 at a time but this is not an option. It only sends them through the lesson once and if they don’t select repeat immediately there is no way to repeat it without creating a new student user.The games are interactive and good for practice but you can’t get back to lessons once starting a game unless you finish the game or close out the program. Small things that are not terrible but could have been better thought through.A review said this would work for Mac but once it arrived the required systems clearly notes it is for Windows systems only. I have both so I was able to work it out but not what I wanted.This gets one start because it is not the version that it was supposed to be and because the introduction to characters is too many for young learners. Meaning in order to teach well, I had to use a different program that introduced 2 characters at a time and once the set of 4 was learned I could go back to this. Otherwise it is frustrating for students.

Compré este programa para que mi sobrina de 11 años aprendiera a escribir en comptuadora pero la adaptación del programa al idioma español es pésima. Tanto los diálogos como los ejercicios están muy mal adaptados y la distribución del teclado no se puede cambiar a español.Además, si retrocedes en las lecciones, no puedes volver a la lección avanzada a la que ya habías llegado.Mi sobrina se frustó con el programa y lo dejó de usar por lo mismo que el programa no la dejaba avanzar en ciertas partes.

The program worked for the first two lessons then had big issues with lesson 3 which even with online support from the seller. I returned it and was given a full refund by the seller. Amazon is first class with refunds.