Typing is easy; all you do is push buttons! You push the key with the letter or symbol you want and then it appears on the screen. The keyboard and the monitor are connected so one can send messages to the other. To start, put both your thumbs on the space bar (the long rectangle at the bottom of the keyboard) and the fingers on your right hand should cover J,K,L,; pointer to pinky while the fingers on your left hand should cover F,D,S,A pointer to pinky. These are your home keys. Each finger has a separate home that is its resting position and where it should always return to. The key to becoming a faster typist is learning the keyboard. By placing your hands on the middle row, you have put each key within reach of one finger or another. Practice typing and see where each finger can reach, but remember fingers should only hit the keys that are neighbors to their home key. Example: your right pointer finger can reach H,U,N,Y when its home is J. Now all 5 of these letters belong to that finger. If you use this technique enough times, you will be able to type without looking! For uppercase letters or the symbol at the top of a key, hold down shift with your pinky and stretch out your hand so you can push the letter at the same time.
Learning typing skills can help you complete homework faster and even be a beneficial skill when looking for your first job! As technology becomes more prevalent, learning to type properly and fast can be a great asset in the eyes of potential employers.
Start practicing now by checking out some fun typing games:
Type a Balloon
Paragraph Typing Practice
Or check how fast you really type with this speed test:
Typing Speed Test [polldaddy poll=8201035]
Original by Arielle E. of University of Maryland, Edited by Erika Beidelman
