I’ve recently started trying to improve my typing speed, which has probably been held back by my somewhat unconventional typing style. Formal touch typing was never a part of my education, and while years of computer use eventually led to me being able to type without looking, I’m probably not as efficient as I could be.
Can you touch type - and with proper form? QWERTY, DVORAK or other layout?
I touch type on QWERTY with a few variations from the standard. For example, I use right shift seldom, to type a capital A I shift my left hand over, hold shift with my little finger and strike A with my ring finger. the Y key I type with either hand depending on what else is going on with my hands at the time, and the rules I follow I don’t even understand, so most of those ergonomic split keyboards are no good for me. I don’t know if I type 6 or B correctly, I use the right hand for both.
I was given typing tutor programs as a child, I took a keyboarding class in 9th grade, in fact I was in that class when the planes hit the towers. My typing proficiency really came from Yahoo! and MSN. Turns out, teens will pick up a skill on their own if it’s useful for socializing with other teens.