[LMB] AKICIF: touch typing

[James]

On 11/13/06, Tzivia Adler <tadler at yeshivanet.com> wrote:
> in this case, many people are using hte same computer (hurry up, it -my-
> turn already!) and the wires are hard to reach, so replacing the actual
> keyboard with blanks won't work.  i need something that will go on and off
> quickly.

Which is why they invented USB ports on the front :). Move the regular
keyboard out of the way and cover it with a piece of linen. Stick in
modified keyboard, and as long as you have a semi-recent copy of
Windows, it just works.

> also this is a situation where papa (i wish i knew this stuff, now there's
> no time to learn) does not believe in games, while the child (why do i need
> this stuff) needs a printed paper to prove that (drumroll please) tada!
> education has happened.  :)  if education doesn't happen, tutor doesn't get
> paid, and games are -clearly- not educational.  or they are something child
> can do on his own time.  if he gets a turn at the computer when he -already-
> had a turn...

Ugh, I do dislike those kind of rigid teaching. Though, if that's the
case, you might find it more useful to just pick up a typewriter. At
least the audio feedback and paper will serve as proof, and it's
difficult to backspace over errors (unless you get the fancy ones that
buffer a line of text before typing it out). This way child doesn't
use up a precious turn at the computer. (But I mean, even Mavis Beacon
Teaches Typing has games... there really is no good way to teach
accuracy/reflexes/skill than a game in an interesting way, especially
something as dull as typing).

Heck, old timers - remember typing books that described the advantages
of touch typing? Those were fun. And at my work (high-tech company,
everyone has *AT LEAST* one computer at their desk), there are two
coworkers I know who don't touch type at all. Turns out they can hunt
and peck pretty fast.

> covering the hands works moderately well, but i lost track of who suggested
> what.  thanks!

Probably a bunch of us did.

Typing class trivial that I remember.

In the early days when we had the typing books and word processor (and
typing rows upon rows of "ffff jjjj ffff jjjj ..."), the only thing
that kept our sanity was the oddball breaks we would create - from
high pitched whining monitors, to various ways to cheat of having to
type every row twice.

In my next class, I had the (mis-)fortune of being able to type at a
reasonable speed already (we all had to take it). So I had the longest
essay to type out, and we had to proofread other people's essays which
they corrected. Unfortunately, the teacher never considered that the
proofreader was deficient, so I ended up getting dinged for
corrections that were never marked on my copy. Ugh.

Finally, also around the same time, we had a program called "Type!"
for Mac. I managed to snag a copy somehow from the computer, but it
was a neat program. There was a mode where you did "races" to compete
against a computer (you had a runner, the computer another. The
computer's speed was set at the beginning, while your runner ran as
fast as you typed. The more you made mistakes, the more  your runner
tripped and fell behind). The nice thing was that in the full keyboard
mode, it had essays that were fairly interesting to begin with. Those
who knew how to type could enjoy the essay, while those not so much
had to concentrate word by word. Fun.

Anyone else have interesting typing stories?