Course:ETEC540/2009WT1/Assignments/ResearchProject/FromHandwritingToTypingwriting/Typing
Catherine's page Typing
There was a time when computers did not exist, when keyboards were not used as the main method of data entry. There was a time when a new machine allowed a person to transcribe handwriting into text of the similar quality as printed text. It allowed the average person to enter the realm of the trained professionals known as printers. That wondrous new machine was known as the typewriter. media:typewriter-1.mp3
It is odd to think that a new technology was not designed around the user. Although the science of ergonomics did exist at that time, it was not until the Information Age that the relationship between the user and the computer became a concern. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergonomics Many students have wondered about the placement of the keys on the standard typewriter. The QWERTY keyboard seemed to be anything but user friendly. And indeed it is not. This keyboard was designed to actually slow the typist down. Originally designed and patented in 1868 by American, the type-writer had a keyboard with letters placed in alphabetical order. Typing technique required 2 to 4 fingers in a hunt and peck method. However, the "type bars" of the typewriter would jam together causing the typist to come to a complete stop so that the problem could be rectified. Counter-intuitively, the solution became to reconfigure the keys as the machine could not be redesigned to accommodate speedy typists. With the new configuration, the typist had to slow down and thus avoided the continuous interruptions. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/qwerty.htm
"The new arrangement was the "QWERTY" arrangement that typists use today. Of course, Sholes claimed that the new arrangement was scientific and would add speed and efficiency. The only efficiency it added was to slow the typist down, since almost any word in the English language required the typist's fingers to cover more distance on the keyboard.
The advantages of the typewriter outweighed the disadvantages of the keyboard. Typists memorized the crazy letter arrangement, and the typewriter became a huge success." http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/qwerty.htm
Other keyboards have been introduced as improvements on the Qwerty keyboard. One configuration was designed by Dr. Dvorak at the University of Washington. It promised speed and ease of learning the technique. The basic principle behind his design is that the most frequently used keys are on the upper row, while the least used keys are on the lower row. The home row contains letters that can be combined to create over 5000 words. "...the Dvorak design took about 12 years to perfect, and included extensive study of languages using the Roman alphabet (mostly English), the physiology of the hand, and practical studies. Dr. Dvorak (Univ. of Washington, Seattle; b.1894, d.1975)" http://www.dvorak-keyboard.com/ See (http://dvorak.mwbrooks.com/layout.html) for more information on Dvorak's keyboard.
Along with the new QWERTY configuration came a typing technique.
Teaching Typing
Typing is a kineastetic activity. Unlike writing, it engages more parts of the body. The typist must adjust their seating position, make sure all fingers are on the HOME keys (ASDF JKL;)and keep their eyes on the page they are copying rather than the keyboard. In the case of composing directly at the keyboard, the typist is again encouraged to look at the paper, not the keyboard. Touch typing involves ensuring fingers are positioned properly as each new group of letters are introduced. The typist strikes keys repeatedly so that the hand starts to register the distance from one key to another. This repetitive motion continues as typists are encouraged to type faster and faster through a series of drills. Here is an example of a left hand drill:
asdf asdf asdf asdf aaa aaa aaa aaa aaa sss sss sss sss sss ddd ddd ddd ddd ddd fff fff fff fff fff
Exercises such as these ones would involve both sides of the brain:
goes goes goes goes goes the the the the the the
A further way to build speed was with the use of mnemonics:
ghost (to remember that g is placed before h on the keyboard)
Typists are further encouraged to build speed by sounding out each letter as they type. T H E. Pretty soon, the brain starts to recognize the pattern and recognizes the whole word at "the". Many short combinations of letters appear in the English language, such as tion, ing, the, ere (as in there).
Music was often played with the sound of a metronome in the background to keep the pace.
Typing is very spacial. It is filled with measurements; pica vs elite, single or double spaces, the width of the margins, the number of words in a line, the number of lines on a page, don't forget to press the return carriage when you hear the bell!
A pica (pronounced /ˈpaɪkə/) is a typographic unit of measure corresponding to 1/72nd of its respective foot, and therefore to 1/6th of an inch. The pica contains 12 point units of measure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_%28unit_of_measure%29
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wuet_Dw6H4A - Although this video is meant to be used with modern wordprocessing programs, it is of interest because it illustrates how text appearance, capitilization, margins and spacing are used in a standardized format in the screenwriting genre.
http://www.karper-crain.net/purdue/projects/typewriter/index.html - teaching typing in 1932
Some quotes from Bolter and from Ong
Typewriter art
Once in a while, the typing teacher might relieve the monotony of typing class with something a mite more creative. Workbooks with simple designs were available to allow students to create pumpkins, flower pots and so much more. [http://www.13above.com/2009/01/top-10-amazing-typewriter-art.html. This artist has taken typewriter art to a new level. Notice that the technique involves a lot of manipulation of the carriage roller to move the paper to the desired position.
A typical typing classroom was equipped with a finger chart. This one is particularly effective as it is colour coded.
How Cultural Considerations Affect the Keyboard A cultural point of view in terms of what accommodations are made (i.e writing left to right, using accents in French, on the keyboard too, or more charaters in Thai)
How was the social structure and economy affected by this technology?
"By 1900, the proportion of women was 76.7 percent [6, p. 9]." (p 77) The increase of women in the clerical workforce can be attributed to "(1) the relatively high wages for women compared with their alternatives, (2) the role of typing schools and the YWCA, (3) the status and respectability of office employment, (4) the education of women, (5) the sex neutrality of typing, (6) the feminist arguments, and (7) the iconography of the typewriter." (p 78) "The commercial success of the typewriter occurred because it was accepted by business."(p. 78) "The typewriter not only met many of the new needs of the changing office but also eliminated potential problems. It was, when operated by a trained typist, much faster (and hence cheaper) than writing by hand. One writer claimed in 1888 that it saved "40 minutes an hour" or "5 hours and 20 minutes in a business day" [9, p. 28]. In contests between speed writers and speed typists, the typists invariably won by 30 words per minute and more. The best hand writer could write about 65 words per minute while the best typist could often type 90 to 100 words per minute (9, p. 30]. The averages, of course, were well below this. The introduction of carbon paper about the same time made the exact duplication of documents a matter of routine, while simultaneously eliminating the possibility of errors due to hand copying." (p.78) "In response to business demand for trained typists, business colleges, which previously taught pennmanship and mathematics, began to offer typing courses. Typewriter agencies and independent businesses began to offer transcription services, and some typewriter sales offices offered an employment service of sorts, providing typewriter and typist as well as training." (p. 79) "The business office, of course, demanded an educated work force. Clerks and typists had to be able to read, write, and execute minimal mathematical skills. Here, the high-school-educated women had an advantage. Typing as a new job, a new profession, was associated neither with men nor women. It was "sex-neutral" and as such was not only open to both men and women but not automatically closed to women, as were so many other occupations." (p. 80)
From http://www.h-net.org/~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v008/p0076-p0088.pdf additional quotes from 6. Margery Davies, "Woments Place at the Typewriter: The Feminization of the Clerical Labor Force," Radical America, Vol. 8 (July-August 1974), pp. 1-28. 9. P. G. Hubert, Jr., The Typewriter, Its Growth and Uses, source unknown, n.d. (18887), p. 25-32. 19
Products are soon needed to accessorize the typewriter. Document holder, liquid or tape erasers, typewriter ribbons and eventually, font balls (made for IBM Selectric) are all examples of spin of products associating with typing.
Sound file - http://www.soundjay.com/typewriter-sounds.html