Install Typing Tutorial Software

Use keyboard skills to organisational guidelines

Install typing tutorial software

Microsoft Windows on PC

Linux on PC

Apple Mac

Working safely

Exercise

The QWERTY keyboard

Using the home keys

Using the top alphabet row

Using the bottom alphabet row

Using the left-hand keys

Using the right-hand keys

Using the Shift key

Using numbers and symbols

Typing numbers 1-5 using the left hand

Typing number 6-0 using the right hand

The symbol keys

Common symbols and their typical uses

Calculating speed and accuracy

Calculation of speed

Calculation of accuracy

Summary

Check your progress

Install typing tutorial software

You will need to obtain typing tutorial software to best learn to touch-type. Ask you facilitator for any preferred software available, or follow one of the links below depending on your computer.

Microsoft Windows on PC

— follow the link for the free demo.

— download the freeware.

— follow the English option, then the download link or online demo.

— follow the link to the Free Demo.

— follow the onscreen instructions.

— follow the link to the typing tutor.

— this runs in a web browser so is platform independent.

Linux on PC

— this runs in a web browser so is platform independent.

— perform a search on ‘Typing Tutor’ for the Linux platform.

— while primarily designed for children, this is still helpful for beginner adults.

Apple Mac

— this runs in a web browser so is platform independent.

— perform a search on ‘Typing Tutor’ for the Macintosh platform.

Working safely

Before you begin, let’s revise key points about working safely at a desk and computer.

Setting up your workstation safely means that you:

• Adjust the height of your desk to suit your body.
• Adjust your chair so you can sit comfortably.
• Place the computer so you can see the screen clearly.
• Place the keyboard and mouse pad so you can work comfortably.
• Arrange your desk so everything is easy to reach.
• Make sure you have enough light so you can see clearly.
• Make sure all computer cords are out of your way.

Tips

Make sure that:

• your keyboard is close to the front of the desk
• nothing is placed between the keyboard and the computer
• you can easily switch your hands between the keyboard and the mouse
• you don’t bend over your keyboard — posture is important.

Take a look at the following picture of a comfortable workstation. You might be able to print it out and hang it on a wall nearby.

A comfortable workstation

Exercise

If you sit at a computer for most of the day your body may become stiff and sore, especially if you are not sitting correctly. If you are doing a lot of typing, your fingers and wrists may become tired and even begin to hurt. Your muscles might become strained. When this happens, it might develop into a condition called Occupational Overuse Syndrome (OOS) or Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).

It’s important that you take regular breaks and be as comfortable as possible when typing. It’s also a good idea to vary your work as much as possible. This means that you could do a bit of typing, then photocopying, and then do some other task where you have to walk around the office.

Mouse pads are available with a raised section that supports your wrists. You might like to try one of these. A copyholder is useful to hold a document in a position next to the screen. It helps avoid having to look down to read something flat on the desk. Because the document is at eye level you won’t have to bend your neck.

Tips

It’s important for you to take regular breaks. You should:

• Stop typing every 20 minutes or sooner if you typing is constant.
• Look out the window to rest your eyes.
• Walk around the office to stretch your legs.
• Do some exercises to ease the muscles in your body.

Take a look at some simple exercises you can do to help your neck and shoulders.

Important point about exercises

The following exercises are only a guide and should not be taken as suitable for everyone. As with all exercise, you have to consider what is comfortable for you and will not cause you any discomfort or harm. If you are unsure, or have special needs, then consult with a doctor, physiotherapist or occupational therapist.

Exercising the arms

1Stand up and raise your arm straight out to the sides at shoulder level. Rotate your arms forward in small circles five times. Then rotate your arms backwards five times.

2Raise you arms over your head and lace your fingers together. Then turn you wrists so that you palms face toward the ceiling and lift you arms straight above you until you feel a gentle stretch.

3Raise you right arm above you head and then bend at the elbow so that your right hand is behind your head. Place your left hand on your right elbow and gently push your right elbow behind your head until you feel a gentle stretch. Then repeat on the other side

4Wrap one arm around you, resting the wrist on the opposite shoulder. Place the palm of the other hand on the elbow, press gently towards you and hold for a few seconds to feel a gentle stretch. Repeat on the other side.

Exercising the neck

1Looking straight ahead and keeping your shoulders still, move you head so that the left ear is trying to touch the left shoulder. Only go so far that you feel a gentle stretch. Now move the head so the right ear is towards the right shoulder to feel a gentle stretch. Do this about three times.

2Turn your head as though you were looking to the left, and then slowly turn you head to the right till you feel a gentle stretch. Repeat this three times.

3Shrug your shoulders. Do this about three times

4Tilt your head back and hold for a few seconds until you feel a gentle stretch in your throat. Then tilt your head forward so your chin almost touches your chest or you feel a gentle stretch. Repeat this three times.

5While looking straight ahead, gentle pull your chin in until you feel a gentle stretch. Relax then repeat three times.

Exercising the fingers and wrist

1Hold both hands in front of you and stretch them for a few seconds splaying the fingers until you feel a gentle stretch.

2Hold both hands in front of you and curl your fingers and thumbs under, at the first knuckle. Stretch your hands out then scrunch again. Repeat three times.

3Holding your arms in front of you, tilt your wrist so your hands move upwards until you feel a gentle stretch. Move your wrists so your hands move downwards until you feel a gentle stretch. Repeat this three times.

The QWERTY keyboard

The QWERTY keyboard is the standard computer keyboard layout for English language keyboards. It is named from the first six letters from left to right of the top row of letters. This arrangement of keys was adapted to computers from early mechanical typewriters and dates back to the 1870s. It was originally designed to slow down fast typists to avoid jamming the mechanical arms of the typewriter.

The QWERTY keyboard

There are other designs of keyboards such as Dvorak. This is the most well known alternative to the standard QWERTY keyboard. The Dvorak keyboard was developed to provide maximum usability in typing. The most commonly used letters were put along the home row to reduce finger movement. Also, the vowels and the most common consonants are on opposite sides of the keyboard dividing typing more evenly between hands. The layout of the characters on a Dvorak keyboard is shown below, the small red characters show the standard QWERTY arrangement.

The Dvorak keyboard

Using the home keys

The home keys are those keys in the middle of the keyboard. They are called home keys because this is where your fingers should always return to as you type. It’s important to be able to use the home keys because it makes it easy for your fingers to move up and down to the other keys.

The home keys for the left hand are ASDF. The home keys for the right hand are JKL; (semicolon).

This is what the home key row looks like:

Although the letters are in capitals on the keyboard they are lower-case letters when you type them, for example ‘asdf’ and not ‘ASDF’. If you want them to be capitals, you have to press either the Caps Lock or Shift keys.

Quick practice

Practise placing you hands lightly on the home keys and typing the letters asdf and jkl;

Tip

Did you notice a small bump on the F and J keys? These are extremely useful to know when your index fingers (they are the ones next to your thumbs) are in the correct position. That is, you should be able to feel these bumps with you index fingers when you are not pressing any keys. Sometimes you will encounter keyboards where the bump is located on the middle finger keys, eg D and K.

To type ‘g’ and ‘h’, you move you index fingers across to these keys.

Also in the home key row is a key that has double quote marks ‘ and single quote marks ‘. Use the little finger of you right hand to reach these symbols.

Quick practice

Practise placing you hands lightly on the home keys moving your index fingers to type:

asdfgfand;lkjhj

Making a space

To make a space between the letters, press the spacebar with your thumb. The letters will look like this:

a s d f; l k j

Starting a new line

To start a new line, press Enter with the little finer of your right hand. The letters will look like this:

a s d f

; l k j

Now you know where to position each finger on the home key row, try the next three practice activities.

/ Practice 1: Left home keys

Use your left hand to practise typing these sets of letters.

asdfaaddaaffafafasasadadsdafffddssffafdsasdf

ddaaaaffafaffafadadasasaasasadadafafddfasfda

ffddasasddaaffssssdddsdf adadaaddddffssfffdsa

asdfaaddaaffafafasasadadsdafffddssffafdsasdf

ddaaaaffafaffafadadasasaasasadadafafddfasfda

ffddasasddaaffssssdddsdf adadaaddddffssfffdsa

/ Practice 2: Right home keys

Now use your right hand to type these sets of letters.

jkl; ;lkjkjljk;k;j;j;kk;;lljjklkl;lkjjkl;ljlj

jjkkkkllll;;;;jj;j;jklkllklkkk;;jjk;;jkllk;j

;l;jj;klklkj;k;kj;j;kkll;;jjkk;jk;jkl;ljjkl;

jkl; ;lkjkjljk;k;j;j;kk;;lljjklkl;lkjjkl;ljlj

jjkkkkllll;;;;jj;j;jklkllklkkk;;jjk;;jkllk;j

;l;jj;klklkj;k;kj;j;kkll;;jjkk;jk;jkl;ljjkl;

/ Practice 3: Home row

Now use both hands correctly to type the following letters.

fgfghjjhjhjghgjfdls;jfshgdhjh;h;gagagadhghad

kflhdgsgdadssadsjakllsadgklshhgggalkl;afhadg

dakgdagkkal;fhlk;a;k;alskdlsjf;aga;hgfdshjkl

fgfghjjhjhjghghjkdl;jfshgdhjh;h;gagagadhghad

kflhdgsgdadssadsjakllsadgklshhgggalkl;afhadg

dakgdagkkal;fhlk;a;k;alskdlsjf;aga;hgfdshjkl

Using the top alphabet row

To use the top row of the alphabet keys, you keep you fingers resting on the home keys and move them up to press the keys you need.

Your little finger and the next two fingers move to the keys immediately above them. The two index fingers have to reach up and across to touch the keys.

Using the left-hand keys

With you left hand, practise reaching from the home keys to the keys in the row above.

The F (index) finger reaches up to R and T and across to G

The D finger reaches to E

The S finger reaches to W

The A finger reaches to Q

Moving fingers between left-hand keys

Using the right-hand keys

With your right hand, practise reaching from the home keys to the keys in the row above.

The J (index) finger reaches up to Y and U and across to H

The K finger reaches up to I

The L finger reaches up to O

The; (semicolon) finger reaches up to P

Moving fingers between right-hand keys

/ Practice 4: Top row

Practise typing these letters on the top row correctly.

fdsarewqasdfqwerfsadweqrfdeawaewdede

qraddradfadsardsareqeerqfetfretfatr

feedfredtraddratwettweeqtdsgretgrad

joplhurtpopljakejup;re;tgropratsheep

hopekeeppooljojoreeppeelfidssotspeal

youryopefeelloopdropkillsakiraplhip;

Using the bottom alphabet row

To use the bottom row of the alphabet keys, you keep your fingers resting on the home keys and move them down to press the keys you need.

Your little finger and the next two fingers move to the keys immediately below them. The two index fingers have to reach down and across to touch the keys.

Using the left-hand keys

With your left hand, practise reaching from the home keys to the keys in the row below. Curve the fingers slightly and you will find that they move more easily over the keys.

The F (index) finger reaches across to G and down to V and B

The D finger reaches down to C

The S finger reaches down to X

The A finger reaches down to Z

Moving left-hand fingers to the bottom row

Using the right-hand keys

With you right hand, practise reaching from the home keys to the keys in the row below.

The J (index) finger reaches across to H and down to N and B

(B can also be reached using the F finger on the left hand.)

The K finger reaches down to M

The L finger reaches down to the, (comma) and the < (less than symbol)

The ; (semicolon) finger reaches across to the ‘ (apostrophe or single quote mark) and down to the . (full stop or period), (greater than symbol), ? (question mark) and the / (forward slash mark).

Moving right-hand fingers to the bottom row

/ Practice 5: Bottom row

Now practise with these letters.

sxsxdvdvfvdvfvfvdsxsfvxsaszxazazaxax

zazafxxdsdcdazazfvgbbfxsbabzdcfzdbxs

gazzbcddfbscczabsabsfgbzdsabsbcssacs

jnjhkmkml.,l,;.;.nk,ll.jhjnjnkm.lk,lj

nmbmkasccasknasmmassmkfsdsklnbmvdmvl

You should now be familiar with the home keys and the alphabet keys on the top and bottom rows.

With your hands resting on the home keys, practise typing the following words. Use both hands. Use the home, top and bottom keys. Remember to curve your fingers slightly. Don’t look at the keyboard.

/ Practice 6: Words

Now practise with whole words.

fastfasterholdmist zoowinjamlick

bigday outbandsellmygoodbuggy

haveslapfunnywhensomeyouroutlinebefore

seemstobe alltooeasytypingwords

typethesewordsputcomma,betweeneach

secondword.Remember to doyour exercisesoften.

Tip

Practise as often as you can. Remember to do your exercises after you have been sitting at the keyboard for a while.

Using the Shift key

The Shift key lets you make capital letters. This key is on both the left-hand and right-hand sides of the keyboard.

When you are typing capital letters you have to decide which Shift key you will press.

If you are typing in a capital letter with your left hand, such as any of the letters on the left-hand side of the keyboard, use the little finger of your right hand to press the Shift key.

For example, to make a capital T hold down the right Shift key with you little finger of your right hand, as you press T.

If you are typing in a capital letter with your right hand, such as any of the letters on the right-hand side of the keyboard, use the little finger of your left hand to press the Shift key.

For example to make a capital i (I), hold down the left Shift key with the little finger of the left hand, as you press I.

If you need to type a word or sentence in capital letters, select the Caps Lock key. Press this key again if you no longer need to type in capitals. When the Caps Lock is on, it will often be indicated by a small light on the upper right side of the keyboard.

You also use the Shift key when you want to type a symbol or mark on the upper part of the key. For example, to type in a question mark (?) hold down the left Shift key with the little finger of the left hand, as you press ?.

/ Practice 7: Capitals

Type these sentences to practise typing capitals.

I told my mum the story.

The story was not true.

She went to the zoo, today.

Mary had a pea in her pocket.

Kevin had a cracker in his pocket.

It does take a while to get good at this.

Harry did not like the apple.

We’ve got football on the brain.

Isn’t it great to be crazy?

Yachting is fun for all.

Using numbers and symbols

Typing numbers is an important part of keyboarding. You use them when you are typing the date, an address, or a phone and fax number. You will use them a lot if your job involves a lot of figures or financial information.

Numbers are found in two places on the keyboard:

1above the alphabet keys

2on the right side of the keyboard known as the number pad.