Friday Question #197
Do you know how to type? How did you learn? Are you good at it?
Do they still teach typing to kids today? (what, when they are three or something?)
I never took a formal typing class. In high school, when it was offered, I was worried I would be bad at it, and not get an A, and ruin my straight-A record. So I never learned in a formal setting!
I think in my last two years of high school some of our essays were starting to be required to be typed, so I started typing more then, but really became proficient at it my first year of college. I am a fast typist, but definitely not the fastest! I don’t look at the keyboard when I type, and usually I am looking at a different screen (which Steven said is bad for my eyes… could that explain all those headaches?!??!!!).
It was funny when I lived in Rome and their keyboards were a little bit different! Recently, I saw a keyboard where you could have it set up QWERTY style or you could have all the letters in alphabetical order!
Themocracy
Yvonne and I were just talking about this last weekend! Neither one of us ever took typing, and regret it to this day.
I type fairly quickly, considering, but I have to look at the keyboard the entire time. Sometimes I look up and realize I haven’t been typing anything at all because the curser wasn’t in the right spot. grr.
My kids started typing class in like 3rd grade I think? It’s part of their computer classes…
We had to take typing in high school as a requirement, but my brother and I learned beforehand by playing “Mario teaches typing.” It was actually a lot of fun for us Nintendo nerds.
In my high school class, they taught us that you’re SUPPOSED to look at the monitor that your text is on, that it’s most efficient that way. Not sure what it means for headaches though 🙁
Troy has his keyboards set up in the DVORAK style. It’s supposed to be more efficient – less reaching for frequent letters, but it means that I can’t use any of his computers without a ton of work and staring at the keyboard to find every letter! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard
Mario! That sounds fun!
That keyboard… no. Yikes.
I never took typing classes. In high school, I hand wrote all my papers and mom would hunt-n-peck type them on the computer. I started learning a little in college just because I had to type my own papers. Then, I started my current job 13 years ago and had to learn for work. I’m not bad, but I wouldn’t say I’m the fastest typist in the world either.
I love typing! Is that weird? I took a class in high school, but I think because I was an English major and had to type a LOT of papers in college, I type very fast. And hard. Like, I’ve broken keys off my laptop because I type so hard. LOL! It’s some sort of weird stress release for me!
I also get impatient with people who type slow, especially on IM. I’m like, “Hurry up! Just spit it out! Come on!” Ha. That’s not very nice of me.
I love to type too. This comment reminded me that at one point I thought about becoming a court reporter because I think the law is interesting too and I could combine two things I enjoy. I wasn’t interested in law enough to want to be a lawyer or paralegal though. It is a far cry from what I actually do now dealing with statistics/math/economics though.
Ha! I feel that way too with slow typers on IM 🙂
We had a required typing class in high school. It did help me with “proper” finger placement. It’s so weird, if I have to use a type writer (it oddly comes in handy sometimes at work) I am completely lost!
chirp chirp…
What’s a typewriter?
I learned to type in high school. Another benefit to going to an all girls school that was part of the deal. lol. My husband hates how fast I am and that I don’t have to look at the keyboard all the time. I had to take timed typing tests a few time for jobs and was surprised I passed them. That’s why I hate typing on my phone. I prefer texting but I would be faster with a qwerty board.
I didn’t take a typing class in high school either, opting instead for photography classes! I had a (very old) English teacher who told our class a story of teaching herself how to type (and she was a very fast typist). I figured if she could teach herself how to type, so could I. And, I did. I’m pretty good at typing on a keyboard, though I’m quite certain I’d be terrible at a typewriter. My definition of “pretty good at a keyboard” includes perfect and often use of the backspace key. =)
I considered taking typing in high school but I knew the teacher (he was the father of a boy who played soccer with my brother so he used to sit near me at games and pick on me all the time (in a not mean way)) and I decided I wouldn’t learn much from him and would be annoyed by him as a teacher.
I first learned how to type by going to chat rooms to talk to my friends and then on ICQ (did you have that?!) and AIM. I got pretty good with using a few fingers to type but not using “home keys”. Then before I graduated from high school I decided to teach myself to use the home keys. I don’t type the formal way but I would guess I am pretty close. I can type a decent speed and don’t usually have to look down at the keyboard.
Ahh! Good point! Using all those instant messenger programs really helped us! I was never on ICQ but found this cool online program in college that combined a bunch of chats in to one so I only had to log in one place. I used to use that to talk to Steven when he lived in another state. It’s nice that it is built in to gmail now.
I took typing from 4th-6th grade and then I think again maybe in high school but I am not sure. I know how to type really well and don’t have to look at the key board which is nice.
Based on the abhorrent spelling and typos and text speak, I don’t think they teach typing they way they used to. In high school, I had to take typing for a grade. I’m a really good typist, actually. I put my fingers on the correct keys and everything! And I can type without looking. BAM! 😉
HAHA! I was talking to someone about this the other day. I didn’t take “keyboarding” in high school b/c I was afraid of ruining my straight A’s too! I am pretty good at it now and generally don’t need to look at the keyboard but I have no idea how I “learned”…I guess just muscle memory over time.
I took typing class in high school and I still think it was one of the most useful things I ever took. I can type pretty fast without needing to look at the keyboard. I used to have a European keyboard for a long time, and I was totally used to it, then I bought a laptop in the US a couple years ago and I had to retrain myself for the American one again… It didn’t take that long actually…
Do you ever have to switch back and forth between the two now?
When did you live in Rome? I lived in Italy for a year, and it totally seems like a dream now. The keyboards did mess me up, but the ones in Dubai were even worse!
I lived there from Jan ’06 – August ’06. Where did you live?
I lived in Siena. Pretty glorious.
I took typing in high school with an electric typewriter. Ultra hi-tech! Man, am I old…
I can’t imagine not knowing how to type in this day and age! Keyboarding was a required class for us in high school, but I already knew how to type very well when I took it. As a matter of fact, I out-typed our teacher in a one-minute timed test.
Ha! Go Pam Go!!!
I had to take a typing class in high school. It was just one quarter, but enough to learn the HOME row and all of that business. I still type with the right fingers on the right keys, and I average close to 100 WPM with a pretty low error percentage. I can also type perfectly without looking, which constantly weirds my fiance out (since I’ll type while maintaining a conversation with him). Yeah, I’m kind of nerdy about that. And I love typing.
I wonder if anyone is still learning the “right” way to type anymore. When I started looking for jobs several years ago after college, I had to take typing tests in order to sign up with temp agencies. Oddly enough, no one cares anymore about how fast/accurately I can type.
I can type and look at someone while they are talking to me… but I am either going to be typing what they say or not paying attention to them! I cannot do two things at once (unless it is running + another thing).
You didn’t have typing class at Elk Run?? That’s where I had typing class and I am awesome at typing. 😉 I taught Dad how to type too.
I didn’t. I also thought Dad didn’t know how to type.
We had to take keyboarding in either junior high or high school. I took it in junior high (on a computer) so I figured out typing pretty quickly. Also because my mom stopped agreeing to type my papers by the end of junior high so I had to figure it out! I’m a pretty good typist on both the computer and the typewriter (yes, I had to use one at my old job) but I still love the delete key 🙂
I took typing in high school. I wouldn’t want one in order at this point of my life. I would have to relearn how to type. At this point, my fingers just know where to go. There is no thinking about it.
I took “Keyboarding” in high school, which is what they called typing (and was disappointing to me, a piano player). I only took it because my mom forced me to. She thought it would be a very valuable skill for me to know how to type properly. I’m glad I took it I guess? I don’t remember what my typing was like before the class.
We did “touch typing” starting in the 4th grade but only went to the computer lab 1X a week. We then had to take Keyboarding as a class for a trimester in the 8th grade. By that time my family had a computer and the Internet, so I was practicing regularly. I was typing 80WPM in the 8th grade. Sometimes I look down to type numbers, but that’s about it.
I learned how to type in high school. On an IBM Selelectic. I was in 9th grade if I remember my past correctly. I can type about 60 wpm if I really concentrate and that’s with a couple of errors. It’s been years since I’ve taken a typing test.