Touch typing course

chocolatepennyfarthing

I am looking to do a touch typing course (start new job in Sept, need to brush on skills a bit)have seen e-type advertised but they do not seem to run in my area. Can anyone recommend any typing courses they have used either online or cd-rom courses please? Any advice on best way to learn would be much appreciated.

mynameistallulah

The best way to learn how to type quickly/ accurately is just to practice lots.

jc808

mynameistallulah wrote: »

The best way to learn how to type quickly/ accurately is just to practice lots.

no!! you need technique to touch type also. 'just practicing' for someone who only one-finger-types etc is akin to giving a learner driver car keys and telling them to 'get on with it'!!

i am learning to touch type

http://www.sense-lang.org/typing/

do this course (free) through once, then do it again this time, three consecutive perfect runs, each lesson.

once thats completed move onto this:
http://www.typing-lessons.org/preliminaries_1.html

but skip the first lessons and go straight to the extra ones (eg brackets, number pad, punctuation keys etc) then get good at those!

Tiddlywinks

'Touch typing' isn't just a matter of practise - it is primarily about technique and the correct positioning of the fingers on the keyboard.

I'm old enough to have been taught using a typewriter, by a teacher playing a (vinyl!) recording of exercises at the front of the class to encourage an even rhythm of key stroke.

It's all about striking the keys with the correct corresponding fingers to ensure ease of movement between the keys and across the board.

The links that jc808 posted look good - or you can get your own software from PC world or wherever.

I'd encourage anyone who needs to use a keyboard for large pieces of text to learn to touch type rather than the 'hunt and peck' sort of movements some employ - the time spent in learning will be more than regained in the long run so well worth it IMO.

McKneff

Learning to touch type properly is the way.

No looking at the keyboard, no looking at the screen.

Its an eye,brain, finger thing. nanosecond timing, it comes with learning and practice. I suppose it's akin to brainwashing really

Do it properly and you will be the fastest typist in existance.

Slinky

Learning to touch type is one of the best skills I ever learned.

When I was at school I'd wanted to learn, lined up with a friend to sign up for the course. She got the last place (only 20 typewriters). A few weeks in she gave up, of course it was too late for me to have that place.

It really annoyed me that I couldn't type properly so paid to do a 5-day crash course in typewriting. This was 25 years ago so I don't know if they still do that sort of thing (probably not).

IMO the ability to touch type, spell, have a good grasp of maths and drive are key skills needed to get along in life.

OP good luck with learning to type 'properly' I'm sure you won't regret it.

MissSarah1972

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

'Touch typing' isn't just a matter of practise - it is primarily about technique and the correct positioning of the fingers on the keyboard.

I'm old enough to have been taught using a typewriter, by a teacher playing a (vinyl!) recording of exercises at the front of the class to encourage an even rhythm of key stroke.

It's all about striking the keys with the correct corresponding fingers to ensure ease of movement between the keys and across the board.

The links that jc808 posted look good - or you can get your own software from PC world or wherever.

I'd encourage anyone who needs to use a keyboard for large pieces of text to learn to touch type rather than the 'hunt and peck' sort of movements some employ - the time spent in learning will be more than regained in the long run so well worth it IMO.

Yeah learning on a manul typewriter with carbon copy paper and tipex is the way to go!

I did one day a week with a book only as the teacher whilst the others in the 6th form did audio typing and as a 16 year old who had never used a type writer before I sat the exam 5 months later (after probably no more than 20 hours practise) and got a 25wpm RSA. Not a lot at all but over the years this got faster especially with pc's and laptops.

It's all about practise then you can go and sit an exam at the local college.

w211

I taught myself by using a Mavis Beacon CD-ROM.

It teaches where you place your fingers and which fingers are used to press the different keys. There is a graphic at the bottom of the screen where you fingers should be.

The exercises are quite fun, with decent graphics and games and you can learn at your pace.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=mavis+beacon&_sacat=0

anamenottaken

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

I'm old enough to have been taught using a typewriter, by a teacher playing a (vinyl!) recording of exercises at the front of the class to encourage an even rhythm of key stroke.

Circa 1964 I recall a specially arranged William Tell Overture!

Of course, we were learning to type with equal speed for all keys but then I probably modified this as I learned to type in bursts - looking at the copy and striking the keys with, apparently, no thought involved - more like eye direct to finger rather than eye - brain - finger.

anamenottaken

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

Yeah learning on a manul typewriter with carbon copy paper and tipex is the way to go!

Tippex is very modern. Did you not use an eraser and protect the carbon copy with bits of paper which sometimes you would forget to remove and then get bald spaces on the carbon copy?

MissSarah1972

anamenottaken wrote: »

Tippex is very modern. Did you not use an eraser and protect the carbon copy with bits of paper which sometimes you would forget to remove and then get bald spaces on the carbon copy?

Modern? Erm its over 50 years old, so not too modern really. I bet no one in the last 20 year has used it in typing at school. Everyone else was using state of the art electronic ones with suto correction on the machine where you just typed over the letters in white and then re did it.

No I never used 'bit of paper' as I was teaching myself so no idea to be fair what they would be used for.