Students
Mario: My Typing Guru (A Personal Account of Mario Teaches Typing)
Here's Mario in Level 1. In addition to Mario, players can chose to be Luigi or Princess.
asdfg ;lkjh. Seem familiar? No, it’s not online cursing. Those are the home keys on a computer keyboard that, at one time, we either formally or informally learned. How did you learn how to type? Was it during visits to the computer lab back in middle school? Was is through having to keep up during AIM chatting in high school? Maybe it was just because your blasted teacher made you turn in typed book reports…so you struggled your way letter by letter until one day, before you knew it, your words per minutes were that of a veteran secretary? Whatever scenario you can relate to, you are now a pro.
Here’s my story. . .
Way back in whatever grade it was, my Dad spotted a Scholastic book order form on the dining room table. “Maybe it’s about time you learn how to type. Why don’t you pick software from here,” he said pointing to the form. I picked Mario Teaches Typing. Needless to say, my dad wanted me to pick Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. It was a classic. But, being my dad, he had to keep his word. I chose Mario, so Mario became my typing guru.
The Gist
In Mario Teaches Typing, players/students learn how to type (using all ten fingers!) at their own pace. Players must pass one level to move into the next, but have opportunities to return to previously passed levels for additional practice. A players advance, levels become more challenging. These levels include, in advancing order, individual letters, words, sentences, and eventually paragraphs. And, most impressively, Mario dissuades the cheater in us all! During many, if not all, according to my recollection, there are animated left and right hands that mimic the proper fingers. For instance, if you are asked to type a “y,” then the right hand’s index finger would light up.
Motivating?
Yes, for three reasons.
(1) Bonus points. Players are encouraged to look at the screen instead of always at their fingers. If the player pays attention to the screen, then there’s an opportunity to earn bonus points for hitting the correct letter. The bonus letter is displayed fleetingly. This motivates students to keep eyes on the screen and not glued to their hands. Memorization is rewarded.
(2) Praise from Mario himself. Mario congratulates players for each level passed. Additionally, a report card provides both positive and negative feedback (words per minutes, commonly mis-typed letters, etc.). The idea is that players strive for improved report cards with each session.
(3) Mario’s my friend. Mario’s everyone’s friend. He’s a familiar character to generations before and after me. We all want to make Mario proud. (Sorry, Mavis Beacon, but I don’t know you.)
Mario. Not only are you my typing guru, but my hero too.
Helpful Links
Review by SuperKids Software – http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/typing/2/mario2/merge.shtml
YouTube, 5-minutes of Mario at various levels! – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQbxoOxxNiE
December 4th, 2009 at 5:33 am
Excellent Game! I had no idea it existed. I personally owe my fantastic typing skills to Mavis Beacon. But I can see this game being more fun and seems to be suited to both young and adult audiences whereas Mavis Beacon is targeting more of an adult audience. Besides, who doesn’t like the friendly plumber?
December 4th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
This reminds me of my own favorite typing tutorial, Mavis Beacon. I have forgotten most of the games but one stands out in my mind — you were looking through a car windshield and typing words as they flew by. Every mistake caused a bug to hit the windshield, and eventually your entire view would be obscured and the round would be over.
All of the games were fun, and the program continuously increased the challenge, so that it never got boring.
The learning theories are clear. There was definitely an explicit goal, and the game definitely bolstered the learner’s self esteem. Challenge, curiosity, uncertain outcome, constant feedback, power and control are all motivating factors that came in to play.
December 5th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Software typing tutorials??? Heh heh, I learned how to type on an actual typewriter. The kind that you had to really punch down those often sticky keys, and your words per minute score was often held back by the fact that you had to hit the carriage return at the end of each line. I remember, back in 8th grade, that typing was the only class I actually hurried to get to. Why? Because there were two typewriters in our “lab” that had the new-fangled automatic carriage return feature, and if you got in to class first, it was yours for the whole period! Woo Hoo!
December 5th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Wow, I need to get this software for my husband. He is one of those people who types with his index fingers only. Because typing takes him so long, it usually takes him at least one month to reply to an email.
I never had typing class or used a motivational software to learn how to type. Maybe playing the piano gave me an advantage. Now that I can look at the screen more instead of the keys, I find writing is much easier and not so exhausting.
I guess it’s time to send Mario to rescue my husband.
December 5th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Thanks so much for posting this game idea. My son is such a Mario fan, and it would be a great way to teach him how to type as I am sure typed reports will be coming our way sometime really soon. It is always wonderful when a game designer thinks about a great way to incorporate a well-known game into a learning idea, especially for children. I think it fools them into learning new things without any effort.
December 7th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
This sounds like a great way to pull in some kids (and adults) who wouldn’t otherwise be interested in learning to type–everyone loves Mario, and he would definitely draw at least an additional try from anyone who is familiar with him. You said it…everyone wants Mario to be proud of them…because we know and love him.
December 7th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Mario was my typing guru too! My mom brought it home one day for my sister and me. We used to fight over it! It was addicting and so much fun! I think the most motivating part was that it was Mario, I couldn’t have said it any better than you Mario is my friend and I wanted his praise. The only problem with this game is I wanted to complete more levels quicker, and I figured out how to type faster using improper typing techniques and still use them today.
December 8th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I had no idea this software existed. I had a year-long typing class in the 6th grade where we had timed typing tests. To me, this is an example of the potential time and cost savings we can obtain by moving a instructor-led training course to an e-learning platform. Thanks for the post!
December 15th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I remember some MS_DOS-looking program in the junior high school computer lab that I learned to type on. Mavis Beacon tried to teach my dad how to type, but he still hunts and pecks (however this is a man that doesn’t know how to check his email either). Needless to say, maybe for Christmas Mario can give a stab at teaching him! If this was around when I was growing up, learning how to type would have been SO much more enjoyable!