Sometimes I have a tendency to be competitive. Not in a malicious, destructive way. But I like to know how I'm doing with respect to the competition. But most of the time, I'm curious. I'm genuinely interested in what other people think, what makes them tick, and what they're up to. I like to ask questions and get facts, opinions and answers.

In this case, it's a bit of a combination of the two.

I remember being in high school and taking a typing class - from the very same old-school, hair-in-a-bun teacher that my father had a generation before. We learned all of the basics on the old IBM Selectric and I remember driving Mrs. Christian crazy by rrrrriping the paper out of the feed roller. But most of all, I remember her drilling into us how to learn to type with 10 fingers, without looking at the keys.

But these days, I wonder how the digital natives are learning proper keyboard technique. The Blackberry crowd is all about using their opposable thumbs, and the untrained typically use the hunt and peck method. How well will the next generation fare without training?

So my competitive nature challenges you to take the Speedtest to see how fast you can type and let me know.

85 words

Speed test

But the curious side of me wonders: how did you learn to type? And more importantly, how do you see the next generation faring - not only in the absence of typing training, but in other once-necessary skills that may still be relevant today?

Oh, and by the way: I must drink too much coffee.

Thanks to Gavin Heaton for suggesting this site.

Labels: conversation, Gavin Heaton, trends

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At 3/22/2008 1:14 PM,  Merlene Paynter said...

Great post! I learned to type back in highschool in the 1980's - Typing 101.

When my kids were small I got them typing using Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing for Kids from the very first time they sat at the computer. Within no time both were typing quickly and acurately and it's second nature to both of them.

My daughter's in college and regularly types 95+ words per minute. My son's starting high school in the fall and is typing around 75+ words per minute but are alone among their peers with typing.

The schools don't seem to focus on typing/keyboarding as necessary skills but I think as parents it's every bit as important as teaching our preschoolers their numbers, alphabet, and colours.

 

At 3/22/2008 9:50 PM,  Mark Dykeman said...

I learned like Merlene did.

My kids are at an interesting point in learning technology, at grades K and 1. Too early for cell phones, Blackberries, etc. but they are using PCs.

Good idea about Mavis Beacon.

On a side note, I was a bit concerned to hear that some schools aren't teaching cursive writing any longer. That bothers me.

 

At 3/23/2008 2:00 PM,  KFFBOS said...

There was one optional class in High School that my mother made me take, typewriting. Thank god she did, although my current speed has decreased to 77 wpm, I'll have to work on this a bit more.

I'm really interested to see what happens with my son and what typing will entail 10 years from now!

/kff

 

At 3/24/2008 2:59 AM,  Clara Kuo said...

74 words :( I can type faster than that but this test doesn't make any logical sense. I prefer typing sentences!

I used my mad typing skills and wrote a post today about ideas for people considering Social Media Marketing. Hope you can add to it! http://tinyurl.com/2r2gdj

 

At 3/24/2008 11:27 AM,  John Johansen said...

I took a class my freshman year of high school and learned to type on a typewriter.

I've been so glad that I'm a touch typist ever since. I'm not sure my speed, but I get by.

My son is 3 and talks about 'sending email' usually accompanied by his pretending to carry something away from the computer. He gets the keyboard makes letters but hasn't mastered picking the ones he wants. I'm not sure how we'll teach him to type.

 

At 3/24/2008 12:16 PM,  Bryan Person, BryanPerson.com said...

Wonderful topic, Scott. Would you believe that this is something I think and talk about -- often?

Also being the somewhat competitive type -- not in a malicious, destructive way, of course -- I took the test you did to see how you and I would compare. 89 WPM. Not bad, huh? I have my middle school typing teacher (I've forgotten her name but not her face!) and my 9th grade teacher, Mr. Ware, to thank for my skills.

Mrs. Christian sounds a bit like Mr. Ware. He wouldn't let us look at the keys, either. He also insisted we type on those loud, crappy old typewriters, even thought there was a room in our school with new-fangled computers (early-'90s style, that is) that we could have used. I remember not liking the guy very much -- not very friendly and strict -- but in retrospect, it was his strictness that helped me become a much better typer by year's end.

Before I got my own computer at home, I also practiced on an electric typewriter that belonged to my mother. I always remember being impressed that she could type so fast without looking (she took typing classes in high school as well!), and I wanted to be able to do the same. Now I'm proud to say that I can!

I have so much more to say on this, but perhaps it's better left for our next Tweetup.

 

At 3/24/2008 12:44 PM,  wsh1266 said...

I missed learning to type in high school - it conflicted with my AP science class. As a result, I have a very idiosyncratic way of typing, kind of three fingers on each hand. I've never been comfortable with typing and not watching my hands,- just like I could never read music at piano lessons and just let my fingers do the work.
My older child learned typing starting in kindergarten at school; the younger one hasn't yet been taught "keyboarding" but uses Spongebob Typing to mess around and learn a bit. I have too, wanting to become a better typist, but I am not as good as I would like to be.

Whitney

 

At 3/24/2008 12:45 PM,  wsh1266 said...

What I forgot to mention is that the qwerty keyboard was designed to prevent keys from jamming in early typewriters- making it a non-intuitive way to type stuff out, but one that has become conventional, because of the mechanics of the old press and type machines. Weird, huh?

 

At 3/26/2008 11:12 AM,  Sarah Wurrey said...

Damn, I am down to 70 wpm. But I agree with Clara, I don't enjoy just typing random words.

I learned to type in junior high, on an actual typewriter. Mr. Burnham. I got a B+, and I talked him into making it an A- bc I'd gotten straight A's in all my other classes. Ha!

 

At 3/27/2008 9:01 PM,  Kate said...

116 Words Per Minute - I started in the second grade and was always fast since day one.

One can only imagine the children now and their typing abilities once they reach adulthood!

 

At 3/27/2008 11:09 PM,  Scott Monty said...

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your stories (and your WPM stats). It's great to hear about so many experiences and perspectives on a skill that many of us might take for granted.

 

Typing Personalities: How Do You Stack Up?

Sometimes I have a tendency to be competitive. Not in a malicious, destructive way. But I like to know how I'm doing with respect to the competition. But most of the time, I'm curious. I'm genuinely interested in what other people think, what makes them tick, and what they're up to. I like to ask questions and get facts, opinions and answers.

In this case, it's a bit of a combination of the two.

I remember being in high school and taking a typing class - from the very same old-school, hair-in-a-bun teacher that my father had a generation before. We learned all of the basics on the old IBM Selectric and I remember driving Mrs. Christian crazy by rrrrriping the paper out of the feed roller. But most of all, I remember her drilling into us how to learn to type with 10 fingers, without looking at the keys.

But these days, I wonder how the digital natives are learning proper keyboard technique. The Blackberry crowd is all about using their opposable thumbs, and the untrained typically use the hunt and peck method. How well will the next generation fare without training?

So my competitive nature challenges you to take the Speedtest to see how fast you can type and let me know.

85 words

Speed test

But the curious side of me wonders: how did you learn to type? And more importantly, how do you see the next generation faring - not only in the absence of typing training, but in other once-necessary skills that may still be relevant today?

Oh, and by the way: I must drink too much coffee.

Thanks to Gavin Heaton for suggesting this site.

Labels: conversation, Gavin Heaton, trends

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