Touch typing...

[Wigsie]

That is correct Greedo - it has to be, since it's so difficult for blokes to master.

This is probably quite true, I would imagine that due to the differences in hard coding of men and womens brains it will be easier for women to pick up.












although once learnt men may be better!

 

[dustystreet]

I'd give both arms to be able to touch-type!

 

[Over The Hill]

Don't they teach typing in schools, anymore? I took typing in high school, 35 years ago. I thought, with the advent of computers, it would be required in primary school by now.

I really wish they would - I learnt at the age of 45 and wish I had done so much earler.

At school they do not seem to bother and I cannot get my kids to learn no matter how much I bribe them.

It is a pity because the way you learn is well suited to school and doing 10 or 20 mins per day as a break from normal lessons.

It really makes life easier and is the thing I would most recommend.

 

[Globalti]

Funny isn't it how touch-typing used to be the preserve of the humble secretary but now eveybody, male and female, young and old, secretary and top executive does it. Yet it's an old and low-tech way of getting your thoughts on paper. How much longer before we are liberated from using our fingers as the interface?

 

[Over The Hill]

Funny isn't it how touch-typing used to be the preserve of the humble secretary but now eveybody, male and female, young and old, secretary and top executive does it. Yet it's an old and low-tech way of getting your thoughts on paper. How much longer before we are liberated from using our fingers as the interface?

I guess there will be a day when one of those voice recognition programs works but until then...



The office has changed completetly in the last 20 odd years. I was temping at the AA in 1989 and was in the payroll department when we got the first computer in the department.
Even then we mostly input data by filling boxed on paper forms and passing that to the Data input department to put onto the computer.
It is now seen as rather old school for someone to dictate a message for another person to write but it still goes on quite a lot of the time. But is it the secretary doing the bosses job or the other way round?

 

[HelenD123]

I learnt using a software package of some type in just a few days. I wished I'd learnt before I started university as it would have made life so much easier. I agree it should be taught in schools. COG- just get on with it. You'll be so much faster eventually and it should save lots of aches and pains as you'll be sitting in a better position.

 

[radger]

I did some downloaded free program between university and actually getting a worthwhile job. I never got as far as the bit with the number keys because the program annoyed me with its inconsistent complaints (you're typing too fast! you're typing too slowly!) so I abandoned it.

I can't pretend it's improved my posture in any way though.

 

[joolsybools]

Try Mavis Beacon teaches typing if it's still around or use a blank keyboard as others have suggested

 

[Over The Hill]

Two finger typing you have to hold your arm up hovering in the air. Touch typing you rest your arm on the desk. Makes all the difference to your neck.

 

[chap]

I learnt on a typewriter with blank keys. We used to do typing exercises to music! How weird was that? The advantage is though, I can sit at my laptop and forget to turn the light on when it gets dusk as mostly I don't need to look. There are always some keys you have to look for but the main letters are ok. I always used to numbers at the top of the keyboard and had to consciously learn the numeric keypad. It was quite slow and a bit difficult then one day I realized I knew it.

Excellent idea, I guess one would naturally soon focus on the rhythm, thus strengthening automatic recall of key placement.

 

[threefingerjoe]

Funny isn't it how touch-typing used to be the preserve of the humble secretary but now eveybody, male and female, young and old, secretary and top executive does it.

And it shows, too! In the olden days of stenos and dictaphones, a good secretary made her boss look good, by following standard letter form practices and correcting grammar, etc. Nowadays, the boss does his own correspondence, and the recipient is left to wonder how in the world an idiot like that even graduated from high school, much less how he reached the executive level!

 

[Over The Hill]

And it shows, too! In the olden days of stenos and dictaphones, a good secretary made her boss look good, by following standard letter form practices and correcting grammar, etc. Nowadays, the boss does his own correspondence, and the recipient is left to wonder how in the world an idiot like that even graduated from high school, much less how he reached the executive level!

Guilty as charged!

 

[annedonnelly]

Seriously though, I'd love to be able to touch type but suspect that it wouldn't actually be much good for what I do (programming) as the syntax is short and usually involves lots of "non-alphabetic" characters (brackets, semicolons etc.).

Not true. I'm a programmer too and touch-typing is a huge advantage. Once you know your way about the keyboard it's much easier to use keyboard shortcuts and auto-complete as you're looking at the screen all the time.

 

[ColinJ]

Seriously though, I'd love to be able to touch type but suspect that it wouldn't actually be much good for what I do (programming) as the syntax is short and usually involves lots of "non-alphabetic" characters (brackets, semicolons etc.).

I had the same problem. I could touch type "the quick brown fox..." at light speed but whenever I tried to do the non-alphabetic characters I made so many mistakes that it was quicker just to use my normal 4-finger 'hunt-and-peck' style.

Not true. I'm a programmer too and touch-typing is a huge advantage. Once you know your way about the keyboard it's much easier to use keyboard shortcuts and auto-complete as you're looking at the screen all the time.

I worked with a very talented touch typing programmer once. One day, I needed to ask him something and walked up behind him just as he started writing a little C program. He heard me approaching and turned his head towards me. I asked him where a missing manual was and watched in fascination as he continued to write the software while looking at me and talking to me. He made no mistakes typing it out, and then compiled and ran it, all without looking back at the screen. I am not worthy!