A few days ago, I posted a response, on another list, to some thoughts about kids learning to type, and when and how that occurs. I have re-posted my comments and some additional thoughts here:

(Read the rest of "Don't Forget to Wear Your Gloves" here.) Sunday, February 13, 2005 at 8:25 AM

Last weekend , my keyboard went berserk . It began to type letters that I had not intended. Obviously, it was a real malfunction . I bought a new keyboard but the computer continued to malfunction. My computer is not new, but fortunately or not, is running windows XP.

So today , as I was reading the previous posts about typing abilities and your students, I got to thinking about how such abilities will persevere into the future. Many of you, already have students in your classes who text message using but one hand, without being able to "see" the keyboard . Not only are they "touch" typing in the dark but the keyboard they use, also has a limited number of keys. Basically they use a telephone keypad limited to only twelve keys and variations of those keys. Other kids in your classes have learned to use a variety of other types of keyboards. Some may use keyboards intended for gaming with directional switches, firing buttons and reset keys, others still may use keyboards many more keys than the regular typewriter, intended for musical use or other types of media. I recently took a class in videography and learned to use the keypad to perform film functions like edit, mix, and cut.

Most likely many of your kids are much more advanced in their abilities to use a variety of keyboards than you and I are. They grew up on such stuff. I suspect that most of you in this class cannot duplicate this ability since we all learned to use a keyboard in a different way. In fact, when I was growing up, we used a telephone dial that required us to turn a knob to the correct number to make a call. Now I find myself truly struggling to learn to use the telephone touchpad as my text keyboard. It seems a greater struggle to learn to do this now than when I originally learned to turn that knob many years ago. Today I find myself frustrated by not having a full typewriter keyboard with which to message you with.

So, as I sat here and glared at the blank screen, I suddenly recalled that Windows XP comes packaged with a speech-to-text program meant for those who are impaired in such ways that they cannot use the keyboard. So with the click of my mouse, and the use of my trusty microphone, I was suddenly empowered again with the ability to communicate in print.

Of course as soon as I started speech-to-text messaging, I began to have thoughts about the children of today and tomorrow and what kinds of keyboards they will have to learn to master in the future. There is already ample evidence to indicate that they will need proficiency in a great many more than you and I ever needed.

And not only will the keyboards be different but the resulting print from those
keyboards may be equally different. Even now the printed message in itself is
dramatically different from what "u n I r" used "2". "LMAO":)

The answer to the questions about typing-on-a-regular-keyboard abilities may be somewhat moot.

Now that I have managed to complete this message by speaking into a microphone, I am off to post to my audio blog for the day, by recording a message through my cellular telephone and then on to my blog. Who knows, I might even send a tele-photo that I took to express my emotions.

This has been a recorded message from elderbob. ------------------------------------------------------

Since then, I have been more aware of all the keyboard potentialities that exist both for kids, and for adults. This morning I came across the Hand Band. This unusual device set me thinking about how we are increasingly involving our bodies as part of the network which is "the computer". I wire my ears for sound by putting on a set of USB headphones. I wire my voice up to project my audible thoughts across the airwaves so that I can be heard by others in many places far removed from the normal range of my voice. And I use my fingers to make a digital contact on a keyboard that is translated via technology into some sort of readable format that can be seen by those far, far away. We are rapidly becoming the "bionic" person. Being able to use the Hand Band to enable the fingers to make digital music is but another application of existing technology being rerouted to perform yet another age old task.

I remember, years back, playing the "air" guitar or drums with a gusto that caused my mother great concern. She thought I had gone nuts. She could see me crashing about, writhing and spiraling and hammering and flailing as if possessed by some demon. I could hear a music in my head to which I was playing an accompaniment. She did not hear either that music nor what I was playing. Now, here are Hand Band gloves, allowing me now to play "air" guitar in such a way that others can hear my sounds via a small wireless battery powered amplifier attached to my belt. Not only can I now play the guitar, but I even have a backup band to accompany me. How long will it be before I see teenagers out in public, flaililng away in the supermarket or at the mall, listening to and playing along with themselves through a set of headphones so you and I won't be truly disturbed by screaching, wailing "something", that we didn't used to think was there.

I guess it wasn't enough that I used to get the "willies" when out in public, and spying some poor soul carrying on a conversation with an invisible "other" person. I thought it some cognitive malfunction or delusion or worse, perhaps communication with an hallucination. Now, not only do I understand that they were simply talking remotely on their cell phones, but I even find myself wearing one of those Blue-tooth wireless devices draped over my ear, that make me look abit like Dr. Spock from Startrek and puts me in the position of talking to those invisible people who are not there. In fact, I have noted recently that Skype is developing cellular software to allow me to communicate via the internet to a person who is not there, halfway around the world.

So, maybe today, I am just happy to have my keyboard back operating a maximum level. It feels really nice to have the tiny black keys respond to my touch in a manner I am familiar with. Or perhaps today it would do us great service to be more aware of how rapidly we humans are becoming a part of the roboticized world.

It seems that I used to be able to think my thoughts to myself, and on a good day, I might even get lucky enough to have an opportunity to discuass them with a real live human. Now I find myself using a set of technological tools to talk to myself and at the same time display those thoughts into a public medium, hopiing and wishing that someone will talk to me about these thoughts. Hoping and wishing that those thoughts make sense and that someone will understand enough to reply.

My wife thinks I am communicating with "imaginary" friends....that I have gone off the "deep-end".

You see, I blog... Maybe I blog to simply express myself. Or maybe my intention is to ascertain whether my cognitive status is appropriate or not. Or maybe, I am just "air" blogging cause I can.

You would tell me when my thoughts appear to have gone "over the edge", wouldn't you?

Or, maybe you'll just add me on your Bloglines OPML because it seems interesting reading....

Well, I'm off now to see if I can find a set a gloves that will allow me to type without a keyboard. And while I am out, I am going by the hardware store to see if I can also find a pair of gloves that will mechanicallly dig in my garden so I don't have to use my own arthritic fingers to pull weeds and dig holes to plant Gladiolas....and then after that, I may look for some gloves that will help me with the dishes.

This has been a recorded announcement from elderbob. 8:36 AM