Touch Typing - Keyboarding Tools and Techniques

For the Typing Teacher - Keyboarding Tools and Techniques

Click on an underlined topic.

Program Repetition & Learning
Opportunities for Improvement
Typing Skills Check List
Keyboard Pictures
Flash Cards
Numeric Pad

Program Repetition & Learning

All keyboarding programs must provide a means for repetition. That is, the user should be able to re-key an exercise until they are satisfied with their performance. Touch typing skills are motor reflex skills, that can only be developed with practice, and any program should have "encouragements" to enhance the learning opportunity.

Note: I am NOT talking about games. I am a keyboarding teacher and I am opposed to games. A positive learning environment is needed in which enjoyment occurs via the learner's accomplishments. Games create the wrong learning atmosphere. Programs that ask the learner to "zap the aliens" or "type while racing" distract from the learning environment. Users can and will respond in a positive manner if the keyboarding program is correctly designed.

Adult learner need a program that provides a variety of exercises designed to keep their interest so they will be willing to practice longer. Repetition in keystrokes is needed, but this should be on a variety of subjects so that boredom does not occur.

One way of accomplishing this is to utilize a "learning guide" such as a "Little Professor" as a private instructor. For example, if the learner is in an advanced exercise, and the computer is designed such that it detects that missing a keystroke pattern (not just errors, but patterns of errors) , this fact can be personalized by a "messenger" that tailors the information to the user's needs.

For example, the learner can be asked if he/she wants to practice a "troublesome" key. If "yes" is clicked, a mini review exercise can provide an opportunity to improve performance. The user is not always referred back to re-key the same material over, and over again. The educational "balance" is that repetition is desirable, but not to the point of creating boredom.

For the past three decades we have taught keyboarding to thousands of people. We captured the proven techniques about a decade ago, and are applying these teaching techniques in our program.

A step-by-step approach is taken and each keystroke is introduced, one at a time. There are individual pictures of all key reaches. This will guide your fingers from their assigned home row keys, to the correct key until your fingers know what to do.

After completion of an exercise, the learner is given an opportunity to save the exercise on a personalized "report card."

Errors are analyzed, and if a problem is detected, the learner has an opportunity to practice the troublesome keystroke utilizing "Back to the Classroom, mini-exercises.

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Opportunities for Improvement

In learning or teaching, please do not think of errors as something horrible. The educational philosophy should be to view errors in a positive sense. That is, errors are Mother Nature's way of telling us there are opportunities for improvement. Mistakes are a natural part of the learning process.

When the user first begins the process of seriously learning keyboarding, the program should balance errors, which tend to naturally occur, with the learning need of "encouraging" the user to type faster. Here are some guidelines that might be useful.

Exercise #	Target Speed	Error Limit
01 - 19	15	30
20 - 99	15	25
100 - 179	20	20
180 - 200	20	15
201 - 250	25	15
251 - 300	30	13
300+	30	8

Note that we are NOT suggesting that errors be ignored. Rather, we are suggesting that in the beginning, learners should concentrate on using the correct finger to strike a key, and not be overly concerned about errors.

So, initially the keyboarding program should be very liberal and allow exercise to be recorded that has up to 30 errors (remember, this is for only six lines of type). The reason for this is that we find that true beginners are often nervous and "Error Prone." However, that soon changes.

Each time the user starts a new exercise, they are shown a report card on the exercises completed. They are encouraged to re-key an exercise whenever desired to improve their speed and accuracy. As they progress further along, they are more strongly encouraged to type both quickly and accurately.

However, if the program detects that the learner is consistantly missing a keystroke pattern, the learner is given an opportunity to practice specialized exercises to overcome the troublesome keystroke.

For keyboarding teachers:
For my class: I have students go all the way through ALL the 500+ exercises if they have time. Then I ask them to strive for accuracy on the timed writings.

Re-Key Exercises as Needed for "A" Grade

Exercise	Target Speed	Error Limit
1 minute timed	30	6
3 minute timed	30	18
5 minute timed	25	22

NOTE: This excludes programming exercises and numeric exercises.

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Skills Check List

All learners must maintain a "professional" posture and a positive attitude. I realize that may sound "trite" to non-teachers, but as a teacher, I fully believe in the importance of a professional learning environment. And yes, I am one of these "old timers" who support a dress requirement. If you do not appear professional, and if you do not act professional, then how can you expect people to "BE" professional.

The key to mastering touch typing is that the learner must "concentrate on what they are doing!"

Helping learners to "concentrate" and "stay focused" is difficult. Most learners cooperate with you, but some people have to be constantly reminded to "sit up straight," "quit talking," "concentrate on the task," and "keep your feet flat on the floor."

Others seem to have their eyes on everything but the screen, and it is amazing that they are able to learn anything about which finger should strike a key, let alone how to type accurately. If you are dealing with such learners, the below "feedback" form will be of assistance. (Wait a moment before printing the form).

Nimble Fingers - Skills Check List

Topic	Needs Work	About Right	Great Job
Keystroke Patterns
Strikes keys with quick motion.	[]	[]	[]
Types with a steady, even rhythm.	[]	[]	[]
Strikes Enter key without looking.	[]	[]	[]
Keeps fingers on home row keys.	[]	[]	[]
Strives for accuracy.	[]	[]	[]
Posture
Sits erect.	[]	[]	[]
Feet flat on floor.	[]	[]	[]
Wrists up.	[]	[]	[]
Elbows in.	[]	[]	[]
Attitude
Follows directions.	[]	[]	[]
Completes exercises on time.	[]	[]	[]
Is prepared for class.	[]	[]	[]
Has work well organized.	[]	[]	[]
Has a good attitude.	[]	[]	[]

If you would like a copy of this specific form, without having to print out this ten page document, then click on the "Little Professor." Only the Skills Check List< will be displayed for printing.

Click on the little professor to print the check list. Then "back" to return here.

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Keyboard Pictures

There are often times when a picture of the keyboard will be useful. Several are provided below. These are large black and white jpg files (about 110k) because a high quality, full-page picture is needed for a realistic keyboard.

Click on the small picture for a full size picture. Print it, then "back arrow" to return to this program. I prefer the dark, full-page landscape layouts.

Dark keyboard; all keys shown	Dark keyboard; few keys shown
Light keyboard; all keys shown	Light keyboard; few keys shown

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NimbleFingers - Flash Cards

Suppose the basic finger keystroke patterns have been mastered and the learner is trying to build speed. The little professor will again be of assistance, but this time, not with music. He will display common words to encourage the learner to think and then to type the word as a whole.

The objective of the Flash Cards exercise is to develop motor reflex patterns. Flash cards train you to think and type words as a whole, not as individual letters in the word.

That is, in the word "the" instead of thinking of the individual letters "t", "h" and "e", think the whole word "the" and type the whole word "the." Do not think of, and then type, the individual letters. Flash cards will vastly improve your touch typing speed.

Flash Cards randomly produces hundreds of words and brief phrases to develop your skills. Numerous options can be selected, such as capitalizing the first letter of the word, entering the period after the word, entering a period and two spaces after the word, or touch typing the word followed by a comma. The little professor will guide the learner through well over a million combinations.

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NimbleFingers - Numeric Pad

I bet you are thinking:
So, are you now going to tell me that it will be easy to learn how to use the numeric pad?"

Answer the question for yourself. Pretend you have a common hand-held caculator laying on the desk before you.

Do you think you can master the keystrokes shown?

You bet you can! The "trick" is to think of using a caculator and soon you will have mastered the numeric pad. Every attempt is made to make the exercises interesting by using data dealing with housing prices, and expensive equipment.

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