If you missed seeing the presentation, "Orientation to Keyboarding Online," at our orientation meeting or if you wish to view it again, click on FAQ 1 to preview the presentation by Arlene Zimmerly, a co-author of our textbook.  

Developing Technique                                 

Good technique is the foundation for success in keyboarding. It is up to you to discipline yourself to develop correct technique. Look at the Typing Technique illustration in your textbook on p. vii of the Introduction and read the technique pointers carefully. Click here to study the illustration.

Don’t correct errors as you type drill lines. It is acceptable to have some errors in a line when you are first learning to type. If you correct errors on drills, your technique suffers when you glance back and forth between your screen, your hands, and your book.

Type all letters by touch. Once you have studied the reaches, keep your eyes on the textbook as you type each line. When you are finished typing a line, look at the screen to identify any letters you missed. Repeat the line without looking—focus on any letters you identified in the first attempt. Try turning off your monitor until you complete a drill so you will not be tempted to peek.

Check your technique constantly. Because I cannot watch you type to check your technique, you will have to monitor yourself. Pay careful attention to the software demonstrations for each new letter to learn the correct fingering. If you are not sure of your fingering, click the Skillbuilding Exercises drawer. Click the New Key Drills tab, and click the desired character on the keyboard below. You will be taken to the lesson where the key was first introduced. Click the Demonstration button as many times as you need to be sure you are using the correct fingering. Remember—you must have acceptable technique to pass Keyboarding.

Give me a break! Check out this site for some great online stretches whenever you need a break: http://keats.admin.virginia.edu/ergo/stretch.html 

Technique Check  

You must have acceptable technique to pass keyboarding! I will give you a technique check in person as soon as possible after you start the course at the same time. I  will watch you type some paragraphs that include all the keys from Lessons 1 through 20 to be sure that you can type by touch (without looking), use the correct fingering, and generally have acceptable technique. If you cannot type by touch and/or are using the wrong fingering, you will have to improve your technique and come back for another technique check.

	In a very quiet environment, open your textbook to Lesson 1.
	Launch GDP (double click on the GDP icon on your computer desktop); type 1 in the Lesson box or click the list arrow until 1 is displayed.

 

	Double click on "A. The Home Keys" in the Lesson 1 menu.  Read each screen carefully and do as instructed.  Click "Next" in the lower right corner to go to the next screen. IMPORTANT!  As you begin typing in Lesson 1, you will notice that the lines you will be typing follow a pattern:  first "a," then "s," then "d," then "f," then "j," then "k," then "l," and finally ";" (pronounced "semicolon"), from left to right on the "Home Keys."  Because the drill lines follow this same pattern, you should not need to look at your hands as you type.  Instead, you should keep your eyes on the computer monitor, focus on each letter, and say each letter to yourself as you depress each key.  THINK about the letter as you are typing it, trying to associate the finger with the letter.  Do this VERY SLOWLY, concentrating deeply as you type each key, so that you are MEMORIZING the fingering.  Don't worry about striking the wrong key in drill lines; you should expect to make errors as you are learning to type.  FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE FOR EACH NEW KEY AS IT IS INTRODUCED; this is the secret to learning to type by touch! Now type the lines in Lesson 1A, B, and C that appear on-screen using the method above, clicking on "Next" in the lower right corner to continue to the next section.  Keep typing 1D, E, F, and G.
	When you get to "H. Word Building," you will need to turn to page 4 in your textbook and type Lines 9-15 two times each (Line 9 twice, Line 10 twice, etc.)  After finishing Line 15, click "Next" in the lower right corner; then type Lines 16-17 two times each.  Click "Next," read the instructions carefully, and then take two 1-minute timings on Lines 18-19.  The goal is to complete the lines before the timing is up within the error limit. The timing begins when you press the first keystroke. Do NOT press the Enter key until you reach the end of Line 19 (the "word wrap" feature will automatically end Line 18 and begin a new Line 19 for you).  If you finish both lines before time is up, press Enter once and start typing again from the beginning.
	You have now completed Lesson 1; congratulations!  If you met the lesson goal of 10 wpm (words per minute) with 3 or fewer errors, you know you have mastered the lesson.  Write your fastest score with 3 or fewer errors onto your Assignment Sheet for Lesson 1, and then proceed to the next lesson.
	If you did not type at least 10 wpm with 3 or fewer errors, repeat Lesson 1.  If you typed at least 10 wpm but had 5 or more errors, press the ESC key (upper left corner of your keyboard) and repeat the 1-minute timings again but this time slow down a bit to type with more control.  Record your best score onto your Assignment Sheet for Lesson 1.  If you repeated the lesson because you did not reach 10 wpm the first time, you should NOT repeat this lesson more than once.
	BEFORE GOING ON TO LESSON 2, READ THE THREE SECTIONS BELOW--"Using GDP Help," "Orientation to Typing Drills," and "View Training Videos."

Lesson 2-G, 1-Minute Timed Writing
TW Goal: 11/3e