# How Do you Type?



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Even though I took a typing class in school I've never been one for typing correctly. I know how it's supposed to be done and where my fingers are meant to be positioned over the keyboard. It just slows me down to take the time to do it right. So all these years I've typed the wrong way.  I can't really call what I do hunting and pecking because I already know very well where the keys are, so there's no hunting involved. And I'm pretty quick at it. But once in awhile I wonder how much faster I'd be able to type if I had made myself stick with doing it the correct way.

How about everyone else? I know a lot of us spend an enormous amount of time on the computer. How do you guys type? How many words per minute can you get out? I've no idea for myself - never been timed.


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## Alle Meine Entchen (Dec 6, 2009)

I type correctly. My mom took secretary lessons in high school (yes, it was that long ago) and she does short hand, plus she can type 100 wpm w/ a wicked high accuracy rate. I took a free typing test I found online and I did 55 wpm w/ 85% accuracy, which knocks me down to 47 wpm. The only problem w/ that, I always make myself nervous when doing typing tests (b/c it matters so much in the grand scheme of things  ).

Here's the link if anyone else wants to test themselves: http://www.typingtest.com/

eta: by correctly I mean I took typing classes and type the way the typing people say you're supposed to.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I touch type.  And as our chatters know, I type pretty fast.  But in chat, I cheat, I don't capitalize and I tend to leave out punctuation. 

I took typing in high school and have been typing (or keyboarding) most of my professional life.  You can tell that I started out life with a manual typewriter because when I make a mistake in a word, I delete all the letters back to the mistake instead of just moving the cursor over to the error!


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

It depends on what I am doing and which keyboard I am using. 

For normal typing, I use the touch typing method I learned in school with the necessary modifications due to the change in position of special characters. This is definitely the method I use when I am writing documents. I will often type with my eyes shut or while looking at the computer screen.

If I am typing while also using a pencil or a mouse or holding something in one hand, I will type with the other hand (either left or right depending on what is most convenient). This will usually require that I look at the keys as I type. When I type one-handed, I still tend to use the standard touch typing method as much as possible.

I had not tested my WPM in years. I type fast enough that it works for what I need to do. I know that I type fastest on my split keyboard at work and much slower on my netbook. Thanks for the link to the typing test. On a one minute test using the Astronauts text I typed 45 wpm and on a two minute test using the Aesop's Fables text I typed 57 wpm. I think the main difference between the two was the number of quote characters.  

Scarlet, I also usually delete all the letters back to the mistake.


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## susie (Mar 4, 2011)

My keyboard is French.....éèç^ùà...see?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I hate using my co-worker's computer at work, it has a split keyboard.  I know that's supposed to help keep your wrists in a better position, but it drives me crazy.  Also, the space bar is split and the right side sticks.  And that's how I space, I always use my right thumb, not my left.  

Here's my corollary question-- do you use the top row for numbers, or the side section?  If I'm doing a lot of numbers, I use the side, otherwise I move up.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

With one finger. Slowly.


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

I was a legal secretary in my past life.  Which means I know how to type correctly (touch typing) and can do it very fast with high accuracy.  I first learned to type way back in the dark ages, on a manual typewriter.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Thanks for the link Alle. My speed with Aesop's Fables was 47 words per minute.


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## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

I've been typing for about 37 years now and mainly do it by touch. At work, my keyboard has some letters worn off and my coworkers hate to use it because they can't see the letters. 
I type numbers both with the top row and with the 10-key pad. Depends on how many numbers I need to enter in one stretch.
I can also remember when typing tests were mandatory when interviewing for a job and it did matter how fast you could type.
Heck, I can remember typing stencils for the ditto machine, and having to do justification by hand! Eeek!
I think the computer has made typing skills less important because it is so easy to correct. I know I am much more lazy when I type now with the computer versus with a typewriter, which we still have at work for the dreaded envelopes!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I had 56 wpm with 6 errors, adjusted speed to 54 wpm on a 3 minute Aesop's fables.  But I typed "a" instead of "the" in one case, so I don't really think that's an error.

Funny thing is, I'm used to typing dictation, not from text.   But this still considers me fast, so I'm cool.  I'm gonna try again later.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

sherylb said:


> At work, my keyboard has some letters worn off and my coworkers hate to use it because they can't see the letters.


My keyboard is like this too. My "A" and "E" are completely worn away. "S" and "D" are fading fast as well.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I have a funny story about how I typed back in college.  I don't like looking to the side to see the text I was typing, so I would turn off my monitor and stick the paper in on it in front of me and just type.  I'd stop when I knew I made an error and delete back and correct.  I had a number of people watch me at various points wondering 1) how I knew what I was typing and 2) how the heck I could tell when I made a mistake!
Even now, I tend to ignore my screen if I'm typing from memory or composing text.  It just distracts me.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

I typed 90wpm in the Aesop's test with 2 errors. I learned to touch-type in middle school, but what really got me going faster was playing Everquest when I was much younger.  

The only thing I'm pretty terrible at is the number pad. It bothers me how it's opposite how a phone is, so I always get mixed up which is which and it's harder to learn.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Back in '89 when I started college the first time through I knew how to use computers, but my typing skills were horrendous. The college had a "new" class, "Keyboarding for Computers". I thought that was a brilliant idea. I took the class. It was taught by a typing teacher that had no clue what to do with a computer. 5 1/4" floppy? What's that? How do I make it work in my computer? Format? how do you format?.... It went on and on like that, and I was the only person in the class with any computer experience. I started showing up an hour before class, teaching her what had to be done each day, and then during class, anytime someone needed help, I was the one who had to answer. I never learned how to type there. I didn't have time. I dropped the class about 1/2 way through telling her I wasn't learning anything and I needed to actually learn something from a class if I was paying for it. "But you're getting an A in here," was her response. How can you get an A in a class if you haven't learned a darn thing because you're too busy teaching people how to use their computers to actually make use of the one you're supposed to be learning on?

I don't type the way typing teachers teach, because I was never taught. Almost 8 years of playing an MMORPG did more to teach me how to type. I could participate in 8 separate chat conversations at the same time while playing a very difficult character. I became the queen of 3-second typing. that's how long I had to get information across to someone in between things I had to do for my character. I'm fairly fast, never taken a test, but I tend to hit my keys far to hard. I've been told my typing sounds like a Gatling Gun being used. I do face my keyboard but I'm not really looking at it, more like looking through it. I can type watching the screen too, so whatever you want to call that, that's what I do.

Jessica! EQ was what I played too! My main was a bard.


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## Steven L. Hawk (Jul 10, 2010)

90 wpm?  Dang, Jessica!  I did 51 wpm with 2 errors for a 49 wpm score using The Rules of Baseball.

Took touch typing in the 8th grade -- best class I ever took for usefulness.  My own method is a combination of touch and sight.

My wife types a lot faster than I do, but she's one of those "loud" typists.  She bangs at the keys like she's totally angry.


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## Coral Moore (Nov 29, 2009)

What an interesting question!

I touch type. I took a class in high school, but I didn't use it much then. What really got me started was playing a text-based RPG in college. I could type so fast back then. I took the Aesop's test and got 76 wpm with 3 errors in two minutes, knocking me down to 74. 98% accuracy, not too shabby! That's with backspacing to correct a couple of mistakes. I know you're not supposed to, but I can't help it.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Steven L. Hawk said:


> My wife types a lot faster than I do, but she's one of those "loud" typists. She bangs at the keys like she's totally angry.


I have this trouble too. I hit my keys so hard the ones on my laptop started coming off.


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## CaedemMarquez (Mar 23, 2011)

I am very lucky to have won the Speedy Gonzalez award in high school for typing. Helps a lot nowadays!


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## loonlover (Jul 4, 2009)

I touch type.  I began doing data entry in 1973 on a keypunch.  Moved from there to Inforex machines, then IBM CRTs.  My position changed to Technical Support Analyst and using a PC, but there was still a lot of entry required in my daily chores.  The Inforex machines had a 10-key keyboard within the letter keys - I don't really remember how it all worked, it was so long ago.  When I switched to the CRT, I had to learn to use the numbers at the top - no other option.  When I switched to the PC, it depended on what I was keying whether I used those at the top or the number pad.  I worked with Medicare so I used the numbers at the top a lot as that was so much more efficient when keying Medicare IDs.  I usually erase back to the error also.

My mother was able to type 100 wpm accurately on a manual typewriter.  I never did do as well on the typewriter (I learned on a manual) as I did on a keyboard.  I think I was intimidated by her speed.  I know my speed has deteriorated since retirement.  Don't think I want to know how much.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

scarlet said:


> I hate using my co-worker's computer at work, it has a split keyboard. I know that's supposed to help keep your wrists in a better position, but it drives me crazy. Also, the space bar is split and the right side sticks. And that's how I space, I always use my right thumb, not my left.
> 
> Here's my corollary question-- do you use the top row for numbers, or the side section? If I'm doing a lot of numbers, I use the side, otherwise I move up.


Ha, I really love those split keyboards and request one at every job that I've had. I dunno, they just work better for me, those the space bar makes an interesting "chunk" sound. Straight keyboards are alright, but when my keyboard can be angled and split it's more comfortable...and many people think I'm weird.

As for the 10 keys, yes, I use them an awful lot. However I worked in the financial industry where it was pretty much a must skill. Once I get going on them it's really wild because I never really used them before. I always used the top numerical row.

My typing is pretty solid but I haven't tested since my computer skills test in high school (just so I wouldn't have to take computer classes in high school we had to prove we were proficient). On one portion of the test we had to score something like 65 wpm with no errors. It has greatly improved for some odd reason I can't type if something in obstructing my hands. I don't know about anyone else, but we had to put a sheet of paper over our hands and that screwed me up even though I don't look at my hands or keys while I type.

I've seen some people who use the "search & peck method" and it's down right painful to watch.

Is it just me or do others like the "clicky-click" sounds of the keyboard. At work it is gets really cool with everyone furiously typing away.

Tris


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## Vianka Van Bokkem (Aug 26, 2010)

I took typing lessons when I was in high school. I type a lot faster using all my fingers.   


-Vianka


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I've been typing since I was 5 or 6 in one form or another, so I don't type correctly either.  In fact I tend to just use my index fingers for most of it with my ring finger and thumb on some keys.  I still type, last I checked, over 80 word a minute, so I'm no slouch, and I type on a split ergonomic keyboard so each hand kind of stays to its own side.  I actually came in a really close second in a word processing contest when I was in high school, so a lack of home row doesn't seem to hurt me.  I type without thinking about it and have the keyboard pretty down pat so I don't have to look at the keys or anything.  I guess I am a hunt and peck savant.  Trying to do home row makes me fumble a lot more than my own method... of course I write weirdly too.  I write like a lefty but use my right hand.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

To toss a slight twist on this typing question.  How well do you type in multiple languages?  My parents use two different language programs but still can type fairly well on both.  Have you seen how to type in an asian language on a 'english keyboard'?  

Tris


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Glad you like the split keyboard, and I'd probably get to like it if I used it all the time, but shifting back and forth between my flat one and his split (especially with the space bar issue, and the fact that his keyboard "locks" for no good reason), it drives me crazy.  It may also be because I hate sitting at his desk and having to do his job instead of my own, of course....

BTW, does anyone use an non-QWERTY keyboard?


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## B-Kay 1325 (Dec 29, 2008)

I also learned in HS on a manual typewriter, moved up to an electric and then an IBM Selectric typewriter.  Took 2 yrs in HS and 1 yr in Business College.  I have typed on just about every IBM machine that they made and now at work I have a split keyboard (Dr. recommended it for a Ganglian (sp) cyst I had on my wrist) and I love it.  Since I got my 1st split keyboard the cyst is gone and no pain in that wrist.  The keyboard that I have doesn't have a split space bar (it's a Microsoft one).  I use the numbers on top if I am typing numbers in a document but use the 10 key (number pad) if entering lots of numbers.  Someone earlier mentioned that they didn't like the number pad because it wasn't like the keypad on the telephone, If I remember correctly this was done by design when they made the first keypad telephones, they didn't want people that were proficient on 10 keys to try to dial phone numbers that way as the phones couldn't tone that fast and thought there would be a lot of miss dialing.

I had to take a typing test when I was hired at my current job 18 yrs ago and I typed 76 wpm then on a Daisy Wheel typewriter.  I don't know what I type on a computer, I find that it doesn't matter much now.  I too backspace to the error to correct.  Most of my corrections are done as I type and I seem to know when I've made a mistake (for the most part) and correct it without thought.  I do not have to look at the keyboard and I do data entry without looking at keyboard or screen all the time.

When my daughters were learning to use computers I bought them a used typing book and had them do the exercises on their own and they both touch type now.


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## Doug DePew (Mar 26, 2011)

I type just like I learned in tenth grade.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

B-Kay 1325 said:


> ... When my daughters were learning to use computers I bought them a used typing book and had them do the exercises on their own and they both touch type now.


When I was about 11 or 12, Santa brought me a used Royal portable typewriter. My mom then gave me the typing book she used in high school. I still have that book and the typewriter.

When my daughter was very young, I typed in a program into our VIC 20 that was intended to help children learn to type. (I think it was one of the ones where letters or words would fall from the top of the screen. The goal was to type them correctly so that they would explode before reaching the bottom of the screen.) When she was older, I lent her the typing book I used in high school. (I still have that book as well.) DD took Keyboarding in high school and types quite well.


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

BTackitt said:


> I don't type the way typing teachers teach, because I was never taught. Almost 8 years of playing an MMORPG did more to teach me how to type. I could participate in 8 separate chat conversations at the same time while playing a very difficult character. I became the queen of 3-second typing. that's how long I had to get information across to someone in between things I had to do for my character. I'm fairly fast, never taken a test, but I tend to hit my keys far to hard. I've been told my typing sounds like a Gatling Gun being used. I do face my keyboard but I'm not really looking at it, more like looking through it. I can type watching the screen too, so whatever you want to call that, that's what I do.


Same goes for me... though I started learning how to type by writing stories with just two fingers and now I use up to ten though I still mostly use my index and middle fingers... my pinkies are only used to hold Shift and stuff like that...
Downside is that my two sides of the brain don't get the message across at the same speed so sometimes I mess up words because of this...

Also, on my eee I usually only use one hand because of the size of the keyboard.


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

I'm mostly the same as you Kiazishiru,  pointer, middle, pinky and thumb, ring fingers infrequently get used... oh wait, I do use them, but mostly on the left hand.  Been typing the last 30 years and I'm picky as when it comes to my keyboard, I use an old steam driven IBM-M keyboard with buckling spring keyswitches.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

I also learned to touch-type on a manual typewriter in high school.......a long time ago, in a land far away on a dark and stormy night.
I only know how to use a QWERTY keyboard.
I was typing somewhere between 60-70 wpm (corrected).
Being a computer programmer - now mgr in data communications, I have always used a keyboard.
But I don't have to have a lot of speed, but have some.


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## bobdev (Dec 7, 2010)

Two finger typist, very fast.

Have tried learning touch-typing. Nope!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I don't like the split keyboards either, Scarlet.  They are so big that my big hands have to stretch to type on them.  They're supposed to be ergonomic.  Also don't like the big mouse wtih the ball on top.

I learned to touch type on a big manual typewriter in high school.  I didn't use it much, so after I got my masters and couldn't find a job in music, I couldn't pass tests -- tried and failed first at the Columbia U. library.  Went to Katherine Gibbs and took a two-month course for college graduates which was very intensive in touch typing on IBM Selectric and shorthand.  All my jobs have been as admin. assistant, exec. secretary, legal secretary and word processing, so I have made very good use of my touch typing skills.

Just want to relate a painful experience I had last week at a job interview for temp to perm word processing job.  I usually test in typing at 75-85 wpm.  The firm I went to had a broken base on the keyboard and I had to correct mistakes as I made them ands scored 67.  Wasn't really upset about it, but the interviewer said it wasn't good enough.  There were other tests there that I won't talk about -- too painful -- I wasn't good enough in them either.  The interviewer was quite arrogant and insulted me terribly.

There are some typing games that are pretty good for learning and improving touch typing skills.  One that I have is called typer-shark.  There are others, I'm sure.  For a long time I had my typing and shorthand books from Katherine Gibbs, but I did a major purge of books 3 years ago and got rid of them.  Never thought I'd ever be tested or need them again.  Hah!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Dara England said:


> I have this trouble too. I hit my keys so hard the ones on my laptop started coming off.


You had to type like that when I started, using a manual typewriter.  Fortunately I spent several years with electric typewriters before moving on to computer keyboards.

Oh, and I touch type (QWERTY) ever since taking typing class in summer school around 8th or 9th grade, I think.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Pawz4me said:


> I was a legal secretary in my past life. Which means I know how to type correctly (touch typing) and can do it very fast with high accuracy. I first learned to type way back in the dark ages, on a manual typewriter.


All the same here except I type comparatively slowly for a former legal secretary with not the greatest accuracy. Somehow it was enough (speed and accuracy) for the various attorneys I worked for, one of which was a West Wing attorney (after her stint in Chicago) while her DH (still H, but not so D any longer) was Commissioner of the IRS.


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## Ben White (Feb 11, 2011)

Fingers, sometimes nose.


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## Chris Strange (Apr 4, 2011)

I touch type, but with a couple of little modifications eg I always use the left shift key no matter what letter I'm capitalizing. Generally I'm pretty fast and accurate, at least when I'm not using my laptop where the 'e' fails to work half the time.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

I learned to touch type at a very early age from an aunt who worked in the New York Times "typing pool"....She drummed smoothness and rhythm into me. My first typewriter was a manual Underwood.










In college I had a "modern" Royal










When I bought my first electric "IBM Selectric" I was in heaven !!










Over the years, I have also learned 10-key and card punch.....I really like typing and at one point could claim over 100 wpm (but could only spell at 3 wpm...sigh)...however with every keyboard you touch these days being slightly different, speed and accuracy has dropped considerable.......arthritis does not help either !!

"Texting" and "thumbing" my Kindle are very awkward for me.

Kool Topic !! Thanks


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2011)

FAST.  And I hate to admit it, because it just increases my nerd-factor, but I do keep my fingers on the home keys and I don't look at the keyboard.  

It drives the teenagers nuts.  My niece used to yell at me if I would turn my head and talk to her while typing.  I also type while watching tv and don't even glance away from the tv screen unless I hit a wall in my thought process.

I'm a weenie bit of a freak.


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

@Napcat,  those IBM Selectrics were a delight to work on, a big reason I still use these classic old IBM buckling-spring keyboards, I just cannot get used to "modern" keyboards.


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

I type correctly. I had to because I went through medical transcription classes and was certified. That's why I take such detailed notes at school


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

I learned to type on a manual Royal.  Then moved to an electric typewriter, then the IBM Selectric.  The IBM was a great machine.  My average speed was 106 wpm.  The keys are eye hand coordination and concentration.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Vegas_Asian said:


> I type correctly. I had to because I went through medical transcription classes and was certified. That's why I take such detailed notes at school


My poor mom was a medical transcriptionist for awhile too and a secretary before that. I suspect my failure to learn to touch type was a grave dissapointment.


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## susie (Mar 4, 2011)

I wish I'd listened and tried harder in highschool typing class.  I wish I'd not then thought that typing was just for secretairies and that I didn't need to learn because I wasn't going to be a secretary.

Hindsight is always so clear.


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

I homeschool my youngest (currently sixth grade) and I'm making him learn to type/keyboard.  He was SO frustrated to begin with, but now he can type 40-45 wpm with fairly high accuracy, and he thinks it's fun.  I also made my oldest DS learn to type when I was homeschooling him.


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## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

My accuracy rate went way up when I typed on a teletype machine for two years back in the late 70's. You seriously didn't want to have to correct the tape on those machines!


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## kdawna (Feb 16, 2009)

I learned while in high school in the 70's. However our teacher was always dozing off in class after she gave us timed assignments, so we didn't learn what we could have, if she wasn't a "drinker" . It was a fun class and an easy A.


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## bobavey (Sep 14, 2010)

Way back when I was in school, in the ninth grade, typing was a required subject. The typewriters actually had the letters covered over so you could not see them. The teacher had a large banner displayed in front of the class with the keys and letters. I learned to type that way and still type by touch. The class was also where I began writing for the first time -- fictional stories I mean.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

My mom convinced all of her children (three sisters, my brother, and me) to take a typing class in high school (late 60s and early 70s). She told us that we would never regret being able to type well. At the time, we were probably just thinking about typing school papers. Little did we know how very useful knowing how to touch type would be.


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## cc84 (Aug 6, 2010)

I'm a bit addicted to that typing test site lol, my first go was below average at 32 wpm but i just scored a 44wpm so i did better.

I also know where my fingers should be placed but i dont type "properly" at all.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

cc84 said:


> I'm a bit addicted to that typing test site lol, my first go was below average at 32 wpm but i just scored a 44wpm so i did better.
> 
> I also know where my fingers should be placed but i dont type "properly" at all.


I know what you mean. I'm tempted to retake the test and see if I can improve my score. LOL


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## AnneKAlbert (Dec 7, 2010)

I took typing class...so I still type that way. Unlike this woman, I dropped a couple of those habits.


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## Crafty (Apr 14, 2011)

I took more typing classes than I care to remember, but I type wrong, too. But it's not my fingers that do it wrong, it's my eyes. I was always told if you don't look at either the screen or your fingers, you'll make less mistakes. I cannot do that. I don't watch my fingers, but I MUST watch the screen. And if I'm typing something in the computer that was listed on a paper next to me, I just glance at the paper to put a few words in my head, then watch the screen as I type them, then back again.


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## EGranfors (Mar 18, 2011)

No look, touch type, fast.  One writing book said to put a cover over your head and just type, but if my hands got of the keyboard, I would lose some of my thoughts to ghid id ehsy.


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## AnnetteL (Jul 14, 2010)

I learned to type (incorrectly but pretty fast) as a kid with my mom's typewrite, and in high school took a keyboarding class. Killed me to learn how to type correctly--but it's paid off majorly.

In college, I was a secretary and basically typed four hours a day. 

As a writer, I can crank out 2,000 in an hour pretty easily if I know where the story is going. On a good day, I can type over 100 wpm on tests but usually average 70ish.

If you're a writer, it's worth learning to type correctly so you can produce more, faster.


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## RiddleMeThis (Sep 15, 2009)

I touch type. I took the Aesops test once and got a 61 with zero mistakes. Took it again and got a 77 with 3 errors which dropped it down to 74.


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## *DrDLN* (dr.s.dhillon) (Jan 19, 2011)

I did learn very late just to use for email and for computer in general.

Not very good. But can type without looking at the key board.


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## John H. Carroll (Nov 26, 2010)

I took 2 semesters of typing in high school, type correctly on a QWERTY keyboard and have a standard keyboard.  I prefer a split ergonomic keyboard and type a little faster on one.  I typed Aesop's Fable on the test and got 57 wpm with 4 mistakes, making my adjusted speed 56.  My biggest problems were only typing 1 space after the period and mentally questioning a couple of capital letters along the way.


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

I have to look at the keys and I type with two or three fingers, albeit pretty fast. I could never get the hang of typing at school - it was on the old fashioned push-down-the-key typewriters  and I couldn't get my fingers to stretch across all keys and have the strength to push them down. I took 2 lessons and realized it wasn't going to work. I still manage about 35-40 wpm.


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## Elizabeth Black (Apr 8, 2011)

I touch type at an insane speed I've always hidden from previous non-clerical employers so I wouldn't get relegated to the typing pool. I had worked as a secretary, and I was totally miserable. Hated it! Now I spend all my time typing since I work as a copywriter and fiction writer, but since I work from home I'm my own boss and very happy.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I can't imagine why anyone would be relegated to a typing pool (where are they now?) because they can touch type.  You don't need to include it in a resume, but even if it is one of your skills, being able to type doesn't mean being in a typing pool.

I used to work at CBS Radio News as a secretary (during the 1980s).  All the reporters and newswriters touch typed.  Otherwise, how would they ever meet the deadlines?


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

scarlet said:


> You can tell that I started out life with a manual typewriter because when I make a mistake in a word, I delete all the letters back to the mistake instead of just moving the cursor over to the error!


Yep, me too. I was always pleased when the letter I wanted to type_ instead_ was one that would "fit" over the mistake, instead of just making a big mess. And then when those little sheets of white-out came out it was such an improvement!



scarlet said:


> BTW, does anyone use an non-QWERTY keyboard?


I use a QWERTZ keyboard, does that count? 


Spoiler



On a German keyboard the Y and Z are interchanged.


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