Re: ABC vs. QWERTY

Hi Joe,

This question is best suited for a child behaviorist not for the people that 
use "PC's a LOT".  They would be the experts on how your little one will 
best learn the keys on a keyoard and how traumatic it will be to switch at 
some point.  Given that. And given that I am not a child behaviorist.  I 
would vote to get other fun toys to learn the ABC's and use a standard 
keyboard.  Kid's don't know their ABC's until someone teaches them so 
that means either keyboard is a beginning for them.  They are presented 
with standard keyboards in Pre-Kinder garden these days.  It would seem 
to me you would be making it confusing and difficult to make the 
transition.  There are lots of toys to learn the alphabet.  Get some variety 
in his life.  While to you the keyboard is the staple of your life to him he 
should grow up knowing there is more than a keyboard in the world.  :-)

Gary Kuznitz

On 8 Jul 2006 at 14:09, Joe (Joe Pluta <pctech@xxxxxxxxxxxx>) commented about 
[PCTECH] ABC vs. QWERTY:

This is barely on-topic, but I wanted to get the input from people who use
PCs a LOT, and this is the place those folks hang out <g>.  I?m considering
getting a large-key keyboard for my son.  He?s 2 ½ and already loves the
computer; he plays online toddler games all the time.  However, those games 
are
pretty much ?hit any key? games.  So now I want to start moving him towards
using actual keys.  The large-key keyboards tend to come in two varieties:
QWERTY and ABC layout.  The ABC layout puts the keys in alphabetical order
starting on the top left, and just wrapping along the keyboard.



My wife worries that learning to type on the ABC keyboard might confuse him
later when he needs to switch to a normal-key QWERTY layout.  I can see her
point, but I tend to think that matters less for a hunt-n-peck 2-to-4 year 
old. 
It seems it would be much harder to move from one layout to another once 
you?ve
become a touch typist.  I don?t even like those ?ergonomic? split keyboards, 
and
the keys are the same.  (Heck, I have a real problem using someone else?s 5250
emulation session when they HAVE THE DARNED ENTER KEY IN THE WRONG PLACE.)



Sorry.  But hey, that even made it iSeries related!  <chuckle>



Anyway, I am leaning towards the ABC layout so it will be easier for him
now, but am I setting him up for frustration later when he needs to switch
to a QWERTY keyboard?



Joe





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