Scotland’s education secretary has been asked if all pupils could be sent on a course to learn touch typing.
Fergus Ewing MSP said today that it was “one of the most useful things” he had ever learned.
Mr Ewing said pupils given tablets and other devices in schools should be taught to touch type, because he hated to see youngsters “typing away with two fingers” on mobile devices.
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Speaking at a meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee, where education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville was giving evidence, Mr Ewing said that he welcomed the Scottish government’s policy of giving a tablet computer to every pupil in Scotland. He insisted, however, that to make the most of the devices, pupils needed to be able to type properly.
He said: “I wonder if the cabinet secretary agrees with me that one skill which it would be extremely useful to enable children to acquire would be the appropriate use of touch typing using a ‘qwerty’ keyboard on a laptop or tablet.”
Learning touch typing ‘would benefit pupils’
Mr Ewing, an SNP MSP, said he believed all children should be taught to touch type.
“It is one of the most useful things I have ever learned in terms of skills in life. When I see children typing away at a mobile phone with two fingers, I think, ‘This is not great,’ because it doesn’t equip you for the many walks of life where the ability to type effectively and quickly is an extraordinary benefit.”
The Scottish government earlier this year promised that every pupil would be provided with a tablet computer.
Ms Somerville said: “The member raises an important point about the use of technology and how it’s not simply about having a device, but about the use of that technology.
“The experiences and outcomes [of the policy] includes the use of technology as well. It may not go as far as Mr Ewing wishes on touch typing in particular, but I hope I’ve given him some reassurance.”
