Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,366
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Sept 25, 2022 19:30:10 GMT
I’m a pretty fast touch typist. I took Typing I in 9th grade just like everyone else did. Manual typewriters. I went on to take Typing II in 10th, against my wishes. At that point the only people who took that class were not my college-bound peers. I did make some new friends that year, lol. We worked on IBM Selectric machines. There was no teaching. We had a book that we worked out of, and our “teacher” (the football coach 😏) gave us an ongoing list of ‘jobs’ to complete (letters, business correspondence, memos, legal filings, etc). He yelled at us and berated us if we got behind. I hated having to take the class, but it was a break in the day in a sense, and I ended up becoming proficient at typing.
My adult children can use the keyboard well-enough but they don’t type conventionally. They’re much faster and more accurate than I am on a phone keyboard, however!
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Post by quinlove on Sept 25, 2022 19:32:46 GMT
I went to Catholic HS in the 60s. I took typing and shorthand, and was quite fast at both. Years later when we got our first desktop computer, I looked to make sure the keyboard was the same as the typewriters that I learned on. Yes ! - I’m good.
I generally go too fast on my iPhone and iPad to be totally correct. Go back, go back, go back. It seems to be very easy to make mistakes, when you know that you hit the right keys. Actually, I don’t have a keyboard with individual keys. Mine are all flat.
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Post by Embri on Sept 25, 2022 19:36:54 GMT
I took a typing class in seventh grade and it really did drill everything into me so that I can type accurately and quickly still; the only downside is that the kids make fun of me for always putting two spaces after a period. I am sure I could untrain myself, but I've told my editors, look, just do a global edit and leave me alone . That is so funny! It took me years to break the habit. One space seemed so wrong. I still double space. It's not just what I was taught, it's also easier to parse when reading. Just like putting capitals at the start of a sentence, double spaces make the start of the sentence more obvious, especially if the reader's eyesight isn't perfect.
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Post by Lexica on Sept 25, 2022 19:41:35 GMT
Way back when I was in school, it was assumed that all the girls were going to end up working in an office so we all had typing classes. I remember the teacher taped a manilla folder to the top of each typewriter and we had to slide our hands underneath to reach the keys. This was to train us not to look at our hands as we typed. They did have a large picture of the keyboard up at the front of the room that we could look at if we needed to. For each speed that we had to pass, we had to take the test with that darned manilla folder on there. I hated that thing. Not that I couldn't remember the keys, but the noise that it made as we typed when hitting the back of our fingers was so distracting. Especially since there were about 30 people in the class all making noise at once.
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Post by birukitty on Sept 25, 2022 21:57:32 GMT
Yes. It was an elective at my high school and my father strongly encouraged me to take it. He's been a computer programmer since the 1960's and at first I resisted saying, "But I'm not going to be a secretary", but he was so right! I was college bound. We were taught on manual typewriters back in 1977 and I received a manual typewriter for my high school graduation. I hauled it off to college and can't remember when I finally updated to an electric typewriter-those were so much easier. Knowing how to type made typing up my college papers so much easier and faster. But I still remember what a pain it was dealing with mistakes compared to today Of course with the advent of the home computer I am so glad that I learned how to type, and I'm not stuck using only 2 fingers.
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Post by cakediva on Sept 25, 2022 22:55:22 GMT
Yes, and I can do it with one hand on an old fashioned adding machine for calculating numbers as well. My dad never had to look at the keys when he was doing the books for the board he was treasurer on. His hands could fly!
I used to be at about 80 wpm but not these days.
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,894
Jun 26, 2014 12:56:40 GMT
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Post by CeeScraps on Sept 25, 2022 22:56:46 GMT
I learned in high school. It gave me spending money in college!
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scrappinwithoutpeas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,998
Location: Northern Virginia
Aug 7, 2014 22:09:44 GMT
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Post by scrappinwithoutpeas on Sept 25, 2022 23:09:23 GMT
I was self-taught, starting with using my mom's electric typewriter to type my papers in HS. It was an elective class in my HS, but I never took it - I thought it was a waste of time, as I was going to be an engineer not a secretary, LOL. Well, when I got to college and switched majors from engineering to computer science, I ended up typing a lot, but all that practice on my mom's Selectric came in handy, as I got to be pretty fast after a while. But the thing that really cemented it was 30+ years in IT (programmer/software developer, database developer, tester, tech writer, etc.)
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Post by 950nancy on Sept 25, 2022 23:12:37 GMT
I took typing for one semester and I was horrible at it. I have mad 10 key skills though. Our keyboards in 1980 were not good. So much plunking.
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Post by Skellinton on Sept 26, 2022 1:41:27 GMT
It was mandatory for us in 8th grade. They painted over all the keys so we couldn't cheat. I was pretty good at the time. I loved the timed tests.
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Post by candleangie on Sept 26, 2022 3:42:39 GMT
I’m going to seriously date myself right now….lol
I learned how to type in middle school, kind of.
I became PROFICIENT at typing in AOL chat rooms in high school. 😅
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Post by melanell on Sept 26, 2022 13:36:44 GMT
Semi. When I had a larger keyboard, more similar to the ones that went with the electric typewriters I learned on, I could do a fair job of typing without peeking. But when I switched to a smaller keyboard, I lost the ability. I was always lining up incorrectly. Even partially looking I still mess up, LOL. When I look I just look at the center of the keyboard and the parts my hands are hiding I sometimes mess up and have to go fix. My biggest issues, though, are that I seem to have lost the rhythm of proper typing. I tend to place my spaces wrong, especially with small words or transpose letters a LOT. When I'm doing something like Peaing, I don't even always go back and fix them. I just leave them be or I'd spend half my time here correcting those mistakes. That’s why there is an little bump on the keyboard at “f” and “h”. To make sure your index fingers are on the correct keys without looking. I was surprised to find out how many people didn’t know that. They're actually on the F & J keys on my keyboard, and I know they are there, but they don't help me because I don't even feel them. If I took time to find them and then I typed for a while, that might work, but typically I'm switching from keyboard to mouse, adjusting the keyboard position, monitor, writing things down and so forth when I'm typing, so my hands are leaving the keyboard all of the time. When I type, no part of my fingers touch those tiny little bumps, so I never notice them as I move back and forth to the keyboard.
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Post by workingclassdog on Sept 26, 2022 13:41:07 GMT
It's a part of my job to type fast.. although with the advancements in computers and such, my words per minute probably has gone down a bit. But I am still pretty fast and I test myself once and awhile if I am bored. I am decent at 10 key as well.
I work with so many people that are hunt and peck.. drives me nuts.. even my supervisor who is my age.. I can't believe she can't type properly but she was in nursing most of her life.. guess she missed the typing class.
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scrappinmama
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,022
Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Sept 26, 2022 13:50:18 GMT
I learned in high school. Introduction to Computers was a required freshman class. Even though not very many people had computers in their homes yet, I still learned so much in that class. My sons learned through a free website. It was like a game, so it made it fun for them to learn.
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tracylynn
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,899
Jun 26, 2014 22:49:09 GMT
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Post by tracylynn on Sept 26, 2022 14:23:59 GMT
Yep! It was a required class in Junior High. We learned on electric typewriters.
I can type without looking on a keyboard and a 10 key. And I'm pretty fast. Last time I tested somewhere in the 80-90 words a minute range with high accuracy.
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Post by Lori McMud on Sept 26, 2022 14:37:04 GMT
Yes - took typing in 1980 in 10th grade. I was never as fast as I wanted to be then. I can still hear Mrs. Peters voice saying "eyes on the copy and type" to start the timed tests. I am a much better typist on a computer keyboard. And I self taught myself to use a 10 key by touch.
We had a class called business machines and we had to type what we called dittos, those purple things that the teachers used to make worksheets. And they had a punch card machine as well.
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ModChick
Drama Llama
True North Strong and Free
Posts: 5,078
Jun 26, 2014 23:57:06 GMT
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Post by ModChick on Sept 26, 2022 14:45:56 GMT
Yes took it in high school. Do not recall what grade and if it was required or not but I can mostly blind type. I do peek once in awhile if I’m typing along and get caught up. I use the computer typing all day at work so it’s a skill I use, need, and am pretty decent at. My husband l, on the other hand, is 4 years old than me so I’m sure he have it in highschool. He also types a lot at work but he’s a two finger typer. 😂. Drives me batty seeing him type.
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huskergal
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,265
Jun 25, 2014 20:22:13 GMT
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Post by huskergal on Sept 26, 2022 14:51:20 GMT
I learned touch key typing in high school. So grateful for I took these classes.
I teach 6th grade computer science. The students get laptops in 6th grade. In elementary they were on iPads. The typing skills are atrocious. Last year I had brothers who could both touch type at speeds of 80+ wpm. I discovered they don't have phones. All of their technology has been on a computer and their parents made them learn how to type.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,818
Location: Houston, TX
Jun 25, 2014 22:47:49 GMT
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Post by smartypants71 on Sept 26, 2022 14:59:32 GMT
I took typing in high school on the old Selectric typewriter. I didn’t get really good at typing until I took the mavis beacon training. I’m not as fast as I was but I can prob do about 85 wpm now
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Post by tyra on Sept 26, 2022 15:06:49 GMT
I can and am pretty quick.
I did take a computers class in school, typing wasn't the focus of it though. But we did have a portion, like a week or two, where we had these carboard covers over the keyboards and our hands so we couldn't see what we were typing.
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