I type by looking at the keyboard and using my two index and middle fingers. My right ring finger is used for punctuation. When I make a normal amount of typos, I type at a rate of ~65 wpm. But I’d really like to be able to type and not have to take my eyes off the screen.
Is it too late to teach an old dog new tricks?
What typing programs or games would you suggest to break my current typing style to use the “correct one”?
what the…you type 65 wpm already! Just learn not to look at your keyboard! Who cares if you aren’t using all your fingers on the home row etc.?
I remember my typing course, and basically after learning where to position your fingers, it’s drills and drills and drills of 3-letter combinations, along with reminders to STOP LOOKING AT YOUR FINGERS. Usually, they give you the exercise book with the drills, and you put it on the side of the typewriter, and stare at that while you typed.
Game? Typing of the Dead, obviously. There’s another free one I downloaded years ago but never played…if I find the name of the game I’ll post it.
Edit: Not the game I was looking for, but since you asked for typing tutor programs, have a pile of them! No warranties.
Around a decade ago I recall some game called Typing of the Dead or something similar that was like House of the Dead only it taught you to type as you played. That could be interesting.
Ah yes, Here it is. Wikipedia says it was for Windows as well as the Dreamcast, so perhaps it’s still floating around out there somewhere.
The problem is, I have no “positional sensory data” for my hands/fingers. So if I don’t look at the keyhabord I have no idea where my hands are in relation to the keys I neeed to press.
I think I’m gonna turn this to a general typing game thread. (because this is totally 5000% more fun than work.)
Z-type, an HTML5 game.
Typer Shark, by popcap, from 2003. apparently it’s buyable on Steam.
Y’s Typing Tutor for all of us JRPG people.
Find someone who graduated from some Hong Kong university and get his completed and working assignment. (Hopefully the link works.)
Wumpus gave some links to some abandonware site with the windows version of the Typing of the Dead in that article I linked.
…I have a Dreamcast, the actual Typing of the Dead US disc, and 2 keyboards…haven’t used them in years…
Maybe you should try a lesson or two of proper touch typing and see if your lack of whatever is going to be a problem.
The way touch typing works is that you keep your fingers fixed on the home row. Can you touch your F and J keys and feel a bump on the surface of the key cap? If so, you should be good. (Obviously this doesn’t work for ipad etc.)
The idea is you keep your left index finger on F, your right index finger on J, and lay the rest of your fingers over the other keys on that row. Then for each letter/number, you flick a single finger up to type it, and return your fingers to the home row again. Each finger gets a column of keys, except for the index fingers which get 2 columns each. Use your thumb to type SPACE. Use your opposite little finger to hold the SHIFT key when typing capitals.
PK muds taught me to type properly or die.
There’s always the Typing of the Dead as previously mentioned.
Never too late. People think it’s so hard but it’s easy.
Oh, I meant that I don’t have a home position for hands or fingers and my hands are arched downward so nothing but the very back of my wrists touch the keyboard.m Imagine someon typing with one finger at a time going straight down ont a key. That’s me, chicken pecking but in fast motion.
So as you’re describing, I totally need to be taught where to put my hands and what fingers go where and all that stuff (and stick with it). I need to crack my bad habits and start fresh.
Yeah, try playing MUDs or text adventures in the dark. That’s how I learned.
I found playing an MMO helped my typing speed a fair bit. Trying to do all these text chats in the middle of combat. I still don’t actually type properly, as I put too much weight on my index fingers, but I don’t look at the keyboard.
I learned on Mavis Beacon around 1996 and have been fine ever since. I don’t maintain strict adherence to the home row (my hands rove over the keyboard more than is proper and my index an middle fingers do more than their fair share of work), but I generally maintain a very high WPM with pure English-language stuff.
However, I’ve never completely committed the positions of shift-symbols (@, *, $, etc.) to muscle memory, so I tend to slow down significantly when adding those to text. Just don’t type em enough for it to matter, honestly.
I taught myself to type using the first two fingers and thumb on each hand. I don’t look at the keyboard, and I’m over 90wpm.
I strongly suspect that you could train yourself out of looking at the keyboard if you tried-- 65wpm is not hunting and pecking.
I learned how to touchtype as a teenager - after 10+ years of hunting and pecking, and it wasn’t that bad. Never looked back - can’t even hunt and peck if I wanted too.
But on the other hand, 65+ WPM is a great speed. I’m usually in the 60-100 range touch typing.
How are you measuring your wpm? If you can’t take your eyes off the keyboard, I have a hard time imagining how you could maintain a high rate because you’re constantly taking your eyes off of the text that you’re transcribing.
Now, if you only type out what’s in your head, then that’s understandable.
I was in the same boat a few years ago. I could kinda almost touch type, but I would catch myself looking at the keys frequently. A Das Keyboard Ultimate solved that problem. There was some suffering involved, but that only lasted a few days. Or whenever I have to write Perl, with all it’s damn $s and %s. Oh but I got those both on the first try, so maybe that will suck less next time too.
Also, another vote for typing of the dead. The tutorials are pretty helpful, and Zombies > Mavis.
I type using DVORAK. It saves on metacarpal syndrome. Though if you are a fast typist using QWERTY it may not be worth it.
As an example in QWERTY using only home row keys - a person can type about 120 words in the English language. Using DVORAK and only home row can type about 3000 words. Meaning your fingers do not have to work as hard.
I learned to type this way so never had to switch from one to the other. Also it really helps keep people off my laptop because when they see my keyboard they get flustered. :>)
Can switch keyboard layout to DVORAK in Windows or Mac easily (but not in iOS unfortunately). I use excellent DVORAK stickers form Hoolean Corp for my laptop (they have both DVORAK & QWERTY on same keys). For my desktop I have a dedicated DVORAK keyboard that can switch from one setup to the other by pressing a key.
I tried to teach myself to type using the DVORAK layout once. There was much hilarity when I screen-locked my workstation and had to lookup the layout on someone else’s computer in order to enter my password.