Recommend a typing intructor?

[Astromarine]

Hey all. I just ordered my TS keyboard, and because I have been reading a lot on the Web about keyboards and ergonomics since finding out about the TS, I decided to go all-hog and order a Dvorak layout. I have never taken "structured" lessons in typing, making my style a complete mess. Kinda fast, yes, but very error-prone and disorganized. Since I'm gonna have to do a conscious effort to learn proper typing for the radicallly-different TS, I'm gonna do it on the most comfortable design i can.

In order to do this, though, I'd really like a "typing tutor"-type program. I know that supposedly Mavis Beacon is the best, but I heard that it doesn't support Dvorak. Is this true? If so, what's the best alternative?

Astro

[dxtr]

Hi,
Try Ten Thumbs Tying Tutor, it has both Qwerty and Dvorak...PC and Mac

[Astromarine]

great, thanks. I'll hunt it down. In the meanwhile, I've painted my home keyboard with pencil, and i've brought it to work. :) It's FRIGGIN HARD but I'll manage :)

Luckily I'm a programmer, not a writer, so absolute speed is not important. One thing I noticed, though, trying to type "correctly", is just HOW horrible my skills are. My fingers hurt a bit, not because Dvorak is so hard, but because, like Neo, I've never used them before

[RunAmuk]

I was in the same boat when I started to learn Dvorak, I had some typing skills, but it was mostly a mish-mash of a little proper technique, mixed with some hunt and peck, and a lot of hit-the-key-with-whatever-happens-to-be-the-closest-finger at the time style. At first, when I started to type "correctly" I found that my wrists hurt more than when I was using Qwerty, but don't worry, as you get more used to the proper technique it does start to feel more natural, and stops hurting.

I also found that it was much better to NOT put the letters on the keys while learning. Instead I printed out a copy of the Dvorak layout and attached it to my monitor. It really helped to reinforce the not looking at the keyboard while you are typing. While you will rely on looking at the printout for a while, you will soon start to learn the layout, and can remove the printout. I didn't even realize at what point I actually had the layout memorized, I just decided to try without the printout one day, and found I knew where the keys were! If I do run into a moment of confusion, I find I can just stop, look at the bottom of the monitor (where the printout used to be), and the layout comes right back to me.

I'm a programmer myself, and what nearly killed me in learning was the first time I had to document a large section of code. It will be frustrating, but do your best not to give into the urge to switch back to qwerty. The documentation will reinforce key location of many of the standard keys much faster than coding. I found my two biggest problems (coding mostly in Java) were the 'j' and the ';' The semicolon quickly became natural (happening at the end of every line), but the j still gets me.

[Syzygies]

I learned Dvorak before switching to a TouchStream, which delayed my TouchStream purchase, but sure eased the transition to the TS. Since most of the trouble adapting to the TS is off home row, and Dvorak is mostly on home row, ... you do the math.

Look at this as a chance to replace organic but functional bad habits with textbook touch-typing habits. My Japanese is better than my French because I kept thinking as I learned French that I already knew it by association, and I bungled around terribly. Japanese I had to learn from scratch. My typing is more disciplined after switching to Dvorak than it ever was before, same thing.

Everyone says to give it a year for the "paint to dry" before trying to relearn QWERTY side-by-side. Some sys admin types have no choice, they're always on other people's keyboards. I'm at the one year point, and I can't bring myself to go back, the QWERTY layout just feels so ridiculous by comparison. Like the TouchStream itself, the true appeal to me of Dvorak isn't a speed increase, it's the elegant, small movements, closer to just thinking.

[Astromarine]

thanks for the replies guys. Ironically, my greatest difficulty so far have been online forums like this one. I tend to lose patience when I can't write at the speed I think

The good news are, my Dvorak TS arrives this week :)

[eidechse]

Here's a link to a free web based Dvorak tutorial. Both my wife and I learned Dvorak from it.

www.gigliwood.com/abcd/ (http://www.gigliwood.com/abcd/)

[Bone]

Yeah, DVORAK is the way to go. I originally ordered the QWERTY version. Soon after I sent it back in favor of the DVORAK. Yay! It ROCKS!!

I've acquired the annoying habit of swiping my fingers accross normal (lesser) keyboards in a vain attempt to move the cursor.