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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer 5 Review

Editor’s Note: This product has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it has been discontinued.

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Our Verdict

Aesthetics notwithstanding, Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer presents sound typing instruction that matches the learning pace of your child.

For

  • Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer has an adaptive learning feature that will customize lessons and drills based on your child's skill levels and needs.

Against

  • The outdated graphics and lack of games may make this software tedious to some keyboarding students.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Beginners focus on the home-row keys and gradually progress to more advanced typing exercises.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Beginners focus on the home-row keys and gradually progress to more advanced typing exercises.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Color-coded fingers and keys correspond to show young typists which finger to use for which key.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Color-coded fingers and keys correspond to show young typists which finger to use for which key.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: From the software's main screen, you can access typing lessons, games and progress reports.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: From the software's main screen, you can access typing lessons, games and progress reports.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Practice makes perfect with the lessons in this typing for kids software.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Practice makes perfect with the lessons in this typing for kids software.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: The test scores sheet shows the performance, time, speed and accuracy of your child's work.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: The test scores sheet shows the performance, time, speed and accuracy of your child's work.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Working on the home-row alphabet keys helps develop essential skills. The software prompts learners to use one hand at a time to boost dexterity.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Working on the home-row alphabet keys helps develop essential skills. The software prompts learners to use one hand at a time to boost dexterity.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Practice tests will help your child see how he or she is progressing through the learning process.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: Practice tests will help your child see how he or she is progressing through the learning process.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: In addition to keyboarding skills, this software teaches kids how to write a letter correctly.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: In addition to keyboarding skills, this software teaches kids how to write a letter correctly.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: You get useful in-application help and information with this software.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: You get useful in-application help and information with this software.
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Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: The practice test scorecards tabulate and show your child how well they are progressing.

Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer image: The practice test scorecards tabulate and show your child how well they are progressing.

Editor’s Note: This product has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it has been discontinued. You can still read our original review below, but Top Ten Reviews is no longer updating this product’s information.

For 25 years, Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer has evolved into comprehensive typing software suitable for typists of all ages and skill levels. Although Ainsworth's age shows, its core curriculum is effective. Adaptive learning components make it an excellent option to consider when you search for the best keyboarding software for kids.

Many typing applications for kids contain a finite number of typing lessons that your child must pass before moving on to the next one. With Ainsworth, the software recognizes how your child is advancing and determines subsequent lessons and typing drills based on the child's progress. If your kid can zip through a sentence with home-row keys only, but his or her typing slows when presented with keys on other rows, the software will create drills that focus on those specific keys.

The typing techniques Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer teaches are effective and sound, but the software has a few drawbacks, which especially stand out in comparison to the other kids typing software. First, the application only saves progress when your child completes a lesson. If your child is working on a lesson and does not advance to the next key before exiting, the application will restart that lesson the next time he or she logs on. Your child might find this frustrating.

This typing software provides dozens of lessons that teach the proper keystrokes of touch-typing across the entire keyboard. The application supplements the lessons with typing exercises and timed typing tests to help kids cultivate both typing accuracy and speed. The software may have trouble holding young minds captive because Ainsworth includes only two typing games. To stay motivated and engaged, children typically need interactive instruction while they learn how to type.

This typing application does not offer easy-to-follow guide hands to illustrate proper finger positions on the keyboard. This would help children visualize where they need to place their hands and which fingers should strike which keys. The software also seems outdated compared to other more modern and graphic-rich applications on the market.

Although Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer lacks some important features, it is good kids typing software. The application helps children build typing accuracy and increase speed through customized lessons and typing drills. The adaptive learning approach is especially worthwhile since it gives your children the specific material they need to excel.