Tech-Savvy Youngsters Getting a New Type of Lesson

By Mary Ann Zehr

The increasing use of computers in schools is raising an instructional dilemma that educators find they can't shrug away: When and how should students learn to type?

As recently as 20 years ago, typing was usually thought of as a vocational skill and was offered only as an elective in high school. Now, many school districts are teaching all children to type--or "keyboard," as it's often called these days--in elementary school.

Technology standards published last year by the International Society for Technology in Education call for students to use keyboards "efficiently and effectively" by the...