Typing Pal Junior Reviewer's Comments

With its kid-friendly screen design, wide range of typing proficiency drills and rock-bottom price, you simply can't go wrong with Typing Pal Junior by DE Marque.

Although it didn't have as many features as our #1 and #2 picks and wasn't quite as easy to use, Typing Pal Junior is a fun, icon-based typing program with clever characters that will keep your child's interest as they learn to type. In fact, this typing software is so entertaining that we found it hard to quit.

Ease of Use:  

Children will enjoy the casual atmosphere of Typing Pal Junior. Since we reviewed a download demo version, some parts of the program were locked. Based on the access we had, we feel the rest of the program should be just as easy to use.

In the practice and drills sections, Typing Pal Junior shows icons adjacent to a list of drills—there are no instructions that say you must double-click these to activate the drill. Computer novices may click once and wonder why nothing happens.

Feature Set:  

Typing Pal Junior was one of few typing programs that offered typing dictation practice. We feel that typing by ear is a vital part of typing education, and so were pleased to find vocal sound files included. Typing Pal Junior also offers 10-key lessons, another important part of typing education, which is often overlooked.

This typing software offers a variety of courses to suit any child's needs: beginner, intermediate and performance (advanced) courses, a numeric courses, an accelerated course and several course customization choices.

We reviewed two typing lessons, two drills and a typing game. We were pleased with all the features in these parts of the typing software. After we finished, we checked out the informative typing stats page, where your can view progress based on specific criteria (such as typing accuracy and speed for the left hand). Typing speed and accuracy for each exercise also appears in a popup following each drill.

Ease of Installation:  

We had no trouble installing Typing Pal Junior.

Help/Support:  

Typing Pal Junior includes a contents and index search that's adequate, but could be more informative. The manufacturer, DE Marque, has a customer service email address, but no phone number and no FAQ page.

Summary:  

DE Marque recommends Typing Pal Junior for children ages 7 to 14. Children in this age range will find navigating easy after the first few times through. The activities in Typing Pal Junior will keep kids interested and you simply can't beat the price.