Typing speed....

[lendaddy]

Part of my performance test this Friday is a typing test. I am not conventional and have never had any typing training. I have taken a ton of online tests and average 34-38 WPM I guess. The info I have is that the test is pass/fail but the requirement claims vary from 25-35 WPM. This has me concerned.

I don't have time to learn proper typing technique so I guess I have to refine my methods with a lot of practice this week. At this point I can't imagine there is anything I can do other than practice but I'm open to ideas.

The thing is that my typing speed is more like 55 WPM or more when typing my own thoughts but since I don't look at the screen I can't transcribe very well (which the test is). But interestingly the only tying on the job is my typing my thoughts and no transcription is required...cruel..

[911Rob]

I couldn't type at all when I bought my first computer. I used that Mavis typing tool software. I went from two finger Charlie to typing just under 50 WPM in no time. Was very easy.

The key with these tests is they deduct for errors, so dont get rushed and get to a point where you DON'T have to look at the keyboard. If you can do that, you'll be fine with those numbers.

good luck to ya!

[lendaddy]

Yea, there are about five types of typing test and I wonder which I'm getting as well. It helps if I concentrate on lifting my fingers after each strike as well as it reduces the fat-fingers mistakes. I think I'll be OK but I like to be as prepared as possible.

[aigel]

If you have time to practice several hours a day during different times a day, I think it should be possible to learn the proper way of typing and end up 40 wpm +. When I learned it 15 years ago, I had a simple computer software and it had become like a video game to me. Always wanted to make it to the next level. It took me about 2 weeks until I made it to the highest level and I could type reasonably well - definitely in excess of 40 wpm. I just ran a few tests now and get between 60-70 WPM.

So, my recommendation is to start to learn how to type NOW. Even if you can not pass the test on the upcoming Friday, you will be able to pass a test later in time. It is the old story of the dull saw: Do you want to keep cutting wood with a dull saw, or are you going to step back, take some time and sharpen the saw, to make the job easier in the long run?

Coming back here and posting a lot is good practise for speed typing.

IMHO typing should be taught mandatory in high school and a typing test should be a college entry test. This would save folks a lot of grief and time down the line.

Good Luck!

George

[lendaddy]

Thanks, but I only get one shot at passing this test. If I fail, I'm out. I am pretty confident that I can get the required speed by refining my method.

Also I downloaded a typing course and started it this morning but it was so foreign to me that I don't think it's worth the risk.

The odd thing is that typing was/is a required class to graduate in my HS but I somehow got around it, I think because I was taking some advanced computers classes they excused me.

[Rick V]

I am up to about 35 typos a min.

[DarkSideDe]

I had typing in JHS. When I graduated college - I was in your predicament. I could barely type. Last time I was tested, it was by my typography peers - and i came at 95 words per minute.

Here was the way it was taught to me so I could function in the corporate world.

First, memorize how your fingers feel on the keyboard. Make sure the left hand rests on ASDF and the right hand rests on JKL; -- then start practicing the alphabet so you know how to reach every key with the appropriate finger. While doing this - think of a metronome. Keep it clicking in your head so every key gets the same amount of time and attention. Once you look down at the keys - or move a hand off to move a mouse, or whatever - you have slowed down your typing.

Good luck. Now it's just time for you to practice...

[Aurel]

Hey Lendaddy,

With 17,063 posts, I would have thought that your typing was up to speed .

[gr8fl4porsche]

I took a tour of our local public elementary school this week - typing is taught in 2nd grade.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by Aurel

Hey Lendaddy,

With 17,063 posts, I would have thought that your typing was up to speed .

lol, it is when I'm just typing what's in my thoughts. Transcription is the b1tch.

[Eric Coffey]

There are a few free online typing tests that you can use to practice/evaluate your "transcription" wpm. If you average well above the minimum for your pass/fail test, you should be ok. If you are borderline, start practicing, pronto!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by lendaddy

lol, it is when I'm just typing what's in my thoughts. Transcription is the b1tch.

maybe you just need the right motivation?

"Mr. Daddy, would you come here please?

have a seat.

OK, take a memo..."

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

maybe you just need the right motivation?

"Mr. Daddy, would you come here please?

have a seat.

OK, take a memo..."

"The Secretary" Great flick

[cgarr]

I hope you at least use both hands? I had typing in HS because I went to work the an Insurance company, they made me take the class, best thing I ever did, I got up to 70 wpm, we had a 400# gal in the office that typed 8 hours a day, She was clocked at 130+ when she wasn't eating!

I will pray to St. Virginia, the Patron Saint of the typewriter!

[lendaddy]

Yea, lol I use two or three on each hand. I found a good site and did a bunch of 5 minute stints getting 39-40 WPM on each which should be fine.

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by gr8fl4porsche

I took a tour of our local public elementary school this week - typing is taught in 2nd grade.

Funny how things evolve. Obviously makes sense now for boys and the entire class to take typing. Not that long ago, typing was just for secretaries and such.

When I was in HS circa 1972, my best friend and I took a typing class instead of metal shop or whatever. We had no use for typing, but figured it was an easy A and 30 girls and us made good sense. We also took cooking... gawd we were horndogs!

First day we walk in, sit down at the huge manual typwriters, and notice immediately there are no letters or numbers on the keys. Holy crap, batman! There was a big cardboard keyboard covering the chalkboard, but surprisingly, we quickly learned all the keys through repetition and finger exercises.

Never would have dreamed learning touch typing would come in so handy later in life.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by lendaddy

"The Secretary" Great flick

Yes it is. Maggie G, YUM!!!

[masraum]

My typing teacher didn't force us to learn touch typing. I was typing about 40wpm looking at the keys.

I typed on computer keyboards for years and when typing my own thoughts was probably 50-60 wpm or more, but never really touch typed.

I've since switched over to the dvorak keyboard layout.



Yeah, I touch type now. Looking at the keys can only hurt unless everything that I type uses only A or M

[jyl]

What are the advantages of the dvorak k/b? Looks interesting.

I am a very mediocre typist, but I can still type faster than I can compose, so it works okay.

[masraum]

The story is that back when the typewriter was first invented, folks were typing so fast that they jammed the mechanism. Because of that some typewriter companies scrambled the letters on the keyboard to make folks type slower to eliminate jams. When the mechanical aspects of typewriter design were fixed, the typewriter companies tried to put the keys back, but everyone was used to the new arrangement. So, the querty layout was designed specifically to make you type more slowly.

Dvorak studied letter frequencies and the physiology of people's hands and created a layout to adhere to these principles:

* Letters should be typed by alternating between hands.
* For maximum speed and efficiency, the most common letters and digraphs should be the easiest to type. This means that they should be on the home row, which is where the fingers rest, and under the strongest fingers.
* The least common letters should be on the bottom row, which is the hardest row to reach.
* The right hand should do more of the typing, because most people are right-handed.
* Digraphs should not be typed with adjacent fingers.
* Stroking should generally move from the edges of the board to the middle. An observation of this principle is that, for many people, when tapping fingers on a table, it is easier going from little finger to index than vice versa. This motion on a keyboard is called inboard stroke flow.[3]

Notable users

* Barbara Blackburn, world typing speed record holder[35]
* Bram Cohen, inventor of BitTorrent[36]
* Matt Mullenweg, lead developer of WordPress[37]
* Terry Goodkind, author of The Sword of Truth[38]
* Piers Anthony, author of the Xanth novels, often wrote in the 1980s author's notes in the books about how his Dvorak use prevented him from converting to a word processor.[39] This was made even more difficult because he uses an alternate Dvorak layout (swapping the hyphen and apostrophe keys — the apostrophe key on his keyboard is where the hyphen key is on a standard US keyboard (and vice-versa)).
* Nathan Myhrvold, former CTO of Microsoft[40]
* Steve Wozniak, co-founder Apple Computer[41]
* Shawn Betts, author of Ratpoison and Stumpwm window managers.
* Alexander Stram, Co-founder of Silenceisdefeat.org[42]
* Joshua Baer, founder of SKYLIST and OtherInbox[43]
* Mike Dwyer, Co-Programmer of popular computer Game "Shipwreck"[44]
* Matt Margolis, conservative author[45] and blogger[46]