My Honest Review of TypeDojo

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I remember learning how to type while the teacher called out, ” A-S-D-F space space J-K-L semi.” Our children have it so much better than we did!

Not only do they not need the teacher chanting at them, but our kids can also learn to type well before high school!

You heard me, I didn’t learn to type until my junior year of high school because I am a child of the 90s and back then we handwrote everything because computers were a luxury. Today, my 13-year-old types faster with her thumbs on her phone than I did at her age on a computer.

But let’s get real … Learning to type properly is an important skill to have since EVERYTHING is on the computer.

Whether you homeschool or not, your children are going to need to know how to type.

My Honest Review of TypeDojo

As a homeschool evaluator, my families sometimes ask for my opinon on various resources. Sometimes I can give them a recommendation, and sometimes I tell them I’m still looking for a resource too. When TypeDojo offered me an opportunity to review their typing lessons & typing tests, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to learn about a resource that many of us are looking for.

With TypeDojo, you start with the English Typing Test for your child’s grade level if they have some experience, or you can start with the lessons. The more you practice the more accurate your child’s typing skills will be and the faster they will get.

What We Like About Type Dojo

• It’s always FREE! There isn’t even a paid option so no credit cards are needed.
• If you create an account and log in, you can track your personal progress on TypeDojo.
• On the flip side, you don’t need an account to be able to utilize the program. Sometimes it is nice to not have to track another username and password.
• My children like the program and are showing progress while improving their words per minute and accuracy. Touch typing is not intuitive to them even though they are growing up on computers so formalizing our lessons has been helpful.
• The lessons are short. It’s very easy to add in typing lessons a few times a week to our already busy homeschool schedule. By utilizing the games as well as the more formal lessons, my children are making progress without always seeing this as work.
• The lessons are targeted at elementary-age children. I’m not worried about what my children will see when they are on the site. I like that my 4th grader and my high schooler can both utilize Type Dojo in different ways to improve their touch typing skills.

A Few Things to Be Aware of Before Starting

• Each student has a login, but there is no way for a parent or teacher to track the progress of multiple students. We would prefer a single parent/teacher login with linked students
• When you take a typing speed test, there isn’t an opportunity to self-correct. If you realize you mistype, you can not backspace and correct your work. Other typing tests I have taken allow self-correction. Obviously, it will impact your words per minute and accuracy, and I’m ok with that. I just feel like you learn more if you can self-correct and it would definitely cut down on frustration with my students.
• It would be nice to have a clear “Getting Started” sequence right on the front page or upon creating your account. Something that walks you through a typing test and which lessons you should begin with. Although TypeDojo doesn’t have a getting started section it wasn’t difficult to figure out what the next steps were when we started using the program.
• Since this is a web-based program, and it is free, there will be ads on the site.

Do We Recommend TypeDojo?

If you are looking for a free typing program to incorporate into your homeschool, we recommend giving TypeDojo a try and seeing if it is a good fit for your students likes it was for mine.