The typing tutor I want

[Dave]

Following on from the recent thread "How fast are you";

Looking at a bunch of online typing tests & tutors prompted me to think that what I'd really like is a keylogger (yeah privacy stuff, I know) that builds statistics on my typing from precision timing letter to letter.

Specifically, I'd like it to be building a personalized per-word count plus detail of errors, hesitations etc and from that work out what are the most costly flaws I could improve on. Not just at a whole word level but also issues within and between letter groupings. Then have some exercises that focus on the most profitable fixes.

Learning to quickly type a long complicated word doesn't help much if I rarely use it. On the other hand a simple word that you type pretty fast might win you more with only slight optimization if it's needed frequently.

I don't want practice typing Alice in Wonderland, I'd rather something that focused on what I personally actually type.

[nico_h]

It's a standard typing tutor, but have you looked at www.keybr.com? they have a typing lesson system that does what you propose (does lots of stats on your typing, make next lesson based on which letter is worst). You can give it your own text if you want.

[Dave]

Yeah I had seen it. Tracking high error keys is a good first step but I'm proposing a much more sophisticated approach that's looking for patterns, pauses, issues, within the key sequences.

I'd also like it to be learning from my own vocab and usage rather than generic exercises or old texts.

Amphetype is pretty good standalone tool, but like all the others it isn't a keylogger learning from your real live typing.

[msacey]

Wow @Dave, you make yourself sound like a robot. "work out what are the most costly flaws".

Just practice typing. Let go of the resistance and intricate, perhaps minutia, "optimization" and go ahead and practice typing. I'm not convinced that practicing complicated words or words you don't use aren't helpful. Pianists don't play major or minor scales for because they'll be performing them in public. They play to exercise fingering, but they would not perform scales nor are most interested to just do scales.

If you want to practice typing that involves a lot of symbols, fine. That's a good place to go too.

[Dave]

Beep boop.

Yeah you don't need an ideal training system but I just like musing over such things. Lots of the lessons in typing trainers are pretty uninspiring dull stuff. I'd be more motivated if I knew what I was doing was tightly focused on the most effective bits for me.

[msacey]

Indeed, practice can be tedious. One just gotta do it.

Back in high school when I was learning to type, we used a Mac program on the compact SE/30. Every school day I would take 30 minutes in the computer lab to practice. In a month I was quite fluid. Our computer teacher contrasted this with students a year or two ahead of me who didn't spend the time to practice and couple years later they're still not fluid on the keyboard.

30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. 1 month. Don't think about it. Just execute it. Done.

Boring? Ok. Perhaps. Don't think about it hehe

[I'm not saying you're not fluid on the keyboard. I'm using an analogy]

[waytools]