Android learn-to-type app for kids

January 30, 2022 1:34 PM

Our eight-year-old has expressed an interest in learning how to type. He has an Android tablet and a bluetooth keyboard. Is there a fun game that will help him learn to type?

His school does teach kids computers and he's pretty handy with his tablet but he's never had a need to touch type. I remember when I was a kid loving the race car game in Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing—your typing speed would affect how fast your car went, with mistakes causing you to crash. Something like that would be good, but I'm open to anything that adds a bit of fun.

The tablet is fairly locked down and he can't access the web so I'd like something that is a standalone app. I am willing to pay a little bit for quality (and to avoid ads).

posted by synecdoche to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Not an app, but Nitro Type is a great web-based typing game.
posted by gnutron at 5:15 PM on January 30, 2022

Another one for Nitro Type: my now-12 year old has been playing it for years and he's a better typist than I am now.
posted by oceanmorning at 5:19 PM on January 30, 2022

This is for full keyboards and not movie devices, but for those interested I recommend https://www.typingclub.com/ because it's free. The main thing about learning to type is to practice WITHOUT LOOKING DOWN TO THE KEYBOARD. Any good typing software will display a keyboard on the screen with transparent hands so you can practice without looking down. This is the absolute key to learning to touch type.
posted by AlSweigart at 8:30 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]