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Why do you need to touch type in the 21st century?

• by Searsol
• Jan 13, 2015
• Touch Typing, Uncategorized
• 0

I was asked recently why was there still a need to touch type in the 21st century. It was a good question and with the advent of new technologies, such as smartphones, tablets, hybrid laptops and text to speech. Maybe there isn’t such a need for touch typing or was there?

 Hunt and Peck

The hunt and peck typing method is very popular method to input text on the keyboard. This is where a person types but moves his fingers around the keyboard until the find the correct letters. Where a person can type sufficiently using the hunt and peck method, it is still error prone and can reduce the efficiency of the person typing compared to a person who can touch type. 

Touch typing / keyboarding

Touch typing (also called keyboarding) is typing without using the sense of sight to find the keys. Specifically, a touch typist will know their location on the keyboard through muscle memory. In today’s competitive job market, it is important for anyone applying for any job that involves the use of computers to learn to touch type. And it is not stretching it to suggest being able to type fast without looking at the keyboard is a 21st century basic skill in computers.

Advantages of touch typing

The main advantages of touch typing are as follows:

Speed

Touch typing training can improve any individual’s typing speed and accuracy dramatically. The accepted average typing speed is 41 WPM (words per minute), professional career typists can exceed 100 WPM repeatedly and continuously (secretarial, data entry, etc.). Every individual learns at a different pace,and routine practice is required to maintain a high typing speed and accuracy.

Reduced switching of attention

A touch typist does not need to move the sight between the keyboard (that is obscured with fingers and may be poorly lit) and other areas that require attention. This increases productivity and reduces the number of errors.

Overall the payback from learning how to touch type outways the inefficiency of other input methods. Once you have the skill it will stay with you for the rest of your life. So get touch typing. Why not try out a free trial of our typing programme Typehands, at http://typehands.com/UserPages/Login.aspx Happy typing!

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