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I want to learn typing. Properly.

copa

copa

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 8, 2013
80
0
Hi everybody.
I recently got my first mac, a 13 inch MBA which I love.
With it, the desire to learn to type properly has resurged. At the moment I type with about 5 or 6 fingers. I want to finally learn it properly. do you know any good tools, apps, websites to help me?

there are about a thousand options out there and a lot of them are probably worth looking at but I don't have the time or desire to sort through everything to find the really good ones.

So maybe anybody here has experience with apps or website of the like and can give me some tips?

Regards, copa
 
I don't one to recommend, but, I would start with a real keyboard that has a much better feel than any laptop keyboard. I can't imagine how people learn to touch-type today using typical laptop keyboards.

Anyone want to recommend an external USB keyboard with a great feel?
 
jnpy!$4g3cwk said:
I don't one to recommend, but, I would start with a real keyboard that has a much better feel than any laptop keyboard. I can't imagine how people learn to touch-type today using typical laptop keyboards.

Anyone want to recommend an external USB keyboard with a great feel?
Click to expand...
Which keyboard is comfortable is a matter of personal preference. For me, the Apple Wireless Keyboard is the best keyboard I've ever used. Some like it, some don't.
 
Copa,

My 10 year old son has been using Typist for about a month and his speed has already doubled. Prior to this he was using some Windows package at school that did nothing for his speed or accuracy.

Typist is simple and free, but seems to work really well.

I agree as well that a good keyboard is critical. My son uses an old keyboard from a 2000 iMac that I picked for a $1 and it works great. Even has USB 1.1 ports on it!

I use this Macally keyboard and like it a lot.

I would not try to learn how to type on a laptop keyboard, it is a road to disaster.
 
Nope, they swapped it out with Intro to Robotics.

They swapped out Latin for Chinese too.

Kids should learn how to touch type before they get to high school anyhow. Much of the secondary school coursework requires typing on computers, so they shouldn't be fumbling with their fingers when they should be focused on learning.

The local library might have some typing programs that can be checked out although the easiest thing is to find a downloadable application as mentioned above.
 
bakechad said:
Copa,

My 10 year old son has been using Typist for about a month and his speed has already doubled. Prior to this he was using some Windows package at school that did nothing for his speed or accuracy.

Typist is simple and free, but seems to work really well.

I agree as well that a good keyboard is critical. My son uses an old keyboard from a 2000 iMac that I picked for a $1 and it works great. Even has USB 1.1 ports on it!

I use this Macally keyboard and like it a lot.

I would not try to learn how to type on a laptop keyboard, it is a road to disaster.
Click to expand...

why not on a laptop? too shallow?
 
copa said:
why not on a laptop? too shallow?
Click to expand...

Too shallow and too tight. While you are learning, you are building muscles and memory. It's better to let your fingers and mind "breathe" and flow across the keys.

After learning on a regular keyboard, your speed and accuracy will transfer to a laptop with little loss, but I don't think it works well the other direction.

It is also great to use a keyboard rest while learning. It helps keep your hands in the proper position without becoming fatiguing.

I type 50-60 wpm on a normal keyboard and about the same speed on a laptop with slightly more typos due to the tightness of the keys.
 
bakechad said:
Too shallow and too tight. While you are learning, you are building muscles and memory.
Click to expand...
It would seem to me that if you're building muscle memory, it would make sense to learn typing on the type of keyboard you'll be using most often. If you learn touch typing, it transfers to different keyboards. I have a friend who types 100+ WPM, whether on a Toshiba notebook keyboard, Apple Wireless Keyboard, or pretty much any keyboard, even though initial learning was on a standard typewriter.
 
mpantone said:
Nope, they swapped it out with Intro to Robotics.

They swapped out Latin for Chinese too.

Kids should learn how to touch type before they get to high school anyhow. Much of the secondary school coursework requires typing on computers, so they shouldn't be fumbling with their fingers when they should be focused on learning.

The local library might have some typing programs that can be checked out although the easiest thing is to find a downloadable application as mentioned above.
Click to expand...

Lol if anybody thinks there is anything significant to learn in high school besides the basic tools.
 
GGJstudios said:
It would seem to me that if you're building muscle memory, it would make sense to learn typing on the type of keyboard you'll be using most often. If you learn touch typing, it transfers to different keyboards. I have a friend who types 100+ WPM, whether on a Toshiba notebook keyboard, Apple Wireless Keyboard, or pretty much any keyboard, even though initial learning was on a standard typewriter.
Click to expand...

DANGER (about to show extreme age)

I originally learned how to type on a Commodore 64 which is a horrible keyboard to type on. I then found it hard to type on a normal keyboard, but very easy on a manual typewriter. People who learned on 8-bit Atari computers still can't type today! So there will always be good and bad transitions.

I also went to college with a guy that was a cold war military typist in the U.S. Army. He could type faster than you follow his fingers on any type of typewriter, keyboard, calculator, keypunch, etc. So you can take learning to any level.

I agree with the learn on what you are going to mostly use will work well, but there are a great deal of differences among laptop keyboards so I kind of fall back on a standard keyboard being a real good generic keyboard to learn on.
 
bakechad said:
DANGER (about to show extreme age)
Click to expand...
Seriously? What, you're like, 32? :D I learned on one of these.

stack.jpg
 
Why type when you can dictate? I've cobbled my way over the years to a "focused" typing speed of over 70 wpm which is more than adequate for most everyday tasks. But when I have to write a lot, I prefer to dictate. The words flow a lot faster than typing, and it's far less exhausting.

6032917_orig.png


IMHO, instead of chasing raw typing speed, I recommend investing time to learn features of your favorite software (eg Microsoft Word or Scrivener) and keyboard shortcuts for editing (such as Option + arrow keys to move word by word through text.) That kind of muscle memory makes the writing process both efficient and enjoyable.
 
We'll unless you want to type 120 wpm like the poster above suggests, I would recommend just practicing. As you type more, slowly start looking at they keyboard, and over time you will get used to where they keys are, and before you know it you will be touch typing.
 
My high school used a typing program called "typing time" if I remembered correctly to help students learn to type properly.
 
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