Took a typing class my sophomore year in college as an elective. Probably the best choice I made in those 4 years, as typing has served a valuable function of life just about on a daily basis.

There were a number of things my father told me as I was growing up such as, “Take every test you can,” and “Learn to type” was one. I took typing in high school and that made it much easier when it was required in a couple of military intelligence courses in the Army. I was never blazing fast, but when correcting an error required using an eraser on an original and three carbons, I learned to be careful.

Back when I used a computer keyboard I could actually type...somewhat. I've always been a hunt/peck/homekeys/look/don't look hybrid typist...mostly using the home keys in the approved manner...

The iPad ended that noise...now I've regressed to just being a two finger and thumb, look at the screen and peck sloth, right out of the Zootopia DMV.

Mrs Hale. Can't remember but I think we had to take it in 9th grade, might have been 10th. It was mandatory. This was in the mid 80's and we had some kind of IBM typewriter. I do remember she used a yardstick to correct your posture and whack your knuckles if you rested your palms on the typewriter. I will never forget the little white correction strips you had to use to edit your mistakes.
Hated it then but I am thankful for it now as I learned how to type correctly and it stuck. I was a benefit later when everything computerized.

quote:

Originally posted by airsoft guy:
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.

That's pretty much my story. I grew up with computers, having access since about age 6 or so. Typing in my fashion is very fast, accurate, and as natural to me as walking.

Unique method, don't always use the correct fingers, must look most of the time, can do 30-40 wpm. In high school typing was an elective along with a motorcycle shop class. My attitude - who needs to learn how to type fast, I like motorcycles. Didn't need to do typing through the Tech and the Navy that required speed. My wife could type fast and she tried many times to teach me, the correct fingers etc. As we all know the PC took off - my job the last 30+ years requires lots of reports, updates, programs with data input, thus....typing. Boy did I guess wrong. All the young engineers coming in can touch type pretty good - not blazing fast like an administrative assistant.

I’m another person who took typing in high school in the 60’s. Also only boy in class. I made side money typing term papers for other students in college.

One of the most useful skills I ever learned in school.

Selected "hang-10" because, while, for example, I have yet to have looked at the keyboard in typing this sentence (ETA: Or anything below), incl. those square-brackets, I do have to occasionally look a lot. So I guess I'm "touch-type with occasional hang-ten."

I used to type much better when I used to code a lot. With coding: You either learn how to type or find a new career . (At least the way I code.)

One of these days, when ambition strikes, I'll fire up a typing tutor and hone my skills--just because.

On my Commodore Amiga A3000 (?) I had a copy of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Boy, did that ever work well for honing ones touch-typing skills

I still have the A3000 downstairs. I wonder if it still runs?

</me looks...>

Ha! Looks like Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing might still be available. My ex-employer gifted me my old work laptop, and that's got MS-Win7 Pro on it. Hmmm...

That was a really good typing tutor...

When we were in HS, my parents made the boys take typing and the girls shop class.

I went to typing class in eighth grade, early sixties. Learned on an Underwood manual. As a Military Police Officer after high school, I had the joy of having to type reports (Original and three onionskins) without any errors. Needless to say, I was very slow.

Upon joining the State Police in 1969 I had to type reports with only two extra copies, I thought myself lucky.

The joy of old school typing and report writing cannot be duplicated. I am still writing long reports, but the task is so much easier.

I voted touch type. After 40+ years of writing software/documentation/etc touch typing is not even something I think about, you just do it.

Now on an iPad or phone? It’s one booger picker against the screen

I took keyboarding in HS and like many posters before me, it was one of the most useful classes I've ever taken. Took it freshman year in HS and 20 years after graduating from HS, it has saved me a lot of time. I average about 65 wpm.

Typing was a 'required for graduation' class in my HS (Yorktown HS, NY), so I learned to type in '79. I think we were typing at ~ 50 or 60 wpm. It was taught by a tough 'ole gal named Mrs. Berandino who didn't take any crap from us HS punks.

I use typing on a daily basis more than any other 'taught' school subject.

Typing is almost like walking, etc., in that it just happens without thinking about it (but that goodness for auto-spell check!).
__________

I type extremely well for someone who never took a typing class.

With what I used to call the 'cartoon cliff fall method". You know in the cartoons when someone walks off a cliff, they don't fall until they look down. That's how I would type without looking. I'd go along just fine and when my brain would say "Hey, you're not looking, that's when the wheels would fall off. lmao

I've gotten to the point now where I'm looking at the screen far more often than they keys now. It's kind of a zen thing, when I can't find a key my stubborn "willful will" brain kicks in and tries to force it, rather than just letting it happen. I get frustrated and have to look.

Watching myself type this, I seem to use five fingers, and on occasion a sixth. But other than my thumb often hitting shift and my right pinky reaching out for things in the corner, there seems to me no rhyme or reason to which fingers I use, other than it goes by which finger I plan on using next.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

I voted touch type as that's the closet version to how I type. I took 2 years of typing in high school and can type all letters/numbers with no problem and punctuation within reason.

I learned out to use the main keys around Ninth grade, but didn't learn the function keys and 10-key until my 30s, when I needed to use them for a job.

I took typing in Jr. High. As with many of you, I learned on an Underwood manual machine with no correction tape. I probably got to 40 wpm at that time.

Over most of my banking career, I typed daily and, while developing some bad habits, I still can do a decent job.

I have an IBM keyboard on my homemade PC and do just fine. IBM made some killer keyboards in its days and I guess this one is 10+ years old.

I just bought a new MacBook Pro and I can't type worth a crap on it..........different key spacing.

Mike

I've got my own system but I'm a touch typist.

The most practical class I ever took in high school was typing. We learned "proper" touch typing, on electric typewriters, as well as business letter formats. I will occasionally test myself, and my most recent results have been in the 60-70wpm range.

I never learned how to do 10-key, though.

I never took a shorthand class, but use my own method when taking notes. I basically just leave out vowels and double-consonants. Worked so well that when I handwrite something, like a message in a birthday card, I have to consciously make the effort to NOT use shorthand.