Keep your fingers on their assigned home row keys.
Fingers should be slightly curved.
The pad of the finger should be square on each key.
Type with the pad of the finger, not the fingernail.
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Keep your fingers on their assigned home row keys. Fingers should be slightly curved. The pad of the finger should be square on each key. Type with the pad of the finger, not the fingernail. |
Keep your elbows close to your side. Be relaxed, but don't slouch in your chair. Sit square in the chair with your feet flat on the floor. If your elbows are correctly tucked in, your fingers have a more constant platform from which to reach out and strike the proper key. If your elbows are not close to your side, this places a twist on your wrists which is fatiguing. |
Wrists should be slightly curved and not touching the bottom frame of the keyboard. This will minimize the amount of finger reaching required and reduce fatigue. When keying data, your wrists should be sloping upward at the same angle as the keyboard. 
Do not allow your wrists to become lazy as shown. Do NOT let your wrists rest on the desk. This transfers the additional workload to your fingers. Back to Typing Tutor Skills Improvement |
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Students should not progress beyond keys "g" and "h" unless they
are able to key the home row without looking at their hands.
Here is a typing tip. Make a tent by taping a piece of paper to the top of the keyboard. When your hands are inside the tent, you cannot see your fingers. You are then forced to concentrate on the proper key stroke ! Or, if you do not want to construct a tent, ask someone to hold a piece of paper over your hands while you key an exrcise. If the learners appear upset, ask them to re-key the home row exercises. They have to train their fingers to be nimble. It is OK to look at the finger - keystroke on the screen. But do not look at your actual fingers. You are training your brain to tell the fingers what to do. Back to Typing Tutor Skills Improvement |
| Topic | Needs Work |
About Right |
Great Job |
| Keystroke Patterns | |||
| Strikes keys with quick motion. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Types with a steady, even rhythm. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Strikes Enter key without looking. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Keeps fingers on home row keys. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Strives for accuracy. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Posture | |||
| Sits erect. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Feet flat on floor. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Wrists up. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Elbows in. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Attitude | |||
| Follows directions. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Completes exercises on time. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Is prepared for class. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Has work well organized. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Has a good attitude. | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Back to Typing Tutor Skills Improvement |
More Touch Typing Tips
Avoid eyestrain.
We often forget to blink our eyes when looking
at the monitor. So, Shut your eyes. Then open you eyes and look up.
Posture is important. Unless you maintain a consistant posture, the relationship of your body to the keyboard changes. This changes the the finger - keystroke reaches. Set up a schedule. Unless you establish a schedule for learning, it is all too easy to find an excuse for not practicing. Do you have an extra fifteen minutes? Then you can complete a couple of practice exercises. You have helped develop to your keyboarding skills.  Keep you feet still. Keep you feet still and flat on the floor. This minimizes unnecessary body movement that change finger - keystroke reaches. Type without looking at the keys. Use a quick stroke to strike each key. Do not press or mash the key. Strike the key quickly and move on! Concentrate. Concentrate on using the correct finger to strike a key. You cannot learn touch typing if your mind wanders. |