BERLIN: You don’t know how good it is until you know it. Your colleagues and friends might have been pestering you to start using all your 10 fingers when typing, but you are still not there yet?
Well, get on with it, as learning the touch typing technique will make a huge difference in your everyday life, improving your typing speed and accuracy dramatically, whether when typing up a quick email or compiling your division’s quarterly report.
For those who are new to the game, touch typing is a way of typing where you place all of your fingers on the keyboard while keeping your eyes on the screen. Eight fingers are positioned in a horizontal row along the middle of the keyboard (the home row) and reach for other keys from there, while the thumbs rest on the space bar.
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If you are only just starting out, it might take you a while to master the technique. However, getting the hang of it has never been easier, with a variety of tutors and software available online that teach you the technique step by step at your own pace, and free of charge.
Try the TIPP 10 tutor, for example, which is available as an online version for your browser or you can download the software version for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
The design is kept simple, but the lessons are well-structured and you only need to create an account using your e-mail address before gaining full access to the programme.
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You can decide yourself for how long you want to practice, with users able to set the duration of each lesson – between one and 20 minutes. But remember, it’s all about repetition, best done everyday.
Other online tutors are specifically designed for children, like the BBC’s Dance Mat Typing tool.
By the way, touch typing is also said to have a positive effect on the body, reducing the strain on your neck from constantly bending over the keyboard to search for the right keys. Instead, by allowing you to keep your eyes on the screen, the technique helps to improve your posture. – dpa