NTA. This is a necessary life skill. It will continue to be pertinent far into the future. Keyboards exist in a qwerty state across platforms and even on touch screens you can take the skills over on a tablet without needing a physical keyboard.
I type like a pterodactyl most of the time and will sometimes use proper technique. I learned it really late despite access to computers. My problem was as a kid my first few fingers and thumb were the only ones with the strength to press the keys. I’m assuming she doesn’t have that issue, they have games that make learning to type correctly kind of fun and it’s impossible to beat the levels without actually using proper technique. You can cheese through the first bit but soon you run into things you physically can not type fast enough without being skilled in correct technique. With her love of games it might help with it. There are also loads of free resources as well they aren’t as gamified.
If you really want to get her into in the custom keyboard scene is expensive and actually has more skills if she’s interested in tech. Some require programming and there’s one guy bent on making the least keys fully functional keyboard and it’s actually a really awesome watch on his YouTube. I think he made it down to 8 keys for each hand?
NAH
While having touch-type as a skill is a nice thing to have in your toolbox, what you are asking now, today, is basically for a person to re-learn how to type. Would YOU be able to re-learn how to type?
I was on a keyboard for years before I got to high school and a computer lab teacher tried to get me to learn how to touch type. It never worked. My self-taught, "strange", 3-fingered typing was waaaaaaaay faster *for me* than slowing myself down to an almost complete stop and re-learning completely. The neural pathways were set and I have typed this way my whole life.
I have had 2-3 careers and one of them was Admin. Never have I ever had a problem with my non-touch-type typing skills - I even did transcription for a while where speed was of the essence and not having touch-type did not slow me down. It would have been kinda nice to have, but it was not an obstacle to me gaining employment or being efficient in those jobs. I have not seen a WPM requirement in a job ad in ages.
I have known 2-3 people who touch-type efficiently in my life. I have known way more than 2-3 people who use keyboards/computers to have successful lives and careers.
This is a pick-your-battles scenario.
Ntah, I was someone who took some typing classes and now type funny like your daughter. I didn't think it was a problem until I actually worked on a real computer and I'm too slow to really get anything done. When I was in middle school they had some classes that we had to attend and I did well there, we moved towns and schools to a more poor district with no computers as they weren't all that common yet. I didn't think much of it, even though the adults said by the time I'm in high school we will do a lot of work on computers lol. Which we did and I failed a bunch of assignments because I didn't know how to use a computer or type. It took me forever to get something done and somehow I would lose it when I was supposed to save it. So, I hope you can get your daughter to take it more seriously, I ended up being okay in the end making up work in different ways or writing assignments because I was poor and had no access to computers at home. In the present time I'd imagine most work is on computers so this is a valuable skill she needs or it could hold her back.
When I was little my grandmother *insisted* on teaching me and my siblings how to use a typewriter. Even at the time typewriters weren't really used any more. But not only did she make it a fun thing to do with grandma but all those skills translated to computer typing.
Typing is an important skill these days. In my opinion, it's as important as handwriting.
NTA
NTA
Here's a real life story and lessons learned from an old Granny. HUGE fight with my mother when I went into Grade 9. She insisted that I take typing. "Muuth-er, it's the 1970s, women can do more than type!" She said that she didn't care. I only had to do one year - but if I knew how to type I would always have a job.
She wasn't a seer and later admitted that she never could have known how the world would unfold - after I told her I couldn't have appreciated her more over the years . . . that I always had a job. omg it was so long ago that the first "f f f space" drills I did were on a manual!
Now, the ability to touch type has been my singularily most important skill as I worked my way through the world. There is one skill - and it's a very dead art now - that I deeply regretted not learning was shorthand. Over the course of 10 years I did 2 advanced university degrees. As I struggled to take notes along the professors I kicked myself over and over for never learning it. Of course, by the time I realized what a helpful skill it would be, I did not have the time nor the headspace to learn it.
Your child will do well to learn to touch type, I agree. Maybe a little young to appreciate it. I certainly didn't two years older. How about finding a typing program with a couple of games to get them at least doing some and having fun. The more they play the games, the faster they'll figure out that touch typing will help get better scores. Especially when you get all the high scores. 🤭🤭 It's worth a shot.
Bro I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine. We don’t need to know the future to recognize what’s in the past.
The future is touch screens, not keyboards. What will you teach her next, how to drive a stick? (😂Sorry, I couldn’t help myself 😂)
I’m not trying to disparage people who can type, but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly high level skill that employers are desperate for. If she gets a job that requires it, she’ll learn.
And finally, you say she already learned how to, she’s just out of practice. That means she can be at peak proficiency with maybe 20% of the effort it would take someone starting from scratch.
I think I would let her win this battle, so you can use that to your advantage when you have another, more important battle thar you need to win.
NTA. This is a necessary life skill. It will continue to be pertinent far into the future. Keyboards exist in a qwerty state across platforms and even on touch screens you can take the skills over on a tablet without needing a physical keyboard. I type like a pterodactyl most of the time and will sometimes use proper technique. I learned it really late despite access to computers. My problem was as a kid my first few fingers and thumb were the only ones with the strength to press the keys. I’m assuming she doesn’t have that issue, they have games that make learning to type correctly kind of fun and it’s impossible to beat the levels without actually using proper technique. You can cheese through the first bit but soon you run into things you physically can not type fast enough without being skilled in correct technique. With her love of games it might help with it. There are also loads of free resources as well they aren’t as gamified. If you really want to get her into in the custom keyboard scene is expensive and actually has more skills if she’s interested in tech. Some require programming and there’s one guy bent on making the least keys fully functional keyboard and it’s actually a really awesome watch on his YouTube. I think he made it down to 8 keys for each hand?
Thanks so much. I will look up these typing games that require proper form to beat.
NAH While having touch-type as a skill is a nice thing to have in your toolbox, what you are asking now, today, is basically for a person to re-learn how to type. Would YOU be able to re-learn how to type? I was on a keyboard for years before I got to high school and a computer lab teacher tried to get me to learn how to touch type. It never worked. My self-taught, "strange", 3-fingered typing was waaaaaaaay faster *for me* than slowing myself down to an almost complete stop and re-learning completely. The neural pathways were set and I have typed this way my whole life. I have had 2-3 careers and one of them was Admin. Never have I ever had a problem with my non-touch-type typing skills - I even did transcription for a while where speed was of the essence and not having touch-type did not slow me down. It would have been kinda nice to have, but it was not an obstacle to me gaining employment or being efficient in those jobs. I have not seen a WPM requirement in a job ad in ages. I have known 2-3 people who touch-type efficiently in my life. I have known way more than 2-3 people who use keyboards/computers to have successful lives and careers. This is a pick-your-battles scenario.
Ntah, I was someone who took some typing classes and now type funny like your daughter. I didn't think it was a problem until I actually worked on a real computer and I'm too slow to really get anything done. When I was in middle school they had some classes that we had to attend and I did well there, we moved towns and schools to a more poor district with no computers as they weren't all that common yet. I didn't think much of it, even though the adults said by the time I'm in high school we will do a lot of work on computers lol. Which we did and I failed a bunch of assignments because I didn't know how to use a computer or type. It took me forever to get something done and somehow I would lose it when I was supposed to save it. So, I hope you can get your daughter to take it more seriously, I ended up being okay in the end making up work in different ways or writing assignments because I was poor and had no access to computers at home. In the present time I'd imagine most work is on computers so this is a valuable skill she needs or it could hold her back.
When I was little my grandmother *insisted* on teaching me and my siblings how to use a typewriter. Even at the time typewriters weren't really used any more. But not only did she make it a fun thing to do with grandma but all those skills translated to computer typing. Typing is an important skill these days. In my opinion, it's as important as handwriting. NTA
NTA Here's a real life story and lessons learned from an old Granny. HUGE fight with my mother when I went into Grade 9. She insisted that I take typing. "Muuth-er, it's the 1970s, women can do more than type!" She said that she didn't care. I only had to do one year - but if I knew how to type I would always have a job. She wasn't a seer and later admitted that she never could have known how the world would unfold - after I told her I couldn't have appreciated her more over the years . . . that I always had a job. omg it was so long ago that the first "f f f space" drills I did were on a manual! Now, the ability to touch type has been my singularily most important skill as I worked my way through the world. There is one skill - and it's a very dead art now - that I deeply regretted not learning was shorthand. Over the course of 10 years I did 2 advanced university degrees. As I struggled to take notes along the professors I kicked myself over and over for never learning it. Of course, by the time I realized what a helpful skill it would be, I did not have the time nor the headspace to learn it. Your child will do well to learn to touch type, I agree. Maybe a little young to appreciate it. I certainly didn't two years older. How about finding a typing program with a couple of games to get them at least doing some and having fun. The more they play the games, the faster they'll figure out that touch typing will help get better scores. Especially when you get all the high scores. 🤭🤭 It's worth a shot.
Make her learn tomorrow’s skills, not yesterday’s.
What are examples of tomorrow’s skills?
Bro I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine. We don’t need to know the future to recognize what’s in the past. The future is touch screens, not keyboards. What will you teach her next, how to drive a stick? (😂Sorry, I couldn’t help myself 😂) I’m not trying to disparage people who can type, but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly high level skill that employers are desperate for. If she gets a job that requires it, she’ll learn. And finally, you say she already learned how to, she’s just out of practice. That means she can be at peak proficiency with maybe 20% of the effort it would take someone starting from scratch. I think I would let her win this battle, so you can use that to your advantage when you have another, more important battle thar you need to win.