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February 18, 1999
REVIEWS / TYPING TUTORS
It's Like Typing Class, but You Set the Rhythm
By J. D. BIERSDORFER
yping class is one of those dreaded high-school rituals, ranking right up there with (ugh) physical education class.
If I had only had a nice computer program back then to teach me, instead of the bored teacher who was saddled with me, I might have actually learned to type. Instead, I spent many fruitless hours banging away at an I.B.M. Selectric, hoping that some of the letters would be right.
Corbis/Bettmann
Overview It's Like Typing Class, but You Set the Rhythm
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But that was 17 years ago. Today's typing student has a wide variety of engaging software to choose from. With most programs, you stick to the old tried-and-true method of typing instruction: learn the home row keys (a, s, d, f, j, k, l, ;) and branch out from there until your fingers are trained to find all the keys. The glory of technology allows the computer to respond directly to the student's keystrokes and analyze them, in the ultimate one-on-one tutorial. In many cases, users can even adjust the program's skill level for a custom fit. Instead of pounding out coma-inducing practice texts about cork trees in Algeria from oversized typing manuals, students can spice up their lessons with audio, video and electronic games.
Now that computers are ubiquitous, it's not just secretaries and writers who need to know how to use a keyboard. Typing as a professional skill has been around for more than 100 years, and it was even enthusiastically adopted by Mark Twain. Although some scholars dispute his recollections, Twain himself recalled writing ""The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"" on his trusty Remington typewriter and is credited with inventing the typed, double-spaced manuscript format still in use in the editorial world.
Early examples of Twain's practice pages show them to be riddled with typos.
To be fair, however, there wasn't a lot of typing instruction to be had at the time. Imagine what Twain could have done with an iMac and a copy of Mavis Beacon.
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