Session 1

Timing

The goal for this course is for you to develop good typing habits, posture, and increase typing speed. For
your professional careers you want your typing speed to be higher than 40 – 50 WPM while maintaining
accuracy.

Following proper finger positioning is key to improving your typing speed. Prolonged typing could cause
injury if you have bad typing habits. You may notice a drop in your typing speed if you are first adapting
to the proper typing positioning, but with practice your speed will recover and continue to increase.

Screen time

Good practice when typing is to look at the paper, the book, or the screen rather than looking at the
keys. With practice you will be able to naturally know where the keys are, and that is the goal for a
faster typing speed. Watching the keys as you type will only slow you down.

A good practice while typing is to follow the 20 – 20 – 20 rule. The rule recommends that you look away
from the screen at least every 20 minutes, and to look at a wall or an object 20 feet away, for at least 20
seconds. That would help prevent eye strain from prolonged typing. It’s always a good idea to take a
break from typing when you can.

Ergonomics

There are many ergonomic tips you learn throughout this course, those tips will be useful to remember
during your career and will help prevent injury from typing or sitting in a desk for long periods of time.

Sit upright in your seat with feet flat on the ground to eliminate lower back pain and strain.

Always remember to keep your wrists elevated over the keyboard rather than resting them.

Carpal Tunnel syndrome is an injury to the nerves that can develop with years of bad typing habits.
Following the Ergonomic Tips in the textbook will help you keep good typing habits throughout your
career.