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Ergonomic keyboards ensure safe and comfortable computer use by
providing additional supports to prevent repetitive muscular injuries.
Although most are made for adult-sized hands, some features may
be considered at any age. They may be particularly useful to students
needing keyboards with physical adjustment capabilities.
Examples
Vertical Split Keyboard (SafeType,
Inc.)
 Vertical
keyboards take the standard keyboard's hand sections and place them
upright. This "hand-shake" position is considered the
neutral posture for forearms and hands. This split-keyboard is designed
laterally into vertically arranged cooperative keypad halves. This
allows the student to sit with the keyboard directly on her lap
or on any surface. (PC)
Bat Keyboard (Infogrip,
Inc.)
 Chording
keyboards are smaller and have fewer keys, typically one for each
finger and possibly the thumbs. Letters, numbers, commands and macros
are simple key combinations, also known as "chords." Instead
of the usual sequential, one-at-a-time key presses, chording requires
simultaneous key presses to type each character, similar to playing
a musical chord on a piano.
The BAT keyboard is available for one and two-handed users. It
includes an efficient chording system for typing. Keyboard units
and configurations include both left and right hand options. (Mac,
PC)
Kinesis Keyboard (Kinesis
Corporation)
 This
contoured keyboard fits the human hand by setting the keys in two
concave "bowls" on either side of the keyboard. Minimal
finger movement is required. Arms and hands are fully supported,
so touch-typing is necessary. (Mac, PC)
DataHand Keyboard (DataHand
Systems)
 With
the DataHand keyboard, each hand has its own "pod". Each
of the four fingers has five switches each: forward, back, left,
right, and down. The thumbs have a number of switches. You never
have to move your hand to use the keyboard. A finger-mouse is also
built-in.
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