Writing Lessons & Advice- Typing
The act of handwriting--cursive or otherwise--seems like a dying art that’s fallen to the omnipresence of computer technology. Which is a shame considering how penscript is still prevalent and offers good benefits. However, keyboarding, touch typing, or simply typing, is nothing more than the act and skill of writing with a computer and is not without its own merits:
Typing can be efficient. Pushing buttons that correlate with letters or characters takes less time than scrawling them out by hand would. In the same vein, lengths of text can take less time to type than handwrite as well. Plus, several keyboard shortcuts exist to perform certain computer actions faster than dragging, pointing, and clicking the mouse takes.
Typing needs less material. To write by hand, one needs paper, writing utensils, maybe correction or maintenance tools (like erasers, White-Out, sharpeners, extra ink or lead), and an adequate surface for support. Typing, on the other hand, mainly needs an operational/accessible word processor. Typing could also be done just about anywhere with the right setup.
Typing promotes legibility. Handwriting can be tricky to read, unlike typed information. Not to mention, emphasis and organization are enhanced with font/text options like italics, bold, underlining, coloring, and bullet points. Also, errors in typing are more cleanly fixed just with a few keystrokes whereas mistakes in handwriting may be erased, crossed out, or written over to correct. (Several writing errors can be caused by typos, by the way. More discussion on that will come in a later lesson.)
Today’s dominantly digital/online culture makes adequate typing skills a strong necessity. Job recruiting sites across the developed world reported in summer 2024 hundreds to thousands of job postings that entailed typing skills, and an above-average rate (in terms of words per minute or WPM) makes candidates more attractive in those contexts. On the educational front, some curricula or districts may introduce typing skills to students earlier than ever before! Students may start learning typing as early as five to eight years old where their elders developed their skills somewhere between later elementary school, middle school, high school, or college/business training!
When considering the present and future with technology, the uptick shouldn’t be so surprising. Standardized testing is (or will be) computerized. Common Core standards likely aim for proficiency in keyboarding among other computer literacy skills. Online learning is trending now more than ever (note facts and stats here). According to Forbes, hybrid and remote work opportunities still thrive and are projected to increase. Early establishment and frequent development of something as foundational as finger typing better prepares learners and the workforce for increasingly computer-centric situations.
So if you’re wanting to brush up on your typing or start learning the skill for the first time, here are some resources and starting points:
Books--
Sites for tests and lessons--
Videos--
“Intro to Typing for Kids and Teens” https://youtu.be/SPz9rF5KUcg?si=ovmpETGrkiVEEusa
Part of a typing tutorial series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ic2L7ZyFC8
Game and activity sites--
Old games via emulators--how the millennials learned!
Other--
https://englishtype.com/ Touch typing curriculum and blog from the UK
https://www.commonsense.org/education/best-in-class/the-best-typing-and-keyboarding-sites-for-classrooms recommendations from an educational resource
Article from Indeed- “How to Improve Your Typing Skills (Plus Exercises to Try)”
Article from Indeed- “How to Include Typing Skills on a Resume”
Hope this motivates you to sharpen your typing skills!
When, where, or how did you learn your typing skills? What is your typing average? (Mine is 71 wpm in one minute with 99% accuracy!) Are there any jobs, careers, or hobbies that entail a surprising amount of keyboarding? Feel free to share your typing experiences or Lessons & Advice suggestions in the web chat or socials!
Sources/further reading
Comentarios