Blind printing is necessary not only for professional typists, but also for everyone who often uses a computer - from programmers to amateurs to socialize on social networks. If you acquire this skill, then the time to complete simple tasks - enter an email address, write a letter to a colleague or send a message to a friend - will be significantly reduced.
Definition
What is blind printing? This is a typing method in which all 10 fingers are involved, and the person does not look at the keyboard. This is much more convenient and faster than regular printing, when you constantly look from the monitor to the keys.
To measure typing speed, a concept such as the number of characters per minute is used, i.e. this is the number of letters, numbers and punctuation marks that you can type in 60 seconds. Of course, it is important to do this not only quickly, but also qualitatively, therefore, such an indicator as the percentage of erroneously typed characters also matters. For example, printing with a blind method involves typing at a speed of 200 characters per minute (for comparison, most people fill out 100 characters per minute). In this case, the presence of not more than 1% errors is considered normal.
Why are the letters so spaced
There are various options for arranging the keys on the keyboard. Today, the most common QWERTY standard, or QWERTY. This strange name means the first 5 letters on the keyboard. Perhaps you were thinking, but it would not be more convenient to arrange the characters in alphabetical order? It turns out not more convenient. That is why they are scattered. And this is not due to the nasty character of Christopher Scholes, who came up with the QWERTY standard in the 70s of the XIX century. The thing is that in alphabetical order, many frequently used symbols are nearby, and the mallets with which they are printed touch each other. At the same time, the machine mechanism wears out quickly in certain places. Therefore, they came up with such an order where the most used letters are adjacent to those that are rarely used.
When computer keyboards appeared, one could forget about the shortcomings of typewriters. But many experts who already had excellent typewriting in their usual layout didn’t want to switch to other, even more effective standards.
Basic principles
How can you find the letters you need without looking at the keyboard? First, you must correctly position the index fingers: right - on the O key, left - on A. Note: these buttons have dashes or dots that make it easy to find them by touch. The remaining three fingers become each on a separate key in the middle row, and you need to press the spacebar with large ones. It's pretty simple, but what about the rest of the buttons? To do this, the nearest finger reaches the desired character. Thus, the keyboard is divided into conditional sectors.
The Shift key is clamped with the little finger of the hand opposite to the one that presses the main letter or print sign. After the desired character is typed, return your fingers to their original position in the middle row.
Your task is not to memorize the location of each letter, but to make the arm muscles remember the desired position for pressing the corresponding key.
Blind Printing Training
To begin with, you will need to prepare a comfortable workplace that meets the following requirements:
- A table and chair suitable in height for your height.
- Good lighting.
- Comfortable keyboard and palm rest. Your wrists should always lie on a hard surface, not hang in the air. Specialists recommend the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 with two-handed keys. So you will definitely avoid the temptation to press the letter with the wrong hand and take care of the brush’s health.
To learn the blind typing method, you should not look at the keys from the first lessons. If you have a table with a pull-out shelf, then it will be easy to do: hide your hands under the countertop. If the keyboard is on top of the table, you will have to take a cardboard box and build a protective box out of it.
We give up bad habits
At first, it will seem to you that typing in the old fashion with two fingers, looking at the letters, is easier and faster. At the beginning of training, this is true, therefore, it is not recommended to immediately try to combine typing lessons with a blind method with regular typing. In the future, practice will only benefit, but at first it’s important to work out the right skills.
Another bad habit is to involve other fingers in the printing process, but to do it randomly. This also includes working mainly with the right hand.
Inveterate players (especially fans of first-person shooters) are forming another wrong habit: to put the fingers of their left hands in the starting position on the keys and another classic combination to control the gameplay. This leads to the fact that the fingers of the left hand become stronger and more active, and their incorrect position is laid at the muscle level. If you want to master printing with a blind method, then you need to give up these habits.
Sit at the computer evenly, watching your posture. This is not only beneficial for the back, but also improves concentration.
The distance between the eyes and the monitor should be at least 45-70 cm.
Blind Printing Software
To make learning as simple and productive as possible, you will need special keyboard simulators.
Most of them are built on this principle:
- You are offered to familiarize yourself with the “activity zones” of each finger, that is, to study what symbols they can click.
- Then you complete a series of lessons, from simple (a few letters) to complex, consisting of whole words, and then sentences.
- During the execution of tasks, the symbol that you need to click will be highlighted on the layout image on the monitor. You can’t peek at the keys themselves, you can use only those hints that the program gives.
The blind printing method involves not only high typing speed, but also its quality, so many simulators will not allow you to go to more complex tasks until you have mastered the basics.
Simple but effective
One of the most popular - the Russian-language simulator for the blind typing method Stamina - works exactly according to the principles listed above. It is extremely simple, does not contain many additional functions, but is very effective, as evidenced by the results of thousands of users. Many educational institutions install it because it is a free program. Its feature is non-trivial voice acting, but it can be turned off.
In addition, you can download any text (for example, a chapter from a book) and practice your typing skills. But it’s better to do this after you have completed the basic lessons. There is no compulsory order among them - you can start with any activity.
Without installation
Using the Vse10 website, blind typing can be taught even without special software. This is a free service that will help you learn how to work in Russian or English layout. Since all the actions take place on the site, you can do it from any computer, it would be a normal Internet connection. The educational process is structured as follows:
- First, you can familiarize yourself with the introductory information in the Training section and perform a test speed test.
- Then you will have to go through a simple registration or log in using your Facebook profile.
- Then you can perform different lessons - from basic to complex.
- Thanks to detailed statistics, it is convenient to track your progress and compete with other students.
- At any level, you can pass a virtual exam, after which you can print the received certificate, the authenticity of which will be confirmed by a link to the site.
Almost like playing a musical instrument
One of the most popular simulators for teaching typewriting is Solo on the Keyboard. This is a paid program with powerful features. It was developed by Vladimir Shahidzhanyan - a teacher, journalist and psychologist. With the Solo program, the blind printing method can be learned quickly and efficiently, and all thanks to such functions:
- 100 exercises, many of which contain additional lessons, so there are 387 in total.
- Separate tasks for working out specific printing elements.
- Detailed statistics.
- Nice and comfortable interface.
Interesting features of "Solo"
The program has some add-ons, which are sometimes criticized by users, but in general help to improve their results:
- The number of errors is strictly fixed. If you exceeded it, you will have to start the exercise again.
- After each wrong key, an unpleasant audio warning sounds and the program stops for 3 seconds. But the sound can be turned off in the settings.
- You will have to repeat the previous lessons regularly, the program will not open new ones without this.
- The texts are not diverse.
- There is a built-in metronome. It is designed to help you work out the rhythm of the set, but for some users this is just distracting.
- There are texts, as well as quotes by prominent people who motivate the student.
- The owners of the licensed version can register on the site and participate in the general rating of “soloists”. And at the end of training, they can pass the exam and get a personal certificate (paid).
Useful Tips
- Do not try to speed up the learning process, first work on reducing errors. Speed ​​will come with experience.
- Use your fingers and fingers to make only those movements that are necessary; try to work ergonomically. In the future, you will be much less tired even with large amounts of computer work.
- The ring finger and the little finger are the least developed fingers, so pay special attention to their work.
- Try to look at the text a word or two ahead, so that the print is smooth and rhythmic.
- Do not forget about the rest. The same type of movement over time can adversely affect the health of the muscles and joints of the hands. In addition, attention and concentration are falling, which means that training will be less effective. Therefore, take breaks and gymnastics, warm up for the hands.