Learn how to touch type for free! Just read on...
In today's high-tech world, learning to type is a necessary skill. The majority of people who use computers can type fairly well, but many of them are typing improperly. Many people are using only their index fingers and searching for the letters. This is not only time consuming, but creates bad posture and can lead to hand and wrist injuries. Why don't these people learn to type the proper way, by touch? Most of them either don't have the time or think it's too hard. In actuality, touch-typing is an easy thing to learn, and with practice can become very valuable.
The first thing to do is buy a typing program. This isn't necessary, but heavily recommended. It doesn't make much difference what type of program or how modern it is. Typing programs have been around since the 80's and are very similar in format. You should be able to find some sort of typing aid in any local software store, ranging for a few dollars to about $60. One of these programs will help guide you though, but more importantly offer pre-programmed exercises that can increase your typing speed and accuracy.
The first thing to do is learn the home row. The home row for the left hand is: pinky on A, ring finger on S, middle finger on D, and index finger on F. In the right hand it's: index finger on J, middle finger on K, ring finger on L, and pinky on ; (semicolon). The thumbs are on the space bar. This is the position your fingers stay at all times, with one finger reaching out to type a key. As you type a letter, all the other fingers remain on this home row.
Each finger has a letter assigned to it. For the left hand, the index finger is used to hit: F, R, T, G, V, B. The middle finger: D, E, C. The ring finger: S, W, X. The pinky: A, Q, Z. The right hand is like mirror image of the left. The index finger: J, U, Y, H, N, M. The middle finger: K, I, and the , or < symbol.="" the="" ring="" finger:="" l,="" o,="" and="" .="" or=""> symbol. The pinky: ; (semicolon), P, and ? or / symbol. These are the basics for the keyboard, and a program will go into the numbers and other keys, such as shift and caps lock.
If you follow the program, make sure not to look at your fingers while you type, and practice for a half an hour a day, then in about two weeks you should be able to touch type. At first you will be slow and make many errors. But as you continue practicing, your speed and accuracy will increase dramatically. Most people can type between 35-40 words per minute with an average of 1 error per minute. This can be easily achieved if you practice daily.
The skill of touch-typing is used in over half of all new jobs. In the future every job will require typing and the sooner you learn the better you'll become. Just remember, typing, like everything else, takes time and practice.
