Unit 2.

Keyboarding

Topic A: Keyboarding skills

• Touch typing
• Keyboarding technique

Topic B: The base position

• The home row

• Touch typing rules
• Typing speed

Unit 2 Self-test

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Topic A: Keyboarding skills

Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.

A BCcampus element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://opentextbc.ca/
computerstudies/?p=39

Touch Typing

Keyboarding skills – the ability to input information at a keyboard smoothly while typing.

Touch typing – a method of typing (with all the available fingers) without looking at the keyboard.

• Touch typing can increase typing accuracy and speed.

• Touch typing includes understanding keyboard layout and its functions.

Benefits of touch typing

• Speed (efficient): type faster Hands typing at a computer

keyboard.
• Accuracy (focus): make fewer mistakes
• Productivity: type longer without getting tired
• Health: less likely have health problems (hands, wrists, neck, etc.)

Typing tips

• Maintain a healthy posture.

• Familiarize yourself with the keyboard layout.
• Start typing with touch typing.
• Press each key with the proper finger.
• Each key has to pressed by the same finger all the time.
• Take a typing speed test to keep track of your progress.

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Keyboarding Technique

Proper posture

• Body: centre body in front of keyboard and sit up straight.

• Arm position: arms relaxed and bent to about 90 degrees;
elbows naturally close to body.

The mouse and keyboard should be set to the height of elbow

height.

• Hand position: hands should be flat, but palms of hands not resting on the keyboard. Keep
wrists off the keyboard.
• Feet position: feet should be flat on the ground, slightly apart (don’t cross).
• Eyes: keep eyes on the screen rather than the keyboard or
hands.
Topic B: The base position

Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.

A BCcampus element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://opentextbc.ca/
computerstudies/?p=45

The Home Row

The home row is the set of keys that are the base position for fingers. These are the keys located on the
middle row of the keyboard.

The home row keys on the keyboard are A, S, D, and F on the left and J, K, L, and the semicolon (;) on the
right.

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[Image Description]

• Always try to return your fingers to the base position when you are not typing.
• Keyboards usually have small bumps on the F and J keys. They help the users locate the base
position without having to look.
• Place the index fingers over the “F” and “J” key.

Finger names

Touch Typing Rules

Colour-coded chart

• Always position your fingers properly on the keyboard to press the right keys when typing.
• The colour-coded chart below shows which finger should press each key.
 Topic B: The base position | 33

Labelled keyboard. [Image Description]

Correct finger placement

• Press all Section A keys with the left little finger

• Press all Section B keys with the left ring finger
• Press all Section C keys with the left middle finger
• Press all Section D keys with the left index finger
• Press all Section E with either thumb
• Press all Section F keys with the right index finger
• Press all Section G keys with the right middle finger
34 | Unit 2. Keyboarding

• Press all Section H keys with the right ring finger

• Press all Section I with the right little finger

Typing Speed

Ways to improve typing speed

• Familiarizing yourself with the keyboard layout can improve your typing speed.
• Develop good typing habits; focus on hitting the right keys.
• Take your time when you have just started learning; slow down to be accurate.
• Learn to be accurate first, then improve speed.
• Not only practice often, but practice correctly.
• Speed will come naturally through practice, repetition, and time.

Take online typing tests

• Some online typing speed test tools can determine how many words per minute (wpm) you
type and how accurate your typing is.
• There are many free typing tests available online, such as:
◦ TestMyTypingSpeed
◦ 10fastfingers
◦ Key Hero
◦ The Typing Cat

Image Descriptions

Home row image description: the base position keys for the left hand are:

• Little finger: A key

• Ring finger: S key
• Middle finger: D key
• Index finger: F key

The base position keys for the right hand are:

• Index finger: J key

• Middle finger: K key
 Topic B: The base position | 35

• Ring finger: L key

• Little finger: Semi-colon key

[Return to Home row image]

Labelled keyboard image description: a standard keyboard with the keys grouped into sections
labelled A to I from left to right. Each section corresponds to a finger that would press the keys in that
section.

• Section A keys are pressed by the left little finger. The keys include the back quote, Tab,
Caps Locks, Shift, Control, the number 1, letters Q, A, and Z, and Alt.
• Section B keys are pressed by the left ring finger. The keys include the number 2 and letters
W, S, and X.
• Section C keys are pressed by the left middle finger. The keys include the number 3 and and
letters E, D, and C.
• Section D keys are pressed by the left index finger. The keys include numbers 4 and 5, and
letters R, T, F, G, V, and B.
• Section E key is the space bar. The space bar can be pressed by a thumb on either hand.
• Section F keys are pressed by the right index finger. These keys include numbers 6 and 7, and
the letters Y, U, H, J, N, and M.
• Section G keys are pressed by the right middle finger. These keys include the number 8 and
the letters I and K, and the comma.
• Section H keys are pressed by the right ring finger. These keys include the number 9 and the
letters O and L, and the period.
• Section I keys are pressed by the right little finger. This includes the rest of the keys on the
right side of the keyboard, including the number 0, the hyphen, the equals sign, the delete
key, the letter P, the open bracket, the close bracket, the backslash, the semicolon, the
apostrophe, the enter key, the forward slash, the shift key, the Alt key, and the Control key.
[Return to Labelled keyboard]