How 2 Learn to Type

It seems to me that even though more people use keyboards more often, that fewer people actually know how to type. There's just no excuse for this, in my opinion - and no matter how "good" you are with your particular bootleg flavor of "hunt-and-peck"......you need to learn how to touch type properly. Here are some tools to help you along the way:

ARTYPIST - this is the first one I used with students, and I like the way it's laid out in that it focuses on one finger at a time, which can be helpful. It also evaluates which fingers are problematic for you and steers you towards more exercises to strengthen them. Since my first keyboarding/computer apps class included a lot of kids with various disabilities, this kind of almost physical-therapy approach was really great. However, the interface is really boring and ugly, and the kids were not fans.

TYPING WEB - this is my favorite, especially since it recently got a LOT more teacher-friendly. It includes an elaborate series of step-by-step instructions that guide the students through proper touch-typing technique and has an awesome teacher interface where you can keep track of students' progress. This site will generate certificates of achievement. It uses a more traditional technique to teach that is based on regions of the keyboard and also includes about a dozen "specialty" lessons like 10-key entry, medical terms, etc.

TYPERACER - this is just a game - doesn't teach you anything but offers a competitive environment to practice your skills. It also features an app that can be loaded to facebook, myspace, orkut or netlog so that you can compete with your friends instead of random people on the internet.