Technology is slowly taking away the pen and paper from our hands. Your handwriting no longer determines your productivity but your typing speed does. A major drawback in learning computers is mastering the keyboard and for students joining schools where assignments must be put down on a word document, it is a nightmare.
Your brain has a million ideas, but if you can’t keep up with your speed of thinking, chances that you might miss it all are high. The good news is that you can learn how to do it before you face your real challenge in school. To save yourself the trouble, here are 5 tips for students who want to start learning typing before School.
TIPS OF MASTERING THE KEYBOARD
1. Use all the fingers – According to an old saying, two is better than one, but ten is even better. The keyboard is designed such that it can accommodate both hands. If your number one target is keeping up with the speed, then all the ten fingers must find their positions on the keyboard.
The only way to achieve this is to try and divide the keyboard into two, meaning that your left hand will access the left side starting from the Q key and ending at the T key. Having done that, try to restrict your hands to the position you’ve assigned it, meaning that it won’t be able to access the other side of the keyboard as you are typing.
2. Learn not to look at the keyboard while typing – According to expert typist looking at the keyboard slows you down. You have to navigate the keyboard with your eyes before you can press the keyboard. For starters, it might be significant to note the position of the letters on the keyboard while typing, but as they progress it is better to try and locate the position of the letters with your fingers.
How do you train your hands to memorize the locations of the letter? It is simple, if you spend most of the time typing, then with your mind you can trace locations of the letters using your hands. Just try to type each word without looking at the keyboard. Do this all the time until you don’t have to look at the keyboard anymore.
3. Exploit the keyboard shortcuts – The term shortcut, simply means the fastest way to reach your target and keyboard shortcuts aren’t exceptional. A mouse might seem quicker for starters, but what you should note is that taking your hands from the keyboard to the mouse and then back resets the position of your fingers on the keyboard.
Shortcut keys are one-touch, especially when formatting a document unlike using the mouse. However, memorizing shortcuts might require a combination of your patience and curiosity. Take your time and memorize the shortcuts and if you have forgotten while working on a document, try to remember instead of referring somewhere.
4. Don’t rush – Take time and correct the spelling errors, capitalization errors, and punctuation mistakes. It might slow you down for the first time, but it will help you note your weaknesses. Noting your weakness will save you the trouble of having lots of mistakes to correct after completing your work. The worst part is that having more errors in your document also creates chances of delivering low-quality work that might give you low grades.
So it is wiser to take note of this earlier to save yourself the trouble in the future. Learning to correct mistakes, reduces the chances of making those mistakes in the future, since you will note some of the common spelling and punctuation errors you make all the time. It is also another way of learning spellings and punctuation.
5. Try and pass Ratatype typing lessons – lastly, you can’t just assume you are a pro after mastering some tips. To have a clue of what you can do with a keyboard, it is advisable to take tests. By clicking on this link http://www.ratatype.com/typing-test/, you will have access to the typing lessons and tests. Click on the typing test icon on the page and take the test. Time yourself and note the time you take to finish.
Repeat the procedure by clicking the restart icon on the lower right-hand side of the writing box and type again and again. Ratatype gives you a platform to prove how accurate you are and how fast you can type. It also gives you a chance to know your typing speed in WPM and accuracy.
With the right typing skills, you will be able to overcome most of the issues teachers have with their students or clients with their employees. To get a clear understanding of how being a skilled typist is important, let us go through some of the benefits of being able to type faster.
BENEFITS OF TYPING SKILLS
- You will be able to meet assignment deadlines in school, especially during the exams
- Being able to type faster means that you will be able to find time to go over your work before the deadline.
- Being able to type faster and accurately will also save you the trouble of delivering low-quality work and as a result save your grades
In summary, mastering the keyboard takes time. It might be slow or faster depending on the patience and how you react to mistakes. It is always important to remember that practice makes perfect, meaning that the more you spend your time on the keyboard, the more you master it. It is also important to note that mistakes are part of learning, and they should never discourage you. Don’t worry about time while you are learning, but the quality of your work. Lastly, use the tips and test yourself at typing tutor.