Robert Maule
nixCraft 🐧Poll: Were you taught how to type on a computer keyboard in school?
yes
no
Poll ended at .
glutto@nixCraft
I was taught on a typewriter. A non-electric typewriter.
FoolishOwl
maya_b 🇨🇦typing was still taught on typewriters. And the correction ribbon was removed from all of them so your mistakes couldn't be hidden either.
Boyd Stephen Smith Jr.someone I know had a typewriter with a built in spell checker, so definitely some computation going on in it.
though it choked on "syster" which could have been "sister" or "system". It was satisfying to break it on the first try 😜
TomSeppert@nixCraft
Does a mechanical typewriter count?
Does a mechanical typewriter count?
schrotthaufen@nixCraft How many of the “Yes” votes are actually people who learned on a typewriter?
bhaugland@nixCraft I took typing classes on an IBM Selectric in High School. But I think having a computer science class on a Commodore Pet was the real motivator to practice my typing skills.
crabbypup@nixCraft Yes, but I was pretty slow until I started using google chat and eventually irc years later.
@nixCraft Having been at school in the 1970s and 1980s - no. But it doesn't matter, today I can type blindly on a keyboard faster than someone else can type by hand
BenWe had pen and paper back in the 70's....;-)
Bobby OliveiraI graduated in '84. I got my first TRS-80 in '78 so I already had learned at home.
synlogic@nixCraft this question can age bucket people
Judgment DaveI remember being in "typing class" learning to type on a typewriter, thinking "I am NEVER going to need this skill".
I was so naive.
airik@nixCraft nope. Taught myself to touch type in university.
I’m 38.
jtsIn 9th grade, not effectively though. Looking at the blacked out keyboard and only using 3 fingers per hand was more than enough to "pass" those assignments.
I didn't really learn to touch type until college. And I used Dvorak layout with a QWERTY labeled board. No other way than touch type.
So glad I did. And I can now touch type on Dvorak, or with a little bit of refresher time (about 15 or so minutes) get into QWERTY touch type mindset.
arutaz@nixCraft typewriter and computer. Class was split up. Half the time on computer and half the time on typewriter.
We didn’t have enough computers at that time.
We didn’t have enough computers at that time.
Grum999 
@nixCraft in 1992 I had choice between "Spanish" or "Dactylography"
I've chose the second option 
Then I've learnt at school to type on a mechanical typewriter, with a paper sheet on keyboard to not see keys 
Der Emil@nixCraft School ended 1982 …
Jan Johannesson@nixCraft On a typewriter actually. It measured!
Jesse Rosen@nixCraft Never had a typing class at school. Learned at camp one summer on a mechanical typewriter, then when we got a family computer (DEC Rainbow if you can believe it) started to actually get fast.
Patrick Schmitz@nixCraft both on a mechanical typewriter and a Commodore 64
Tech64 
@nixCraft At school we never got a typing class - but we used to do these greeting cards on Scratch when the teacher took us to the computer lab. Anyways, I was the fastest at using a keyboard, I was probably even better than the teacher! But the teacher basically just put us in front of a keyboard without having used a keyboard before.
Also since I'll never bring it up again: for some reason all of the computers ran a dualboot of Win7 and Ubuntu (we always used Win7), weird.
GoatsLive@nixCraft Took a typing class in the 4th grade at my school in Alaska where I'm from. Old manual typewriters of course. I was the only male in the class, and got teased about being in a "girls" class.
Most useful class I ever took!
electrical tape@nixCraft i was taught but i didnt learn until hs lol
Choan Gálvez@nixCraft No, but I learnt how to type on a typewriter.
Phasorburn (chaos monkey, esq.) 🇨🇦@nixCraft
Typing 10 - manual typewriters - 20 wpm
Typing 20 - Electric daisywheel, selectric, and Apple //e - 45 wpm
Fast forward a couple years,
Multi-line Chat BBS - 100+ WPM (Type faster!)
Typing 10 - manual typewriters - 20 wpm
Typing 20 - Electric daisywheel, selectric, and Apple //e - 45 wpm
Fast forward a couple years,
Multi-line Chat BBS - 100+ WPM (Type faster!)
shentonfreude@nixCraft I took a summer school typing class (manual, not electric typewriter) so I could type better on ASR33 teletype and ADM3a green screen terminal. Best education investment I ever made.
ADM@nixCraft Mavis Beacon baby!
Mike Spencer@nixCraft
Six months of touch typing classes. I believe we used this: https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/50697/Typing%20Tutor/
Six months of touch typing classes. I believe we used this: https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/50697/Typing%20Tutor/
SlightlyCyberpunk@nixCraft Yes, more than once. We had mandatory typing classes in elementary school then had to start over with the mandatory typing classes in highschool. An easy A, but kind of obnoxious lol
(Especially because I think I had already started transitioning to the Dvorak layout by the highschool one...and the school computers did not allow us to change the keyboard layout, although I eventually discovered we *were* able to change the settings to unlock the ability to change the keyboard layout -- couldn't access control panel but that was restricted by group policy and we could access the group policy editor!)
Stewart Russell@nixCraft very expensive public school, Scotland, mid-80s: "but boys ... You'll have _secretaries_ to do your typing!"
Russell Davis@nixCraft No. I was taught on a manual typewriter in the 70's. It came in handy when I found myself in front of a DRDOS system in late 80's. Somehow the muscle memory wasn't lost.
François 🇨🇦@nixCraft yes, but I had to choose to do so. The year prior, a technology teacher told the class that for those that already have a computer at home (1990s), it would be better to get the typewriting class rather than computer. Since we were already using the computer, we wouldn't learn much, but typing would be useful throughout our lives. I remember well that teacher and his wisdom. Sadly, I can't remember his name.
thewrightmatt@nixCraft Man, I’d be super curious of the age breakdown on this poll. Learned when I was in elementary but that would have been the late 90’s for me.
Joseph Lamoree@nixCraft IBM Selectric typewriter. It really improved my speed in Zork.
keith@nixCraft typewriter
Diabolic Preacher@nixCraft the classwork of reaching and crossing 55 wpm on some typing tutor like games, while the "teacher" chilled in the only ac room in the school.
@nixCraft Not a computer keyboard but an traditional electrical keyboard in a typing class in junior high.
epicdemiologist@nixCraft I was taught on a manual typewriter. There were no computers in my school in the 1970s.
Jay@nixCraft Not at school; at home we had this program that I think was green or blue that let you practice typing the proper (all fingers, no hunt and peck) way.
It always kind of bugged me because I’m a bit of a weird hybrid; not quite hunt and peck and not quite proper use of fingers, more like…index finger biased? I can type reasonably well on a QWERTY keyboard with my eyes closed, and one-handed on a phone is easier than two-handed (I think it’s wanting a stable surface).
Cegorach@nixCraft well… type on a mechanical typewriter
but yes
Maike Küper@nixCraft c) it was an optional course offered
@nixCraft Only boy in typing class at high school but one of three boys in home ec & one of two boys in bookkeeping class
Taffer 🇨🇦
@nixCraft technically it was an electric typewriter, but I took that class specifically for using computers
skryking@nixCraft old enough that we used ibm typewriters for typing class.
Dfirebug@nixCraft nope, my (private) school had something against technology in general, so we weren't even allowed to have computers(this was only like 2 years ago), so I taught myself 3 keyboard layouts(qwerty, dvorak, and dvorak left handed)
lp0 on fire 
Kusalananda@nixCraft On a typewriter.
@nixCraft I was taught on a manual typewriter. (Two spaces after a period, as well.)
Patrick Wu 
@nixCraft I was taught how to type in a computer interest-orient class when I was in elementary. They taught typing on a DOS machine as they said “students won’t be distracted from playing with computer”
Mikael Lassi@nixCraft Originally we used type writers tho.
Acvaristul Lenes@nixCraft I learned on typing machine. Unfortunately, it took too long till I got my first computer and totally forgot.
DarkCyberman@nixCraft it was an additional class you needed to enlist and pay separately bit given on school premises
Antti@nixCraft No but I took a class with mechanical typewriter.
Scott Dellinger@nixCraft I learned typing at school on an Apple IIe. I have fond memories of turtle graphics in Logo from the same class.