Introduction to Rapid Typing Tutor and touch typing technique

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. Have you seen someone type fast without looking at the keyboard even once? That skill is called touch typing, and anyone can learn it. Today we will learn the touch typing technique and a free practice program called Rapid Typing Tutor.

Let us start with the meaning. Touch typing means typing without looking at the keyboard. In this method, every finger has its own fixed set of keys, so your fingers learn where the keys are. Your eyes stay on the screen or on the text you are copying, not on your hands.

Many beginners type in a slower way called hunt and peck. Hunt and peck means you search for each key with your eyes and then press it. It usually uses only one or two fingers. Touch typing uses all ten fingers. So touch typing is much faster, and it is less tiring for your eyes and neck.

The key idea in touch typing is the home row. The home row is the middle row of letter keys, and your fingers rest there when they are not typing. The left hand's little, ring, middle and index fingers rest on A, S, D and F. The right hand's index, middle, ring and little fingers rest on J, K, L and the semicolon key. Both thumbs rest lightly on the spacebar.

How do you find the home row without looking? The F key and the J key have small raised bumps on them. Place your left and right index fingers on these bumps, and the other fingers fall into place. After pressing any key, your finger returns to its home key.

Each finger covers a column of keys. The index fingers do the most work, and each one covers two columns in the middle. The middle fingers cover D, E and C on the left, and K, I and comma on the right. The ring fingers cover S, W and X on the left, and L, O and full stop on the right. The little fingers cover A, Q and Z on the left, and semicolon, P and slash on the right.

Pause and predict. Which finger should type the letter G? The left index finger, because it reaches one key to the right from F. Which finger should type the letter P? The right little finger, reaching up from the semicolon key.

Here are four good habits. Focus on accuracy first, because speed grows by itself with practice. Press the keys lightly and quickly, without banging them. Press the spacebar with a thumb. For a capital letter, hold Shift with the little finger of the opposite hand, so for a capital A, use the right Shift key.

Now, the practice program in our course. Rapid Typing Tutor is a free program that teaches and practises keyboard typing. It is made by a company called RapidTyping Software. It works on Windows computers. It has lessons from beginner level to advanced level, so you can move up step by step.

When you open a lesson, you see several parts on the screen. The lesson text at the top shows the letters or words you must type. A virtual keyboard, which is a picture of a keyboard on screen, lights up the next key to press. Keys are shown in colours, so you know which finger should press them. After the lesson, the statistics show your speed and accuracy.

Here is a good way to practise. First, open Rapid Typing Tutor. Choose a lesson that matches your level. Type the lesson with your eyes on the screen, not on your hands. At the end, check if your accuracy is good. If yes, move to the next lesson. If no, repeat the same lesson until your fingers are sure.

Touch typing is a habit, and habits need daily practice. Practise for fifteen to twenty minutes every day, instead of two hours once a week. Start with the home row lessons before moving to other rows. Do not look down at the keys, even if you feel slow at first. And sit correctly, with straight wrists and your screen at eye level.

Let us revise what we learned today. Touch typing means typing without looking at the keys, using all ten fingers. Your fingers rest on the home row, A S D F and J K L semicolon. The bumps on F and J help you find home. Always build accuracy first, and speed will follow. Rapid Typing Tutor gives free lessons and shows your statistics. Start with one home row lesson today.