Touch typing-can you do it?

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I loved typewriters

How to build up muscles in your FINGERS!

I hated leccy typewriters at first cos I'd end up with a page of ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Well I loved them as well, I just hated getting my fingers stuck between the keys

Ah yes, electric and electronic typewriters - they were great eh. From hammerheads, to golfballs, to daisy wheels

 

[cyberfairy]

You're trying to do too much too soon mate that's why

You have to get the brain used to where the keys are, without thinking about it. Unconscious competence or sommat. Then when your fingers know where to go, that's when you should start typing real words

I think

It's been a FUCKING long time since I was at school!

I'm trying that but as the free online thing I'm using tells you if you're too slow, panic and try and go too fast. I really would like a free online site that lets you learn at your own pace with no clock at the bottom but can't find one

 

[wtfftw]

pretty much. not in the official manner though I did do some tutorials once. Can't hold a conversation at the same time though and my typing speed has decreased in recent years.

 

[girasol]

I did a two (or maybe 3? can't remember) month course, using old fashioned type writers. I was unemployed at the time and it was one of those government funded schemes. Everyday we typed away for 3 hours a day

After about a month I knew well where the keys where and then it was a case of building up speed. I never got faster than 65 words per minute, but that's more than adequate. Some of the girls could do 85 wpm by the end of the course!

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I have typed salad loads of times today-finding my D and k fingers hard as they not used to typing

*snigger*

wait 'til you get to the q, x, z keys

 

[cyberfairy]

*snigger*

wait 'til you get to the q, x, z keys

Sounds a silly excuse but my hands are tiny. I can only wear children's gloves and rings and find stretching my fingers to reach keys quite hard. That might just be normal though..

 

[ohmyliver]

yup, can touch type, which is very usefull when say typing things up on one machine, while reading stuff on another machine...

how I learned was to learn the home keys and what fingers go where, and type using the right fingers, for the right keys, while looking at the keyboard, after a month, I found I could do it without looking at the keyboard.... erm, and msn messenger honed my typing speed, I can type now slightly slower than I can speak.

 

[Guineveretoo]

I taught myself to touchtype using a book, and I had to force myself to persevere, because it was dead frustrating, but I did, because I knew it would be a lot quicker once I got it down pat, and I needed it to be quicker so I could use it for essays and wotnot.

Later on, I refined my skill and actually managed to make money typing as a temp for several years, which was cool, and enabled me to break out of that poverty trap in which single mothers find themselves.

Anyway, I can still touchtype, but I am not as accurate as I was, partly because I can't be bothered to worry too much these days, since autospelling is so readily available to correct the typos! I taught myself to touchtype on an old fashioned typewriter initially, and had to keep untangling the sodding hammer things from each other, once I got quicker at typing! I can remember how exciting it was when golfball typewriters came in and got round that problem. I still needed a lot of tippex in those days, though.

Later on, I discovered electronic type writers which would do a line at a time, so you could correct your errors before they printed. They were exciting, if somewhat noisy for others in the room

(Incidentally, I always wanted to go to a school that taught lacrosse, as mentioned earlier in this thread, but have never even seen it! )

 

[sojourner]

Sounds a silly excuse but my hands are tiny. I can only wear children's gloves and rings and find stretching my fingers to reach keys quite hard. That might just be normal though..

Yes, it's a silly excuse You should have learned on the old sit-up-and-begs! Now THEY were a bit of a stretch! You'll get used to it, it's just a matter of building up the muscles and being a bit freer with slight hand movements

 

[sojourner]

Later on, I discovered electronic type writers which would do a line at a time, so you could correct your errors before they printed. They were exciting, if somewhat noisy for others in the room

Haha! God yeh, they confused the fuck out of me at first!

 

[sojourner]

I'm trying that but as the free online thing I'm using tells you if you're too slow, panic and try and go too fast. I really would like a free online site that lets you learn at your own pace with no clock at the bottom but can't find one

It's just trying to improve your speed mate

You know how to do it, so just carry on with the boring shit, from the outside keys inward, then caps etc

 

[catrina]

We had to take an 8 week course in high school, you had to get to 35 words per minute with fewer than 3 mistakes or you failed, and you could not graduate without the course.

It's one of the most useful skills I've ever learned. I played piano as a kid, which made it a lot easier, I think I got up to 80 wpm. I can't imagine re-learning to type now, though, old habits die hard.

They probably have online courses, but ours was based on the teacher dictating to us what to type. We started with letters and then moved on to words.

s space a space s s s space g space h space. Mrs. Regent, I can still hear her squeal in my head!

 

[cyberfairy]

Yes, it's a silly excuse You should have learned on the old sit-up-and-begs! Now THEY were a bit of a stretch! You'll get used to it, it's just a matter of building up the muscles and being a bit freer with slight hand movements

Going to keep persevering. So frustrating to know what I want to write but it taking ages and having to correct it so many times. It won't help with my spelling but my co-ordination is fucked so hoping it might improve it. Be useful in getting a job as well. Glad you can remember typewriters-was telling a kid about how in my day, there were no computers in libraries but the nice library person wrote down what book you were taking out on a piece on cardboard. I was not believed!

 

[Xanadu]

though i do want to improve my speed at one handed typing.... just as it looks cool

Depends on what you do with the other hand...

 

[cyberfairy]

Depends on what you do with the other hand...

That has just conjured up images I don't even want to think about. How did typing go to Foxgirl maid thwapping?

 

[Hocus Eye.]

I taught myself to touch type using a portable typewriter and the book "Teach Yourself to Type".

After working through most of the exercises with a piece of A4 paper taped over the keyboard, once I got more confident, I got lazy and didn't bother to learn the number keys across the top. This now means that if I need to do a ", £ $, % or one of the other symbols on that row I have to look at the keyboard. This also applies if I want to key in a password containing numbers.

If you think you can touch type, the acid test is can you do it in the dark? I quite often find myself typing in the dusk and there will come a point when I catch myself out, needing to type a number or symbol, getting it wrong and having to swithc on the light.

I have just spotted a typo in switch! Thank Firefox for spelling checkers.

The mouse is not a good friend to touch typing; it makes you take your hands away from the home keys. It is probably a good idea to learn the keystroke versions of menu items to solve that problem. I do like the little raised bits on computer home keys; there weren't any on my typewriter. I now use a laptop with touchpad which is good for keeping your hands on or near the keyboard.

Edited to add: one of the tricks is not to type as fast as you can. That way leads to speeding up with familiar words and going slower with more difficult ones. You should try to type at a constant speed that is perhaps slower than flat out. Playing a piece of music in the background is one way to do this. I suppose if you have a metronome to hand that would be good. Is there a downloadable software metronome?

 

[cyberfairy]

I taught myself to touch type using a portable typewriter and the book "Teach Yourself to Type".

After working through most of the exercises with a piece of A4 paper taped over the keyboard, once I got more confident, I got lazy and didn't bother to learn the number keys across the top. This now means that if I need to do a ", £ $, % or one of the other symbols on that row I have to look at the keyboard. This also applies if I want to key in a password containing numbers.

If you think you can touch type, the acid test is can you do it in the dark? I quite often find myself typing in the dusk and there will come a point when I catch myself out, needing to type a number or symbol, getting it wrong and having to swithc on the light.

I have just spotted a typo in switch! Thank Firefox for spelling checkers.

The mouse is not a good friend to touch typing; it makes you take your hands away from the home keys. It is probably a good idea to learn the keystroke versions of menu items to solve that problem. I do like the little raised bits on computer home keys; there weren't any on my typewriter. I now use a laptop with touchpad which is good for keeping your hands on or near the keyboard.

I have already found if I move my hand from the home keys, I'm fucked.My mate has a mac with the letters worn off which has been good for having to learn the keys

 

[sojourner]

I have already found if I move my hand from the home keys, I'm fucked.My mate has a mac with the letters worn off which has been good for having to learn the keys

What's funny is if you initially place your fingers incorrectly, one key out

The fucking gobbledegook that comes out on the page

 

[cyberfairy]

What's funny is if you initially place your fingers incorrectly, one key out

The fucking gobbledegook that comes out on the page

Sounds like my urban posts

 

[Hocus Eye.]

What's funny is if you initially place your fingers incorrectly, one key out

The fucking gobbledegook that comes out on the page

Yes that could be used as a private Enigma type code between friends who touch type.

lr yjod

 

[catinthehat]

I was taught in the army. Three weeks in a darkened room, no letters on the keys and a projector and voice over telling you which keys to press and showing them on the screen in front of you. Pure hell but useful.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

That has just conjured up images I don't even want to think about. How did typing go to Foxgirl maid thwapping?

my reputation proceded me

any how i was thinking more of ritsuko akagi than foxgirl maid

one handed typing is a skill always usefull for impressing your kohai


don't ask.....




i need you....*








*a joke about 2 people will get

 

[Agent Sparrow]

I can.

My mum gave me a touch typing computer programme, I didn't feel that I got on with it but obviously it started to teach me something about the fingering. Then when I was travelling and wanting to write as many emails as I could in as short a time as possible, I started using the fingering whilst looking at the keys. Once I was more used to it I just tried to lift my gaze to the screen. When I got home, I tried copy typing from other sources. The speed and accuracy just improves with time.

 

[softybabe]

Yup i can at about 70WPM! Learnt in secondary school yonks ago and gradually increased with use and never forgot; prob be harder for me not to touch type.

Get a PC prog; my mum got a Bervis Marvis thingy (prob not the right spelling).

 

[geminisnake]

Iirc I have a module saying I can touch type but in reality I can't. My pinkie used to cramp up if I tried to do it properly.
I can type at a reasonable speed and use the other three/six fingers ok though.

 

[moomoo]

I learnt to touch type on a manual typewriter in college. It was an exciting day when you were let loose on the electric typewriter!

Mind you I'm a bit rusty now, probably not as fast or as accurate as I used to be when I went to work.

 

[steveo87]

And if so, how long does it take to learn?
I am somewhat dyspraxic and determined to learn but my ingrained two finger prod is proving hard to overcome
I am doing an online course atm and getting frustrated at my slowness. Still only on middle row

Don't worry Fairy, I'm no betting man, but I'll put a whole 50p on me being more dyspraxic (although I'm also Dyslexis too- I've a theory about that, but thats for anther thread) than you. And I can touch type no probs, it takes a bit of time 'specially with our mate 'spraxia, but it'll come

 

[purves grundy]

I can touch type pretty well, the only problem is that when I read back what I've just typed I see that all the 'words' are full of typos and the whole thing absolutely no sense whatsoever.

If someone could tell me where I'm going wrong...

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Sounds a silly excuse but my hands are tiny. I can only wear children's gloves and rings and find stretching my fingers to reach keys quite hard. That might just be normal though..

Not at all, I have the same problem and still have to stretch for the letters on the top line with my pinkie, although not so much so on a laptop

 

[Tank Girl]

I still maintain that cos I can touch type and pull a decent pint I'll always be able to get some work somewhere...

same here