I recently upgraded to full touch-typing, but only for letters, fairly weak on ancillaries like punctuation. Originally learned in an actual summer school class, but for the longest time only partially touch-typed, i.e. used all fingers correctly but had to look at the keyboard. Now I only have to look for things like periods and the all-important delete key. Still learning. Wondering what the level of proficiency is here. Also how did you learn, class, computer program, self-taught, etc. Give your words-per-minute if you like.
Not very well. I'd say somewhere between the touch and hang-ten. I can find the letters mostly without looking but still make quite a few mistakes. I learned my relatively pitiful skills around high school age, on a manual typewriter. Words per minute? No idea.
Posts: 29050 | Location: Johnson City, TN | Registered: April 28, 2012
Learned in the military under the old school technique. They put you in a room full of typewriters. You pick one.
For 8+ hours all you do is type papers. Every hour or so there is a speed test. When you reach 30 wpm you can leave. If you don't- you keep typing. It took me three days to hit 30 wpm.
Posts: 1512 | Location: PA | Registered: March 15, 2009
Not worth a damn now, used to be pretty good (accurate and fast-retired pharmacist) but now due to arthritis and stiff fingers it’s now hunt and peck with a couple of fingers.
Posts: 1833 | Location: central Alabama | Registered: July 31, 2009
I taught myself to type. While all the other chuds were out there using all sorts of shortcuts, like using single letters for whole words, or shortening them down to abbreviations and such, I said fuuuuuuuuck that, and learned myself how to type. By time I got to a class where they would teach you, the teacher said they couldn't unteach me, it wouldn't make sense. Sure I'm doing it all wrong, but I'm doing it, and faster than your average person, and with fewer mistakes to boot.
quote:
Originally posted by Will938: If you don't become a screen writer for comedy movies, then you're an asshole.
Posts: 17157 | Location: Washington State | Registered: April 04, 2003
One thing that does bother me is that I know I have become much more careless since the advent of autocorrect. It covers up many deficiencies in keyboard skills.
Posts: 9097 | Location: The Red part of Minnesota | Registered: October 06, 2002
Once upon a time, when I had Wordperfect with my macros set up, I did transcription for civil attorneys. I could do 135 wpm back then, but I had all kinds of shortcuts. Certain key combinations would type entire phrases or sentences. I got paid well for it, it was an off duty gig, and I paid for my computer with it. Good thing, too, dang computer cost 4000 bucks back then. Tiny little screen, too.
Posts: 17318 | Location: Lexington, KY | Registered: October 15, 2006
Funny that others have said girls. Me and a buddy were walking down a hallway after helping a teacher with something. We walked by a typing class and it was all girls so we signed up for it the next semester.
Turned out to be one of the most useful classes I ever took in high school.
I type quickly and accurately (70-80 wpm), but I don't do the standard "asdf jkl;" touch type system. I use a system that I created. I did take standard keyboarding classes in school, but I mainly taught myself.
Originally posted by Rinehart: I can do 80 wpm on a decent keyboard.
Same here, or at least used to be able to. I learned traditional touch typing during a summer school class at the local high school, back in the early 1960's. These days, a "decent" keyboard, for me, is a mechanical switch clicky.
Posts: 10887 | Location: South Congress AZ | Registered: May 27, 2006
I didn't take typing. I took shorthand, the only male in class. This was at the suggestion of an attorney who I had consulted about being one. I ended up working for him, while in high school as a clerk/office boy/errand runner.
I'm self taught at typing, barely adequate.
We had a secretary at our law firm who could type faster than the IBM correcting selectic she used. I've never seen anything like it. She made mistakes so rarely, finding one was an event, and when her husband got out of the Navy and moved back to Oklahoma we were heartbroken.
Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.
When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown
Posts: 48369 | Location: Texas hill country | Registered: July 04, 2005
Ms Magnuson in 10th grade or so. I am pretty good, have no idea as to my speed, but I get the job done. Again, one of the most useful classes I ever took.
Posts: 5703 | Location: Central Illinois | Registered: March 04, 2001
I can type with both hands without looking at the keyboard. Punctuating beyond a "." and I need to look. While I can type without looking I would make a mistake typing this out without glancing up down a few times when typing.
I was self-taught. Wanted to learn to type and used a program to learn. This was back when the programs came on 5 1/2 inch floppy disks.
_____________________________________
Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. Jack Kerouac
Originally posted by JALLEN:I took shorthand, the only male in class.
When I was in HS, shorthand was touted as a big advantage for college bound students. I signed up and found it to be the most useless class I ever took. I don't recall taking one single note that way.
Posts: 9097 | Location: The Red part of Minnesota | Registered: October 06, 2002
