Well after over ten years of using a computer I have started to learn how to touch type I recieved a copy of KAZ for my birthday, can't believe i am thirty four, and I have a few quite days to practice before work kicks in again, so when and how did you learn how to touch type? And how long did it take to become proficient at it?
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Learning to Touch Type
- Thread starter Jason_Bryan
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i kind of learnt by accident!
i have found that just by typing so much i can do it without thinking about it! infact it mainly happened when i found i had rsi and so got one of those split keyboards (which really do help!!) and that really helped - it helps to keep your hands in the right places!
i have found that just by typing so much i can do it without thinking about it! infact it mainly happened when i found i had rsi and so got one of those split keyboards (which really do help!!) and that really helped - it helps to keep your hands in the right places!
I don't touch type... I do more of an improvised two-finger hunt-and-peck that sometimes involves a few more fingers, but I can get up to 60 WPM consistently.
This was the result of working at Microsoft for over ten years... you type enough stuff, and eventually you build up what I believe is called "nerve memory": you think of typing a particular word, and your nerves "remember" what sequence of muscular actions to perform to generate the desired word. After a while, even complex things like my passwords just flow out without me even really having to think about them.
This was the result of working at Microsoft for over ten years... you type enough stuff, and eventually you build up what I believe is called "nerve memory": you think of typing a particular word, and your nerves "remember" what sequence of muscular actions to perform to generate the desired word. After a while, even complex things like my passwords just flow out without me even really having to think about them.
When I was young I failed at least 3 or 4 typing classes because I thought they were boring and I didn't see the point.... Then later I slowly became a computer geek (started playing games, chatting, making webpages, etc), and without even realizing it I just... learned to type. I can now type over 90wpm with very good accuracy... Though to do so requires a little bit of focus, and my average typing speed is probably only around 70wpm
I can touch type on certain Keyboards. My powerbook for instance i can type without looking and rarely make mistakes, Windows keyboards i can do the same like i am right now, however full size apple keyboards i always make errors on. I took a couple of classes in middle school and high school using the aa, ss, dd, ff, jj, kk, ll, ;; home row junk.I also used the orange cover that fit over the keyboard to conceal the keys, I was able to meet the required 40 wpm but i eventually went back to the hybrid home row two finger typing method.
I've never taken a formal class on typing... um, class of AIM? 
Are there free/relativey cheap apps/programs that are good for teaching? I wouldn't mind improving my typing, especially because it seems to have gotten worse since I stopped chatting a few years ago.
Are there free/relativey cheap apps/programs that are good for teaching? I wouldn't mind improving my typing, especially because it seems to have gotten worse since I stopped chatting a few years ago.
I learned to type by just using my computer - chatting, email, etc.
I re-learned how to type in dvorak about 1.5 years ago, it took less than a month to go from touch typing qwerty to touch typing dvorak, and I didn't use any programs, just through normal usage and the os x keyboard viewer.
I re-learned how to type in dvorak about 1.5 years ago, it took less than a month to go from touch typing qwerty to touch typing dvorak, and I didn't use any programs, just through normal usage and the os x keyboard viewer.
devilot said:I've never taken a formal class on typing... um, class of AIM?
Are there free/relativey cheap apps/programs that are good for teaching? I wouldn't mind improving my typing, especially because it seems to have gotten worse since I stopped chatting a few years ago.
TenThumbs is good and cheapish.
I learned during my final month of school when we had nothing else to do. Despite 'typing' only being taught to the girls who were expecting to be PAs rather than anything else, I learned the basic finger positions then.
I promptly forgot most of it until I got my own computer although I kept my fingers in position and checked the keyboard a lot (rather than the screen) when I was writing my thesis. When I got onto IRC a year or so later, I learned to type without looking at the keyboard since it was impossible to follow a conversation with 10 other people without looking at the screen all the time.
I promptly forgot most of it until I got my own computer although I kept my fingers in position and checked the keyboard a lot (rather than the screen) when I was writing my thesis. When I got onto IRC a year or so later, I learned to type without looking at the keyboard since it was impossible to follow a conversation with 10 other people without looking at the screen all the time.
My mum used to be a secretary, and she lent me a really old school DOS based touch typing program about 10 years ago from which I learnt the basic hand position and location of the keys.
The rest has come from sheer practice - I spend most of my working day writing reports etc, and I have just naturally got faster and more efficient over time.
I have the exact same experience - on my Windows laptop at work, I can fly through the typing with minimal errors, but at home on my Apple Pro keyboard, it feels like I have club hands and I make constant mistakes.
I have always put this down to the resistance of the keys - the Apple Keyboard is much 'stiffer' than the laptop, but I have no idea whether this is right or not.
The rest has come from sheer practice - I spend most of my working day writing reports etc, and I have just naturally got faster and more efficient over time.
iDM said:
I have the exact same experience - on my Windows laptop at work, I can fly through the typing with minimal errors, but at home on my Apple Pro keyboard, it feels like I have club hands and I make constant mistakes.
I have always put this down to the resistance of the keys - the Apple Keyboard is much 'stiffer' than the laptop, but I have no idea whether this is right or not.
i just kind of learned it, the best thing is that i can be typing something and talking to someone else about a totally different story and keep both the typing and the talking different
its like i have two brains ^___^
its like i have two brains ^___^
Just through typing and typing and typing. Now 16 and through many ICT lessons and homeworks, and MR posting, got to the 'touch typing' stage, although I had been fairly quick at the 'two fingered with a couple extra at some point' style.
::20ROGERSC::
::20ROGERSC::
MMM, I am a lot slower touch typing than my usual two finger approach but still pretty impressed with how fast I am picking it up. I can now type about ten words a minute with out mistakes! The KAZ software is really good, from nothing to ten words in under an hour.
Took it high school, one of the very few classes I actually attended. I'm fast. If I practice a bit, I can get to 78 wpm.
I became proficient at typing just by using the computer way too much. i've never had any formal training.
For me it just kind of happened, one day I just noticed it happening. Between school reports / unix shell programming / Dragonrealms (man anyone else play/played that MUD? I used to be soo addicted ), it just developed over time until I was just flying. Except for that damn '&' key, I don't know why but I always mess it up, I always have to remind myself, 7, for the love of god just hit the 7. It's like my brain refuses to remember it.
), it just developed over time until I was just flying. Except for that damn '&' key, I don't know why but I always mess it up, I always have to remind myself, 7, for the love of god just hit the 7. It's like my brain refuses to remember it.
I use to type like Clay J, until last year when I took a keyboarding class in school. With my old method I could type around 60 WPM, and I think I'm slower now. The only advantage is that I don't need to look at my fingers.
I learned it ten or twelve years ago in school. Blind typing oh man I tell you I had a couple of sleepless nights back then. I'm actually pretty happy that I learned it back then. It always comes in handy for the day to day tasks. ...or at least when I post here @ MR...
My parents bought me a typing teacher keyboard with a LCD display when I was fairly small, and I started learning on that. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing was available for our TI-99/4A and the later Commodore 128. I had most of the finger positions down by the time I got into an actual typing class in high school. I achieved a pretty consistent 30 WPM and kept that pace until I graduated.
In college, I was introduced to IRC, and my typing speed got much quicker with plenty of practice. I have leveled out around 70-75 WPM corrected. There are many online typing skills sites that utilize java applets to lead you through drills and games and such that I'll occasionally use to brush up on my skills.
In college, I was introduced to IRC, and my typing speed got much quicker with plenty of practice. I have leveled out around 70-75 WPM corrected. There are many online typing skills sites that utilize java applets to lead you through drills and games and such that I'll occasionally use to brush up on my skills.
I learned completely out of necessity....I've had lots of long papers to write, so I just picked it up as being the fastest way to type...I don't usually use my pinky fingers, though, as they end up being more inaccurate than just moving my hand slightly to get my other fingers to the key.
I had to take "Computers" in 6th grade, which was basically typing, and a little bit of Print Shop Deluxe. Even though I had never typed using home row before, I had been using computers since 1988 (at three years old ) so I was decent enough at hunt-n-peck. Even though I sucked at home row (I ALWAYS looked at my hands), I was still the fastest in the class. The great part was, after we finished our work for the class, we got to play some games. Being a geek already, I always went for SimCity 2000. Near the end of the quarter, the teacher gave us a class to just play games, and by that time, I was far enough ahead to have two straight classes like that.
Enough of my geekery though. The way I learned to type quickly was to chat on IRC. (What was that I said about geekery? ). Eventually, your fingers know where to go for each letter. Much like the positions on the trombone (analog) or euphonium (4-bit digital )
) so I was decent enough at hunt-n-peck. Even though I sucked at home row (I ALWAYS looked at my hands), I was still the fastest in the class. The great part was, after we finished our work for the class, we got to play some games. Being a geek already, I always went for SimCity 2000. Near the end of the quarter, the teacher gave us a class to just play games, and by that time, I was far enough ahead to have two straight classes like that. Enough of my geekery though. The way I learned to type quickly was to chat on IRC. (What was that I said about geekery?
). Eventually, your fingers know where to go for each letter. Much like the positions on the trombone (analog) or euphonium (4-bit digital )