Articles & Resources
Dragon Dictation
Sep 1st
Someday typing skills might not even be necessary at all, with all the improvements in voice recognition due to come. Here’s a neat little mobile app (free!) that lets you take dictation on your phone and then send the text along to an email, facebook, etc. That seems like quite the improvement over typing on those little mobile keyboards so I can see something like this really catching on.
FastFox Typing Expander
Aug 21st
Following up on my last post about the Typing Assistant Software, I’d like to bring your attention to another tool that can help improve your typing efficiency and help you type faster. While Typing Assistant focuses on predictive text, FastFox Typing Expander relies on macros. That is, you can program the software to expand a short chunk of text into a much longer one. For instance, you could train the program to output “Free online typing games are a great way to improve your keyboarding skills” every time you type “fotg”.
The program is $60 to buy, but you can download a 15 day free trial version to evaluate it and see how you like it, so check it out if you are looking to give the typist in you a little boost.
Typing Assistant Software
Aug 9th
Generally, this website it mostly dedicated to games and resources which will help you improve your typing skills. However, in this case I’d like to share something with you which might actually make your typing skills worse, even if it makes you a faster and more efficient typist. It is basically a typing cheat, predictive text software similar to that which you will find on some cell phones, which attempts to auto-complete the words you are typing to save you time and keystrokes. It’s called Typing Assistant and here are a list of it’s features: Read the rest of this entry »
using typing games as a homeschooling resource
Jul 13th
I have become aware over the past couple years that many parent-teachers are using parts of this site as a resource for improving typing skills in a homeschooling environment. As such, I wanted to share a few words with any parents/teachers about this practice and try to shed a little light on why this is valuable and also to answer a few questions that I have been asked.
First of all, let me point out that typing skills are a very important aspect of most homeschooling curricula. Unless you are preparing your child/students for a life working the land or learning a very specific craft, learning how to use a computer properly is an important skill to develop. Typing proficiency is particularly important for anyone who will be doing any degree of writing on the computer, which is hard to avoid. The difference between a hunt-and-peck typist who is capable of typing 25 words per minute and a trained touch-typist who can type anywhere from 50-100 WPM means an efficiency factor of 2 to 4 times. And while not all things should be measured in speed and efficiency – certainly there are things worth doing slowly and carefully – being able to get your computer work done quickly leaves so much room to do other things away from the computer, so it’s definitely a skill worth cultivating.
Now that I have established the importance of learning how to type and developing strong typing skills, let me remind you that games are one of the most effective ways to learn since they are so engaging and encourage students to keep playing. The various typing games offered on this site were developed with that purpose in mind: providing a fun learning environment that keeps students coming back. So these can be valuable resource once the groundwork has been laid.
But first you need to establish that foundation, and this is best accomplished through an online typing tutor of some sorts. While this site does not offer such services, we do have an extensive collection of links to other websites and software where you can find useful typing programs.
Now on to the two questions I am most commonly asked:
Q: Are the games here appropriate for children?
A: All of the original games here draw words from a carefully edited word list that contains kid-friendly vocabulary. I am unable to certify that regarding the third-party games offered elsewhere on the site, but I have never received any complaints about inappropriate language in these (the only critique I can point out is that some of them involve shooting and weapons)
Q: Is there any way to track typing speed and progress over time?
A: No, this is not a feature currently available here. At this point, there are only individual tests that will output WPM typing speed at the end, but do not track it at all. However, if you are looking for that sort of functionality, it is available at my other typing test site
Enjoy. Please let me know if you have any other question or comments regarding the use of this site in a homeschooling curriculum!
tips for typing and transcript skills
Jun 10th
Just stumbled across a couple blogs with some relevant tips for anyone looking to improve their typing abilities. Check out the following links:
Tips for Touch Typing
Ten Simple Tips for Better Transcripts
Please feel free to leave a comment if you know of any other articles that should be included here.
Learn to Touch-Type
Feb 23rd
Whether you are new to typing or an experienced computer user who never learned to type properly, taking the time to learn touch-typing can go a long way to saving you time and minimizing strain on your hands. This learning process takes some time, but it is well worth the effort and it is rewarding to see how much you improve. Back in the ol’ days, there were limited options for learning this art, but now with the explosion of the internet, there are all sorts of useful utilities for developing touch-typing skills, from regimented tutorials/lessons to activities/games. Here is a list of the very best the web has to offer in this department:
Online Typing Tutors
Typing Web
Typing Adventure
Good Typing
Typing Software
TypeMaster
Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor
Online Typing Games
The Keyboard Playground
FreeTypingGame.net
OnlyTypingGames.com
As far as I am concerned, those are the best of the best, but for a more thorough list of resources, be sure to check out the typing directory.
Tips to Improve Typing Speed
Feb 20th
Typing speed is something which most of us don’t really care about in the beginning. But when we see someone typing really fast on the computer keyboard, we feel that ‘I wish I could type like this person’. The average typing speed of any normal english speaking person is most likely to be between 30-35 words per minute which is decent enough. After all accuracy also matters a lot. You can find out your own typing speed by indulging in some online typing tests which are pretty much accurate. They give you both words per minute and accuracy.
If you don’t score well, I am sure that you will wish to type on the keyboard without looking at it. Imagine sitting in the dark and chatting with someone on IM, will you be able to do it? Thats the question you should ponder about. To start with, make a mental map of the keyboard’s keys. The QWERTY keyboard layout is the most used layout. The first tip is to avoid looking at the keys and start typing. It will be very difficult in the beginning but you will catch on.
Always maintain proper posture while typing. Do not slouch. You should have a proper arm rest and both your hands should be parallel to the ground when you type on the keyboard. Fingers should be slightly raised up while typing. If you can buy an ergonomic keyboard, it will help you better. The keys are arranged in such a way that it helps you type better and also avoid carpal tunnel syndrome problem.
Initially when you practice, do not worry about the mistakes you are making because that is part of the learning process. Instead focus on the task on hand. If you are copying some handwritten text to the computer, read sentences at a time instead of individual words. This will also help you type faster as you don’t have to see the text again and again.
Finally, take some online typing tests which are specifically designed to help you improve your wpm count. Fast typing is a skill which develops with sufficient practice and experience. All the best.
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Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives
Also, here is another article with more tips on typing speed.
The 10 Best Typing Games
Dec 10th
Strong touch-typing skills can go a long way towards making your time at the computer more efficient & productive (and less frustrating). No matter how strong of a typist you are, anyone can benefit from an improvement in this area, and growth is fostered when we are focused, motivated and challenged. So if you are looking for a place to learn touch-typing, or a way to improve on existing skills, you should be asking yourself “what could I possibly do to stay focused, motivated and challenged while typing?”. The answer, of course, is typing games.
Online typing games are a perfect way to give your fingers a rigorous typing-workout. Such games come in a variety of different formats and many include stories, music or other thematic elements to make the play more engaging. Before you know it, you might spend 30 minutes practicing keyboarding and having fun. The incentive to score or pass a level adds an extra layer of intensity to the practice session which, for most of us, will compel us to push ourselves that extra bit needed to facilitate improvement.
Now, there are a lot of typing games out there, so I figured I would take a little time to sort through them and compile a list of the best options the web has to offer. As part of my work in running The Keyboard Playground, I have grown to be very familiar typing games and websites, so this is a well-researched list. Of course, it’s also subjective; for a more complete list you might want to check out this directory of typing games. Here they are, in no particular order:
Top 10 Typing Games
KeyMan – This game has a lot of good elements to it and seems to run smoothly. It’s basically PacMan except that you navigate through the maze with the keyboard instead of the arrow keys. It’s fun to play, and a decent way to practice your knowledge of the keyboard layout, but slightly limited in that you aren’t spending as much time typing in this game as you do in some of the others on this list.
Keyboard Revolution – This like like a light version of guitar Hero using the keyboard instead. You have letters floating up the screen in time with the music and you need to press them as they pass over the designated area. This is similar to KeyMan in that it is a catchy game but has a low density of typing involved.
Typo II – I like this game because it used the whole keyboard, not just the letters. I also think it’s interesting because you are typing nonsense phrases which makes it more necessary to touch-type.
Typer Shark – TyperShark is the most commercial and popular typing game on the web. It’s the classic example of the ‘type the falling words’ genre except in this case you are trying to type them before they are consumed by sharks.
Great Red Herring Chase – The idea behind this game is that you are in a car chase and you need to give directions to your driver by typing. It becomes a little bit like those choose-your-own-adventure books as you have 4 choices for lines at any given time and the story goes to different places depending on which line you type. Certainly not a game for everyone, but worth checking out if you are looking for something a little different.
TypeDown – A fast-paced typing game in which you need to eliminate the rising words from the column before it reaches the top. This requires non-stop typing for the duration of the rounds, around two minutes. Unlike many other typing games, this one pulls it words from a dictionary so the words are always different.
Typeroids – There are a number of different games in this format, but I think this is the best one. It’s nice and simple which is good because the game concept is also very clean so its a good complement. This game requires an intermediate amount of typing as sometimes you will be working feverishly while other times you will be taking short breaks in between waves.
The Typing Test – This game in unique in that it is actually 5 different typing games in one, and it’s a daily competition. You login each day to work your way through the various tasks and then you can find out how you perform relative to other players.
TypeRacer – The gameplay here is very straight-forward and relatively uninteresting, but what sets this game apart is the ability to compete in real-time with other players. You can challenge someone in particular or you can get set up with random opponents.
Typing Race – Not to be confused with the previous game, this is a Facebook typing competition where you race against other players and earn points based on how you perform.
That’s it, enjoy!
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Keyboarding Research & Resources
Sep 13th
I just came across this active blog dedicated to keyboarding resources and research. You can find discussions about the latest software, hardware and research related to all things typing.
Web’s Best Typing Tests
Sep 11th
Most of the typing tests to be found on the web are all variations on the same theme, simple apps where you are asked to type a paragraph and are then provided with your WPM (words-per-minute) typing speed. These are very straight-forward, and they are your best bet if you are trying to determine your basic typing speed. However, if you are looking for something a little more interesting and challenging, there are two options out there that are more involved and a little less conventional. In these examples, you can enter into direct competition with friends or other players across the web. Read the rest of this entry »