touch typing

[katyism.livejournal.com]

How many of you do NOT know how to touch type? or are very bad at it?
If you could also estimate how many techs in your workplace can't touch type vs. those who can, that would be cool too.


I'm just curious... because last night I let myself into work, i popped off and rearranged key on ALL they keyboards to spell thinks like QUACK and PWNED on the QWERTY row. It didn't turn out to be as funny as I thought and I'm disappointed... apparently half the people here are horrible hunt-and-peckers and they didn't think it was funny at all, it decreased productivity etc... I guess I mistakenly assumed it would be the least harmful prank I could do.

Comments

[canthlian.livejournal.com]

I can touch type, through over a decade of practice. I don't even look anywhere near the keyboard when I do it, and very rarely at the monitor. When I see people hunting and pecking, I'm tempted to draw them a map.

[linguafranca.livejournal.com]

I'm OK at it, but I have to kinda get into it first. Also, if the office is cold, my fingers get cold and don't move very well. I think most of the techs are like me, except for my husband, who I know for a fact can type about 120 wpm.

[jacobine.livejournal.com]

I touch type, but I don't do it properly. Mine's an evolution of hunt and peck, honed over years of playing on MUSHes :) So I type very very quickly and really don't look at the keyboard, but I don't necessarily use the proper fingers.

I tried to switch to dvorty once and got myself up to maybe 20 wpm (as opposed to my tested 55-60 wpm reading typing ... I think I'm closer to 90 when going brain to hands.) However, since I switch keyboards too much at work, dvorty wasn't feasible.

I;m not sure about the speed of people where I work. I know some are slower, but many are at least competent. I know I'm fast because I get a comment around once a week on how fast I type (I'm a noisy typer).

[geekgrrl-ca.livejournal.com]

I work with alot of hunt and peckers... I touch type though not as fast as I like.

[110billion.livejournal.com]

I can touch type, pretty well, but my WPM is pretty crap. I just don't use all the fingers I probably should.
I wouldn't have much of a problem, because I have most all of the keyboard mapped out in my mind.

I could probably guess that 40% of the TSRs (first level reps) in my call centre can't type for crap.
I've learnt not to fuck with keyboards, even to just get dust out. My dad decided to take the initiative once. It doesn't respond to anything now.
So I'm using his wireless keyboard/mouse instead :D

[axessdenyd.livejournal.com]

When you have a real keyboard (http://www.shoppalstores.com/ibmmodelm/) you don't have to mess with it. Ever.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

i cn touch type-semi okay when i'm not in a rush and not thinking about it.

when i'm in a hury, or at work, i look at the keyboard (I type pretty quickly lookin at the board)

dunno about the co-irkers

[das-prompt.livejournal.com]

Productive or not, that's fucking awesome.

[aphrodeia.livejournal.com]

AAAAAAHAHAH! Marry me.

I can touch-type words and phrases at around 85-90wpm. Wasn't able to until I'd invested more than a year into AOL chat hosting. Sink or swim.

I'm considerably worse at ten-key and data entry, though, because the intuitive words and phrases aren't there. I still tend to look at the keyboard on occasion when typing, but that's more reflex than anything else.

I miss my dictation job. Sigh. Only had it for two weeks as a temp, but damn, it was bliss.

[katyism.livejournal.com]

Nah, already taken :)

For some reason I assumed that techs are expected to type as fast and as well as any secretary would be expected to, but I guess that's not the case. I type about 100-120 wpm (with lots of typos though) depending on the day, and I occaisonally have to look back at the keys if I've moved my hands off the keyboard, but only to find the home row. Thanks to 6 years of typing classes in Catholic school.

[aphrodeia.livejournal.com]

Just as well... it'd be hard to explain it to my husband. ;o)

[guinevere33.livejournal.com]

Wow, I can't believe that many tech sector people don't know how to touch type. That's practically inexcusable given the number of computer programs and courses out there. (I took one at a local community college, only to later find out that it was a required class at my high school - in ALABAMA of all places.) All of my computer-literate buddies can touch type. Granted, I'm in my early 20's, so I may be part of the first generation who was forced to learn it. I personally typically type at about 110 wpm.

[katyism.livejournal.com]

I thought that teaching typing in school was a dying horse... it seems everyone older than me took their typing classes for granted, and everyone younger than me (aka my coworkers) didnt' get taught in school and learned it by themselves in their own individually hacked ways. I really feel typing classes should be mandatory and shit.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

I took typing at school - in a room full of genuine old-school typewriters. We did have computers, but they were used for "computer" classes - which consisted of... typing a sheet of text we were handed. Real in-depth stuff.

Touch-typing is fun - I've cowed or freaked out a number of callers by hammering away at top speed. Nine and a half years of IRC will do that.

[doctoreon.livejournal.com]

The only time I have trouble touch-typing is when I'm typing with my keyboard at an odd angle, e.g., when I'm working on multiple laptops on my workbench so that some are rotated more than 45 degrees. Still, that's mainly because my wrists just don't move right.

I think that's a cool prank. I have no sympathy for people with no sense of humor because they are too lazy to learn a basic skill.

[d0rx0r.livejournal.com]

Oh my god.
Thats the best idea ever. I'm gonna start doing that to everyone's keyboard.

Hell, i don't even know when the last time I looked at my keyboard was. My hands just do.

[ambitious-wench.livejournal.com]

I remember watching a young woman type as I talked with her. She was chatting at the same time as listening to me speak to her. I was flabbergasted. "How can you do that?" "Do what?" Type without looking at your hands, and listen to me?" "I don't know, I just do it."

The other day I was typing an email when my housemate asked me a question. I looked up at her, and as I was typing up the last few words of the sentence, answered her question.

Like aphrodeia, it was all from chat rooms, IRC and AIM. I suspect I'm in the 80-90 WPM range, possibly higher. I used to hate typing, but now that I have my ergo-kb, I love it. Nothing beats being able to type almost as quickly as a story or argument forms in my head.

So you're welcome to switch the keys on my kb. I wouldn't notice.

*grin*

Touch-typed this entire entry, with corrections.

[valiskeogh.livejournal.com]

hehehehe
in my tech support days (some calls of which you can hear on http://www.helpdeskhell.com ) i'd OFTEN have people ask me "is that you typing?" when they heard the furiously fast rattling while they were talking or during pauses. yup!
only thing tho i can't type and talk at the same time, i just can't do it...

i dont have to look at the keys, but i can't talk at the same time...

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

i can't type and talk at the same time

Patience, grasshopper :)

[greeklady.livejournal.com]

I touch type. But I took typing in high school on an old school typewritter with an actual ribbon and stuff. I am not that old I am just thirty!! I also took another typing class when I went to business college. But funny enough working helpdesk increased my typing speed becuase I had 3 different chat programs up at a time plus transcribing the users whinning.

But it may be different because I am a chick. For some reason we had it emphasized that we should learn how to type to get a job. LAME! Too bad they didn't teach me how to spell.

[residentgeek.livejournal.com]

I was part of the last class at my high school to type on real typewriters (with that freakin' stupid white correction tape - I love the backspace key!). Every class after me got to type on old 486s. And I'm only 24 :o) So don't feel too bad.

[greeklady.livejournal.com]

Ok whew. Cause I talk to some of the techs now and they wouldn't have any idea how to change those old ribbons.

[loosechanj.livejournal.com]

On *my* own keyboard, I sometimes astonish myself. I'm touch typing this now. I wondered the same thing, and decided to try it, and well boy howdy if I wasn't halfway decent at it.

[valiskeogh.livejournal.com]

lol, that's a kick ass prank

valis
(~85 wpm)

[tadiera.livejournal.com]

Funny thing is, I started out as a hunt-and-peck and now touch-type... I would re-arrange the keys on my laptop regularly. :)

[tadiera.livejournal.com]

OH!

Change the keyboards to dvorak!

That'll REALLY throw 'em!

[amplifiedmouse.livejournal.com]

Touch typing is when you don't look at the keys, correct?


If so, I've been using computers for damn near 13 years now, If I can't do this, there's something wrong with me.


Wpm - around 70

Haven't taken a test in a long time, though.

[thecrazyfinn.livejournal.com]

I don't touch type. Never needed to learn. bash, tcsh and IOS all do tab completion, so why bother.

I'd say around 33% of our guys don't touch type.

[hamilton.livejournal.com]

fuck em if they can't take a joke