Hey guys, I've decided I'm done with one finger typing and constantly looking down at the keyboard so I'm looking to learn to type better. I'm assuming touch typing is the preferred method of typing fast and efficiently? Are there any other types of typing? Assuming touch typing is the way to go I have the following questions: 1) Any software recommendations, either free or commercial is fine? 2) Any tips or pointers you can share from your own experiences? 3) Any rough estimates on how long it would take to be reasonably proficient based on personal experience or otherwise? Any help would be most appreciated! Renoir
Unless you have a pressing need to learn how to type then I'd say practice is the best way mate - that's how I learnt, and can usually put out 50-or-so words per minute now. If you're looking for good typing software though, I'd say to try The Typing of the Dead. Awesome stuff.
Buy a Microsoft Natural Keyboard - it'll keep your hand apart. I learnt the basics with Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing on Win 3.1 if you want some old school action, but there must be tons of teaching software out there - you only really need to learn the basics and practice. Basically just type type type - in office we must crack out some 50-100k words a week between us, so you get to know the keyboard religiously.
just keeping typing, there is no true way to learn other than time praticing. what dose help is to use the same keyboard until you crack touch typing, what i mean by this is same brand/model number. this helps you get familier to the keyboard easier. oh and another tip, dont make fists with only your index fingers stuck out this limits your learning. let your fingers rest on as many keys as possible.
See how the J & F keys have a mark you can feel without looking? Learning which fingers should hit which keys will get you off to a better start than just finding your own way. Amazon have older Mavis Beacons pretty cheap. I've a 1991 version on floppy but I doubt it will run in Vista.
I got a job where I had to talk to a customer and type and listen to them at the same time. did that for about a year and now I can have a converstation with someone while typing and not even looking at the computer keyboard or the screen. practice makes perfect, dont expect to learn it overnight.
I had a program we used in computer lit back in middle school where they taught us to type properly. We started with being able to see the keyboard and eventually had to cover it with a cloth to type. If you do this with any good typing program you can learn how to touch type pretty well, I don't need to look at the keyboard anymore and probably have a 70 words per minute average. My mother who teaches computer lit at the middle school level does the same thing with her sixth grade(first year) students, gets them typing and eventually forces them to not be able to see the keyboard, and it works pretty well.
You could buy a Razer Lycosa and try to use it in a bright room, then you'll be forced to touch-type as you cant read the backlit keys! On a more serious note, I think it just takes experience and practice. I can type without looking at either the screen or keyboard, and I know when I make a mistake (which is quite a lot with my fat fingers). I had to use Mavis Beacon back in school and whilst is was a bit patronising at the time it did help me to get using all 8 fingers (plus thumbs). I think the best little bit of advice would be to line up your eight fingers on ASDF JKL; - make sure they stay there as you type and dont curl up your hands, even if you keep using your index fingers for a while you'll naturally start reaching to keys with the closest finger after some time.
I have a bizarre problem where I can touch type with 90% of the keys, but I occasionally have to look down to re-align my fingers on the keyboard. I found it quite helpful learning the lines of keys. Once you know that really well, the rest becomes easier. It also helps to have a huge amount of text that you need to type out - thereby forcing practice.
I learned by opening up a text editor and then just learning the hell out of hand movments. asdfasdf jkl;jkl; (home row... there was kind of a sing-song that went along which was great when I was six) aqua aza (aqua rather than aqa since q is always followed by u) sws sxs ded dcd frftfgfbfv jujyjhjnjm kik k,k lol l.l ;p; ;/; The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. (contains A-Z so if you're tying properly then it uses every finger) I don't really touch-type properly, I've always found that it's incredbly awkward to use my pinkys on anything but "a", quotes, and shift. I tend to just slide my hands all over the place as I go for other letters, but I've been doing it for so long that it's not a problem. I stlll type very quickly without looking at the keyboard but I'm sure that I'd be reprimanded by a typing instructor - I can't use the ergo keyboards even if I wanted to (and I don't, I think they're painful to use) because of the split because I cross it so often. If you can get into it, try to see if there are still any MUDs active. I'm sure they're around somewhere. It's all text based and can get fairly fast-paced, so you learn to type pretty quickly if you want to survive. Or just try to catch myself, Richard, and DougEdey up on posts (oh, bam, just went past cpemma )
Another vote here for Mavis Beacon teaches typing. I used it in grade school and it definitely helped me to learn where all the keys were. When you start learning to touch type, don't worry about speed at all. Focus on learning where the keys are and which is the proper finger to use for each key. The speed will come later with practice. I on a good day I can hit about 75 WPM with 99%-100% accuracy. Though in normal day to day typing I probably average about 60-65 WPM. When you're ready, take the time trials at typingtest.com just for fun, they can help you increase your speed as well.
Thanks a lot for the replies! I've just ordered a copy of Mavis Beacon v16 (only £12 & runs on Vista) and plan to set aside 15 minutes or so a day to practice in addition to my usual everyday typing. Even if it takes me till the end of the year to get fairly proficient I'll be very happy. Just did the test a couple of times and got an average of 30WPM with my 2 finger typing so plenty of room for improvement Great tips and anecdotes guys, keep em coming
http://hollowgame.com/ is where I usually play. I had no access to a computer for a few months, so when I finally got back on, I played this for ages and got back up to speed. There's others, like Elinon and the like, but I like Hollow. I used that terrible program with the dancing key who beeped at exactly the wrong moment so you lost concentration. It was the most drab dull grey thing ever, and it was Ultra-something (I don't think UltraKey). As everyone else has said, practice makes perfect. Did anyone else have crazy teachers who did crazy things to make you touch-type? Mine went down to the woodshop and made a finger-cover out of wood, so you couldn't see your hands or the keyboard. The problem was that I had HUGE hands as a child (still do), so while other kids could type with no problem, my knuckles bounced. I got bloody, bruised knuckles from it, so I learned faster than any child there.
i learn touch typing by going on forums, the more i go on, the more i post, the better im at. and to prevent dust, i put a cover over my keyboard, this is also very good at allowing one to touch type. (i assume touch typing means not looking at the keyboard)
