I took it in high school so I've been typing for many years.

She never took it. She took an online test a couple times today and it estimated she was "typing" between 23-25 WPM. Not sure how legit the test was but I gave it a go a couple times and came out to 75-80 WPM.

Is Mavis Beacon still a good option? I see you can get the program for a low price online.

When I learned, it was actually our business teacher/drivers ed teacher who taught us. He constantly walked around the room talking about the home row...

This is offered online through our local college:

http://cs.valenciacollege.edu/...0-5356704.1553306790

Any thought on this?

Taking a class in person is preferable. Provides motivation and help if needed. Of course you will have to practice alot at home. Teachers can spontaneously correct mistakes.

This may sound a bit insane, but after she's taken a class and practiced enough to have a decent understanding where the keys are on the keyboard, buy her a cheap mechanical keyboard and swap out all the key caps for blank ones. You can only get really good at touch typing when you remove the training wheels (i.e. the white lettering on the key caps). I even go back to using a DAS keyboard I have every once in a while that's totally blank. When I type with it for a little while I can actually type while watching TV or talking to someone without ever looking down at the keyboard. That's when you can really pick up speed.

And your 75-80 words a minute is a good target to shoot for. Few people type faster than that without increasing their number of mistakes.

Is the goal learning to type on a computer keyboard (likely) or on a mechanical keyboard? There would be a huge difference.

What I’m hearing you say is you tried with something online (computer keyboard) and she managed 20-ish words per minute. That sounds like she’s relatively familiar with the keyboard layout. If that’s the case what she needs is practice, lots of it. Get out a magazine/book/etc and have at it. What I remember of Mavis Bacon and such is they just teach the keyboard layout and give you practice, nothing more.

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
Is the goal learning to type on a computer keyboard (likely) or on a mechanical keyboard? There would be a huge difference.

In current lingo, a "mechanical keyboard" is a computer keyboard that uses mechanical switches for the keys rather than membrane switches (which most laptop keyboards and inexpensive keyboards use).

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
Is the goal learning to type on a computer keyboard (likely) or on a mechanical keyboard? There would be a huge difference.

In current lingo, a "mechanical keyboard" is a computer keyboard that uses mechanical switches for the keys rather than membrane switches (which most laptop keyboards and inexpensive keyboards use).

I think he meant a typewriter keyboard, though I'd be surprised to find anyone using a typewriter anymore.

I took my typing course in 9th grade; however, my grandmother taught me the rudimentaries the summer before. Maybe the OP could sit with his wife and teach her himself.

Once you learn the basics, the best way for me to learn and get faster was online interaction - forums, online games, etc.

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"

My mom was a secretary at Prudential just after she graduated high school. Boy she could type! When I was in high school she tried to teach me so I could type my own reports and made me type that line over and over. Good memories.

And I still can't type lol.

I learned with Mavis Beacon about 20 years ago. It came with Windows back then IIRC, but I haven't seen it lately in the Office package. I devoted 1 hour per night for a month and became proficient enough and progressed over the years.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by jbcummings:
Is the goal learning to type on a computer keyboard (likely) or on a mechanical keyboard? There would be a huge difference.

In current lingo, a "mechanical keyboard" is a computer keyboard that uses mechanical switches for the keys rather than membrane switches (which most laptop keyboards and inexpensive keyboards use).

I think he meant a typewriter keyboard, though I'd be surprised to find anyone using a typewriter anymore.

I took my typing course in 9th grade; however, my grandmother taught me the rudimentaries the summer before. Maybe the OP could sit with his wife and teach her himself.

Bigdeal posted "buy her a cheap mechanical keyboard and swap out all the key caps for blank ones" and then in the next post jbcummings asked whether the goal was to learn to type on a computer keyboard or a mechanical keyboard.

I figured jbcummings thought "mechanical keyboard" meant a non-electric typewriter and was explaining that a "mechanical keyboard" is a specific type of computer keyboard.

I learned in the military. They put you in a room with no windows and you type page after page. (At least these were old IBM non-correcting electrics and not manual typewriters-).

Every hour there was a speed test drill. When you topped 30wpm you could leave the room... (however many days it took). I can probably still do 85 wpm on a decent keyboard.

My kids learned with the Spongebob Squarepants Typing program. Worked great- they can both type well over 40 wpm these days.
I have heard it seems to help if you can already play a piano or keyboard- (Home position understanding and the like).

Do whatever it takes. I'd say typing class was one of the most beneficial classes I took in college. It'll serve her the rest of her life!

I remember taking typing in high school and thinking it was a waste of time. I cannot imagine living in this age of computers, texting, etc and not knowing how to type. It would be a handicap for sure. One finger at a time is so slow.

Kudos to your wife for wanting to learn something new later in life. Have you checked into adult education classes? There's probably more people than one realizes who are in the same position.

took typing in high school,
first 1/2 of the year we learned that if you put a penny on the H inside the machine, then hit the H, it would toss the penny across the room,,


then after that we go selectrics,, no more fun,


asdf jkl;, then slowly learned the rest of the letters,


didn't do well in that class, and did not really learn to type till we got emails at work, then everyone wanted a reply so I had to reteach myself

I type with all fingers and one thumb,,

drives me nuts to see the guys using 2 finger on each had,,


of course, the backspace key is my friend,,,

I agree with those who have posted that after you have learned the key positions and finger motions, it basically just comes down to practice. Specifically, practice where you aren't looking at the keyboard and are typing as fast as you can without making too many mistakes.

I can type 100-110 WPM. I learned the basics in a typing class in elementary school. The speed I mostly attribute to years of being a huge nerd and spending an obscene amount of time playing text-based online multiplayer games from middle school to college. When you have to keep your eyes glued to the screen to keep up with the text scrolling by telling you what is happening in the world and have to type out phrases describing everything you want your character to do (and also anything you want to say to anyone else playing the game), you learn to type fast without looking at the screen.