Re: ABC vs. QWERTY

["Joe Pluta" <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: Gary Kuznitz
>
> This question is best suited for a child behaviorist not for the people
> that use "PC's a LOT".

<shudder>  I'm actually very uncomfortable with the current state of
behavioral science particularly when it comes to children; this is the group
of folks who gave us an entire generation of children on Ritalin and who
have pretty much turned any behavioral issue into a syndrome (God forbid it
should actually be a parenting problem).

That personal position aside, what I was really looking for was input from
people who use keyboards regularly as to whether or not they think switching
keyboards is difficult.  As I said, I have difficulty with the split
keyboard or with slightly modified 5250 layouts, so it may be that I'm
hyper-sensitive.  But it seems that lots of people think the QWERTY keyboard
is the way to go, so I'm thinking I may just go that way.  Plus, it's a USB
keyboard, which means I should be able to use both the BigKeys keyboard and
the regular keyboard, so that we can help Anthony out.


> 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.

I know it's hard to believe, but I didn't push the keyboard on him.  As an
infant I did stuffed animals; Anthony now has more stuffed animals than any
human being should have.  Then it was balls of all shapes and sizes, and in
the last six months we've started on trucks.  The keyboard thing I think
came from watching Daddy (many emails have gone out with Anthony's
imprimatur, especially in the early days before I realized he is as quick as
he is).  After having to stop him from making mayhem on my Word documents, I
finally decided to show him some online toddler games (Fisher-Price has some
great ones).

But it was at the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview where we saw the
BigKeys keyboards -- they were using them in kiosks for Reader Rabbit games,
and he loved them.  And when I looked into the keyboard for him, I saw the
ABC and QERTY models, and hence the question.

Joe