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Children today seem to know their way around a virtual keyboard before they turn four.
While this is true, many of them will never learn to type on the real thing well enough to keep their necks straight and their eyes on something else while those fingers are busy. I think that is sad.
Do I feel this way because my age begins with a 5 so I’m now considered old, or at least stuck in the old way of doing things? Call me biased, but I don’t think so. The advantages of being able to touch type go way beyond the speed at which you can get words onto the page, and it’s not as hard—or time consuming—as you might think to get started.
If you went to school in a year that began with 19- or 200-, chances are you were made to take a typing class.
Whether or not you went on to hunt and peck instead of touch type is beside the point — it was a basic skill that almost all kids of that era were exposed to at some point during their school life. From what I can see, it’s something most schools no longer bother teach.
The question is, should they?
Is the skill of touch typing no longer relevant in a world of predictive text and accurate voice-to-text dictation?
If you currently think touch typing is no big deal, I hope that by the end of this article you’ll be singing a different tune.
No prizes for guessing that I’m definitely in the kids-should-absolutely-be-taught-how-to-type camp!
So much so that when my now 20-something year old kids were in primary school, I offered each of them a $30 carrot if they learned to type without looking. Speed didn’t matter; they just had to demonstrate to me that they could type with reasonable accuracy without looking at the keyboard.
This was the early 2000s, when $30 seemed like a lot of moolah to anyone too young for a part-time job. Each of my four children was motivated to put in the work to bag the cash, something they were pleased about then and continue to be thankful for today — because they use the skill daily.
Technology provides valuable tools that don’t require any skill with a keyboard, especially on mobile devices where touch typing isn’t an option, but they can’t take the place of the brain to fingers connection.
I love using the Drafts app to take voice-to-text notes while I’m driving or when I only have my phone with me. These notes are a great start for the longer form writing I do on my laptop while soaking up the beautiful view out my window.
Here are three reasons I think touch typing is a skill everyone should learn. I’ll let you off the hook if you don’t have fingers (or toes), or you have another condition that makes it an unreasonable expectation. The rest of you, stop making excuses!
Whether you’re taking notes in class or from a text in front of you, you’ll work better when you can keep your eyes on the thing you’re trying to learn from. Take notes in a meeting while keeping your eyes on the the person speaking, or their presentation slides.
Free your eyes to take in beautiful things, like that picture on your wall or the view out your window, or just to watch your dog sleeping. Words find their way from your brain to your fingers more easily when you’re focused on loveliness.
You’ll be more likely to hold your head, neck and back in healthy ways when you don’t have to keep your eyes on the keyboard. Over time this can positively affect your posture, helping you avoid a permanently curved upper back later in life — and the health issues that come with it.
I’ve made the case for helping kids learn to touch type, but what about you? If you’re a busy adult stuck in your hunt-and-peck ways, what’s a good place to start?
I suggest choosing one word, or phrase, or sentence, and learn how to type it with the correct fingers.
That’s right, just one.
It could be your name, your email address, or a favourite 1-lined quote.
First, learn how to identify the F and J keys by feeling the raised dots most keyboards have on those letters. Then use a chart that corresponds to your region’s keyboard layout to see which finger goes with which letter of your chosen word or phrase, and type it again and again until you can do so without looking.
Preferably choose something you find yourself typing often, so that practicing it is automatically built in to your day.
Once you’ve mastered your first word or phrase or sentence — you know what I’m going to say — add another. Then another.
If you have the time and inclination, you can take lessons to speed up the process.
There are free online lessons for kids and adults, so take a look around to see one that appeals to you. The KeyKey typing tutor on Setapp looks pretty good to me if you’re already a subscriber. (If you’re not a Setapp subscriber and would like to be, you can click here to join with my affiliate signup link. Use the code ELLANE) KeyKey is also available for a one-off price, but the free online options look just fine if you don’t want to spend money.
If you’re an Obsidian user, check out the Typing Speed plugin to get feedback while you work.
Touch typing is a skill with benefits that go beyond getting words down quickly.
I believe children should be taught to touch type in school, because predictive text, auto-correct, and speech-to-text aren’t enough on their own.
Adults who can’t yet touch type can start today by learning the correct finger placement for just one word (e.g. their own name). Totally doable! When you can type that word without looking, add another.
Three compelling reasons for learning to touch type:
See also Touch Typing For Classic Book Fans
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