Time to get past two fingers

[major_clanger]

I've keen a sort-of-two-finger typist since I first started keyboarding in the 1980s; I got to be a moderately competent if not very fast or accurate typist, aided by my friend the DELETE key. My bizarre typing style (why do I use the first finger on my left hand and the middle finger on my right?) saw me through three degrees, endless reports and assessments at work, and goodness knows how much guff on Usenet, CIX and LJ.

But I'm finally getting fed up with it, and faced with three five-thousand word essays to write over Christmas I've taken the plunge and obtained a touch typing tutor. (Master Key 5 for the Mac, in case anyone's interested; $20 but what's that at the current exchange rate?) I now have a new time-filler for if I've a few minutes to spare at the computer, carefully assuming the right posture and fixing my eyes on the scrolling text as I tap away slake fast the fitted is deeded staid his kilt; flesh jail jf fj a; sl ls ...and so on. Yes, I'm still only on home row plus e, t, i and . so I work with a fairly eclectic set of words interspersed with odd little two or three-character groups. As I progress the text is slowly getting more meaningful, and looing at the leson schedule I get two more vowels and another three consonants soon!

One rather weird effect is that my previous keyboard style is already becoming uncomfortable. In an ideal world I suppose I'd do no typing other than the tutor program until I was working with the full keyboard, but for practical terms I have to do the full range of email and coursework, so am regularly having to jump back to two fingers. At least it's motivating me to press on with the lessons, though; I really want to be typing properly by the time I next have to churn out a large body of text.

Comments

[waistcoatmark.livejournal.com]

Best typing tutor I had was the rather bizarre Typing of the Dead. They started with the light-gun shooter House of the Dead, took away the guns and replaced it with having to type words to kill zombies, and press specific keys to get block thrown weapons, grab power-ups etc.

It was better than the other tutors I'd tried on two grounds
1) it was actually fun
2) it discouraged you from looking at the keyboard when typing, as doing so meant that you'd often miss the "press J in the next 3 seconds to block the axe coming towards your head".

The weirdness of the cut-scenes where you saw the characters wandering around a zombie-infected town with keyboards mounted in front of their chests was an added bonus

[alex-holden.livejournal.com]

I can highly recommend the Dvorak layout. I've very rarely had any problems with my RSI since I switched from QWERTY. You can find lessons that are specifically designed to teach Dvorak but I found that once I'd got a basic idea of where the letters were it was easier to just start using it for everyday typing.

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

The problem with that is that you're stuck if you have to use a standard keyboard.

There's several nifty ideas that are awkward like that, especially if a computer is securely locked down to stop the users from changing things. You don't need the lettering on the keys, but cajn you even switch to a Dvorak keyboard mapping?

[alex-holden.livejournal.com]

I revert to hunt and peck if I have to use a computer that won't let me change the layout, but it's almost never an issue. Some people learn to touch type on both QWERTY and Dvorak but since I do 99.9% of my typing on my own computers there's not really any point for me.

[hawkida.livejournal.com]

Based on my experience:

If you possibly can, try to do most of your real typing of emails etc with your fingers in the right places. It is as frustrating as hell but it will speed up the transition.

You will probably find a point comes where you're a crap typer in your old and your new style, that's the point to push through and practice lots and get it right.

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Was about to say precisely this.

Think of each finger with three letters on it. The home row and one either side. It shoudn't take you long.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

You're getting the advantage of learning on the same keyboard that you'll be using in future. I learned to touch-type at school, on an upright, round keyed manual Olivetti (with a carriage return so loose that if you banged it back too hard it was liable to fly out of the second floor window of the typing room and brain anyone passing below - resulting on one of my less deserved detentions). Transferring to an electric typewriter, which had a slightly less raked keyboard, and needed a softer touch wasn't too difficult, but I really do find it difficult to locate the keys on a flat modern computer keyboard and have more or less abandoned 'true' touch-typing for a six-fingered version.

At least modern keyboards don't make your fingertips go numb.

[frandowdsofa.livejournal.com]

I learned on an intensive summer course one year, and it was the best investment I ever made. It's the one thing that has consistently got me gainful employment. I wish they'd taught us it in grammar school - they took one term of our sixth form general studies and taught us T-line speedwriting, on the grounds that it would improve our note-taking in university lectures. Which was useless.

[ms-cataclysm.livejournal.com]

My typing improved when I bought an ergonomic keyboard. Unfortunately my cats loved it so much that they destroyed it within 3 weeks and I'm now back to a cheap standard one. Good luck with the lessons ...

[daveon.livejournal.com]

One of the oddest things (which had to fight against odd stuff) I was seen to do at school was take a secreatarial course when I was given an elective option.

I wasn't so interested in the course itself but in learning how to type properly and this have become a pretty reasonable touch typist since. I don't have to look at the keyboard most of the time and only really get into trouble with foreign stuff like the dreaded French AZERTY keyboard.

It's extremely handy although I don't quite type as taught (computer keyboards are too small for my hands to actually sensible use the fingers as taught but I can manage a reasonable 60+ WPM. It's worth holding in for.

[pennski.livejournal.com]

I taught myself more or less touch-typing from a book from a charity shop and would agree that it's worth the pain. I'd also concur with hawkida above. If you can keep your index fingers on the home keys while doing day job typing, then you're making progress.