How do I learn to type?

Q

quietfanatic

Ancient One
My hand writing is terrible and not that fast. Because of this I have been offered to type my final exams (HSC, A level, SAT whatever) on computer instead of writing. The only problem is I don't know how to (touch) type. ( It would have been useful if I was informed of this policy before instead of 6 months before the exam).

I have started a course on a typing program but I'm still pretty slow.

How long does it take to learn to type?

Any suggestions for improving my typing skill (apart fom what I already do, make the odd comment or clumpsily constructed argument at NMA).

I currently type at 20 wpm at best with cheating.
 
Practice, Practice, Practice.

Chat with your friends online and try to respond as fast as possible. But don't teach yourself bad habits. The last thing you want on an exam is an "lol" or "wtf."
 
Start playing "Typing of the Dead"!!! It improves your typing skills, it is corny in a funny way and it has ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What more could you want?
 
I agree with Ghetto Goose. I started chatting online with my friends the summer before my Freshman year of High School. I had to hunt and peck, at best with 15 wpm. I think now I can pound out about 60 or 70 if I'm really trying. If nothing else, just DL AOL Instant Messenger, or a similar service, and chat with random people. Don't try chat rooms... too much goes on in there. It's hard enough to talk to one person online if you're just learning.

Also, this might sound corny, but when I was first learning to type quickly, I would act like there was a keyboard in front of me at all times, and when I was talking to friends, I would type what I was saying, including the delete key when I "knew" I had messed up :wink:
 
Whoa, I can't remember when I had 20 wpm. Now, I'm probably up there with WaterGirl, maybe more, been awhile since I last tested myself. My teacher can put out 146 wpm, on a bad day, when her hands are sore, and her eyes are tired. She's crazy. I think the most I ever heard was my dad's buddy when he used to work as an SP on base, his pal was some kind of computer wiz, and he had an average of 173 wpm, or somewhere up there, can't remember the exact number.
 
How do you know how many words a minute you can type?

I can type alright. I prefer chatrooms because you can just bash out replies to anything in general, while you can't keep saying to your friend 'the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy yellow dog' or something :((((

I'm not too bothered about typing really fast. It's annoying in IT classes where one or two people try typing fast but just keep slamming on there keyboard and making a lot of mistakz. Not very l337 at all mate.
 
Just keep typing. Yes, it is as simple as that. I've practiced heaps, and now I can touch type 70 wpm on a bad day with my eyes closed almost falling asleep. Just keep up the practice and it will work out.
 
Myrrdin said:
Start playing "Typing of the Dead"!!! It improves your typing skills, it is corny in a funny way and it has ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What more could you want?
Click to expand...

"Typing with the Dead"? I'm intriqued.

I type fast in part, I think, because I learned to play piano when I was a kind, and that helps with the hand eye coordination. My problem is spelling.
 
Yeah, it's like the House of the Dead zombie shooting game, but instead of a gun you have a keyboard to type a specific string of words. Never played it though, just saw it in arcades...

I'd recommend just jumping into discussions online as the best way.
 
Practice. Practice does it. I never(ever) took any kind of typing class, and I can type with one mistake per minute, at 60 words per minute. More if I get to make up my own line of thought, instead of typing over what's on the screen.
Test your speed:
www.typera.tk
 
Cool link-
You typed: This is untrue. JELL-O molds won't work Unique up on it! Gozer the Gozerian: As the duly appointed representative of the city, count and state of New York, I hereby order you to cease all supernatural activities at once and proceed immediately to your place of origin or the nearest parallel dimension, whichever is nearest. Macho does not prove mucho. He spent the night in a warehouse. What's this script do? With proper assistance, you might have lefyt off at seven. Only in the holiday season. Open second quart as
Click to expand...
I ended up at 50 words per minute, but the beginning tripped me up because I was so pleasantly surprised at the Ghostbusters reference...
 
More about "Typing of the Dead": There actually is a pc-version, although it's pretty hard to find nowadays. It also has a tutorial mode where you learn to touch type, and when you actually have learnt to touch type, the game in itself with its different modes works wonders for your WPM. I actually knew how to touch type fairly quickly before I picked the game up 3 or 4 years ago but since me and some friends played it rather extensively, trying to beat each other's scores, it actually improved my WPM by 20 or something in a week or two. It's probably pretty cheap if you can find it now, and great fun.
 
I took a class as a freshmen in high school for typing and i was typing like a pro by the end of the first semester, so my advice would be to practice for about an hour everyday until you get it down pat.
 
WaterGirl said:
I agree with Ozrat.
Click to expand...
Since when can you agree with something I haven't said yet? :scratch:

But yes, the keyword is PRACTICE.

Get Mavis Beacan (insert freeware version # here) (or some other alternative touchtyping program you can find) as soon as it is convenient for ya and start practicing every night and in school as much as possible.
 
Posting on forums and instant messaging can help you amazingly, without you even realising it. I used to be a shitty shitty shitty typer. Then I started posting on message forums and IMing and things improved drastically and quickly.
 
Do you type up _everything_ you write?

The typing practice doesn't specifically have to be where you sit and type some silly thing - you can type up grocery lists, assignments (which you're probably doing already), To Do lists, etc.



Plus, as long as you can type faster then you can write, you're ahead.

I wrote some of my exams on a laptop last year.
 
Thanks everyone

I am already using Mavis Bacon and it is very useful although it suffers the from the same neccessary problem as most programs (repetitive and unrealistic phrases such as Mount Kilamanjaro Excusion ;'ase wqqq,WsW)

It has many additional features and tells you how fast you are and how well you know each key.

Just curious, but do any of your countries allow final exams to be done on computer like here in Australia.

I would feel very guilty about this unfair advantage if I wasn't so uncoordinated. Do you think that this policy is fair. Some psychotically fast typists abuse this system e.g. "my hand hurts if I use a pen."
 
Only freaks like this retard at my old high school were allowed to take essay exams using typing. He had a "learning disability." More like he was reamed in the anus too manytimes. People like that justa need to drink more, like i did tonight. That way humanity wil be better off.
 
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