1 00:00:42,305 --> 00:00:49,499 This video lecture explains the discipline for practicing daily to improve the typing skills. 2 00:00:49,499 --> 00:00:56,363 This in order to reach a higher speed and accuracy during the real-time situation. 3 00:00:58,181 --> 00:01:01,187 On completion of this training sequence 4 00:01:01,187 --> 00:01:06,830 you will be able to discipline yourself to practice and improve skills like: 5 00:01:06,830 --> 00:01:08,777 Setting up your practice. 6 00:01:08,777 --> 00:01:10,559 Measuring progress. 7 00:01:10,559 --> 00:01:12,671 Analysing results. 8 00:01:12,671 --> 00:01:15,839 Solving the ‘problem areas’. 9 00:01:18,776 --> 00:01:20,888 This is the agenda. 10 00:01:20,888 --> 00:01:23,990 We will first look at setting up your practice. 11 00:01:23,990 --> 00:01:26,234 Then measuring progress. 12 00:01:26,234 --> 00:01:29,105 Followed by analysing results. 13 00:01:29,105 --> 00:01:32,603 And finally solving the ‘problem areas’. 14 00:01:35,390 --> 00:01:37,406 Setting up your practice. 15 00:01:38,635 --> 00:01:44,113 It is important to make a practice schedule and stick to it as much as possible 16 00:01:44,113 --> 00:01:47,644 in order to achieve the best result. 17 00:01:47,644 --> 00:01:51,969 The first step in making a schedule is to determine for yourself 18 00:01:51,994 --> 00:01:57,205 how much time you can and want to spend on practising per week. 19 00:01:57,230 --> 00:02:00,427 I recommend that you practice every day. 20 00:02:00,452 --> 00:02:04,681 For example for 30 minutes to 2 or 3 hours. 21 00:02:04,693 --> 00:02:11,411 Of course depending on the time you have available and how quickly you want to progress. 22 00:02:11,435 --> 00:02:16,855 It is better to practise every day for a shorter time, let’s say 30 minutes 23 00:02:16,881 --> 00:02:21,172 instead of once a week for a long time. 24 00:02:21,197 --> 00:02:26,370 Because of the frequent repetition, this will give better results. 25 00:02:26,379 --> 00:02:33,087 It is also advisable if you can plan your training in a time that is most optimal for you. 26 00:02:33,087 --> 00:02:35,987 Maybe you are more energetic in the morning. 27 00:02:36,024 --> 00:02:38,631 Perhaps less moody in the afternoon. 28 00:02:38,631 --> 00:02:41,040 Or more relaxed in the evening. 29 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,977 Pick the time that suits you best. 30 00:02:43,977 --> 00:02:48,115 You can also split up your daily practice time. 31 00:02:48,140 --> 00:02:53,378 For example 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon. 32 00:02:55,935 --> 00:02:59,959 When you plan your practice, don’t get distracted 33 00:02:59,984 --> 00:03:05,777 and consider it as an important task that you take seriously. 34 00:03:05,802 --> 00:03:11,585 Make sure the people around you know you have this time reserved to practice 35 00:03:11,610 --> 00:03:14,568 and should not be disturbed. 36 00:03:14,568 --> 00:03:21,168 Work in a quiet environment, so that you can fully concentrate on your work. 37 00:03:21,168 --> 00:03:25,140 Use a timer to keep track of time. 38 00:03:25,165 --> 00:03:31,332 You can pause during this hour for 5 to 10 minutes, so as to stay focused. 39 00:03:31,332 --> 00:03:40,077 As time goes by you’ll probably notice it gets easier to stay focused for a longer time. 40 00:03:40,077 --> 00:03:44,657 You can split up your practice into specific exercises. 41 00:03:44,682 --> 00:03:50,165 For example, during the first part you can focus specifically 42 00:03:50,190 --> 00:03:54,973 on the keyboard combinations by reading and typing. 43 00:03:54,998 --> 00:04:00,719 During the second part you can train by listening to a speech and typing. 44 00:04:00,744 --> 00:04:03,251 Keep track of the exact time you practiced 45 00:04:03,276 --> 00:04:07,663 and write down exactly what you did during this time. 46 00:04:07,688 --> 00:04:14,989 Besides training on the keyboard, also take your time to improve your language skills. 47 00:04:15,014 --> 00:04:20,174 Use a good book for your language to train the spelling and grammar. 48 00:04:22,563 --> 00:04:24,083 Measuring progress. 49 00:04:25,603 --> 00:04:30,086 It is important to measure your speed and accuracy daily. 50 00:04:30,111 --> 00:04:33,473 So you can see your progress over time. 51 00:04:33,498 --> 00:04:37,418 Measuring your speed can be done in a few ways. 52 00:04:37,443 --> 00:04:42,053 When copying written text, you can type for a fixed time 53 00:04:42,078 --> 00:04:45,750 for example 10 or 15 minutes. 54 00:04:45,775 --> 00:04:50,266 After that time you calculate the number of characters typed. 55 00:04:50,291 --> 00:04:53,805 If you are not using specific software for this 56 00:04:53,830 --> 00:04:57,091 you could paste the text in Microsoft Word 57 00:04:57,116 --> 00:05:00,644 and that will show the number of characters you typed. 58 00:05:00,644 --> 00:05:05,020 After typing the text, you should also go through it 59 00:05:05,045 --> 00:05:08,496 and count the number of errors you made. 60 00:05:08,521 --> 00:05:11,455 After counting the number of mistakes 61 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,857 you can calculate the percentage of mistakes per characters typed. 62 00:05:18,710 --> 00:05:24,597 The Velotype Contest software is freely available to be used for practicing. 63 00:05:24,622 --> 00:05:28,930 This software can support you in improving your speed. 64 00:05:28,955 --> 00:05:35,300 And is available in the download section of www.velotype.com. 65 00:05:35,325 --> 00:05:40,689 The MARS test and the TAKI tests are good self assessment tools 66 00:05:40,714 --> 00:05:46,625 that can allow you to automatically calculate both accuracy and speed. 67 00:05:46,650 --> 00:05:53,665 Use it for practicing by reading a written text or by listening to a spoken text. 68 00:05:53,690 --> 00:05:58,229 In a logbook you write down all the progress you made. 69 00:05:58,254 --> 00:06:03,339 So write down when, what and how long you practiced. 70 00:06:03,364 --> 00:06:08,046 When doing a speedtest, you write down the difficulty of the text 71 00:06:08,071 --> 00:06:12,691 the amount of text you produced, the average speed 72 00:06:12,691 --> 00:06:17,014 the number of errors and the percentage of errors. 73 00:06:17,014 --> 00:06:21,403 That way you can clearly see your progress evolving over time 74 00:06:21,403 --> 00:06:25,528 and know concretely what you still have to improve. 75 00:06:27,186 --> 00:06:29,289 Analysing results. 76 00:06:30,247 --> 00:06:33,085 Besides keeping track of the mistakes 77 00:06:33,085 --> 00:06:37,606 it is good that you analyse what kind of mistakes you make. 78 00:06:37,606 --> 00:06:42,325 So that way you can work on this in a more targeted way. 79 00:06:42,325 --> 00:06:46,219 There are 4 different types of mistakes you can make: 80 00:06:46,219 --> 00:06:50,060 Pressing the wrong keys, without realizing it. 81 00:06:50,060 --> 00:06:55,261 Pressing the wrong keys, realizing it, and having to correct it. 82 00:06:55,261 --> 00:06:58,033 Splitting up words incorrectly. 83 00:06:58,033 --> 00:07:01,135 Incorrect spelling of words. 84 00:07:01,135 --> 00:07:04,831 Try to make a distinction between your mistakes 85 00:07:04,831 --> 00:07:08,758 and write down which kind of mistakes you made. 86 00:07:09,913 --> 00:07:13,312 After dividing the mistakes into the categories 87 00:07:13,312 --> 00:07:16,876 try to analyse why you made these mistakes. 88 00:07:16,876 --> 00:07:20,539 When you press the wrong keys without realizing it. 89 00:07:20,539 --> 00:07:22,948 In which words does this happen? 90 00:07:22,948 --> 00:07:26,677 Can you discover a similarity between these words? 91 00:07:26,677 --> 00:07:29,317 Exactly why does it happen? 92 00:07:29,317 --> 00:07:34,333 Is it every time the same key that you press incorrectly? 93 00:07:34,333 --> 00:07:39,580 When you press the wrong keys, but you realize it and have to correct it. 94 00:07:39,580 --> 00:07:43,540 In which words or word combinations does it happen? 95 00:07:43,540 --> 00:07:46,609 Can you analyse why it happens? 96 00:07:46,609 --> 00:07:49,810 Do you try to type too quickly? 97 00:07:49,810 --> 00:07:52,582 Splitting up incorrectly. 98 00:07:52,582 --> 00:07:56,014 This may not result in an incorrect output. 99 00:07:56,014 --> 00:08:00,337 So you will need to try to analyse this while you type 100 00:08:00,337 --> 00:08:03,703 and try to write it down afterwards. 101 00:08:03,703 --> 00:08:10,105 Also try to analyse why you split up a chord of keys that can be made at once. 102 00:08:10,105 --> 00:08:15,583 Is it difficult for you to type the word or syllable in 1 chord? 103 00:08:15,583 --> 00:08:18,256 Incorrect spelling of words. 104 00:08:18,256 --> 00:08:21,547 Besides comparing the spelling to the original text 105 00:08:21,547 --> 00:08:26,176 you can also use a spell check, for example Microsoft Word 106 00:08:26,176 --> 00:08:29,707 to check if you spelled words incorrectly. 107 00:08:29,707 --> 00:08:33,601 Analyse why you spelled it incorrectly. 108 00:08:33,601 --> 00:08:36,307 Is it an unknown word? 109 00:08:36,307 --> 00:08:42,214 Or perhaps the mistake has a grammatical reason why it is spelled incorrectly? 110 00:08:44,011 --> 00:08:46,171 Solving the 'problem areas'. 111 00:08:47,032 --> 00:08:52,081 After analysing your mistakes and defining the so-called ‘problem areas’ 112 00:08:52,081 --> 00:08:54,985 you can focus on improving them. 113 00:08:54,985 --> 00:08:57,691 For mistakes that you are not aware of 114 00:08:57,691 --> 00:09:00,430 you can go back to the Velotype Academy 115 00:09:00,430 --> 00:09:05,413 and practice specifically on those words and combinations. 116 00:09:05,413 --> 00:09:08,779 There you can see again how they should be typed 117 00:09:08,779 --> 00:09:14,323 and the software can give immediate feedback when you type them incorrectly. 118 00:09:14,323 --> 00:09:18,877 For mistakes that you are aware of and have to correct. 119 00:09:18,877 --> 00:09:24,289 You should write them down and practice until you don’t make mistakes anymore. 120 00:09:24,289 --> 00:09:27,193 You should slow down the speed of typing 121 00:09:27,193 --> 00:09:31,021 to the level that you can type them correctly the first time 122 00:09:31,021 --> 00:09:33,463 without having to correct. 123 00:09:33,463 --> 00:09:36,004 When you split up words incorrectly 124 00:09:36,004 --> 00:09:38,116 you should also write them down 125 00:09:38,116 --> 00:09:41,944 and see how to split them up in the right way. 126 00:09:41,944 --> 00:09:45,739 If you have practiced on these words in the correct way 127 00:09:45,739 --> 00:09:48,610 and some chords keep slowing you down 128 00:09:48,610 --> 00:09:51,646 it is indeed better to split them up. 129 00:09:51,646 --> 00:09:54,319 But be very careful with this. 130 00:09:54,319 --> 00:09:59,038 Because splitting up too many chords will slow you down in the end. 131 00:09:59,038 --> 00:10:01,942 It might also be a matter of practicing 132 00:10:01,942 --> 00:10:07,684 and your fingers getting more flexible and used to these more difficult chords. 133 00:10:07,684 --> 00:10:12,007 Especially when practicing by listening to a spoken text 134 00:10:12,007 --> 00:10:16,297 you will need to check if you spell the words correctly. 135 00:10:16,297 --> 00:10:18,640 If you make mistakes with this 136 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:22,666 write these down and try to improve your spelling. 137 00:10:22,666 --> 00:10:25,966 For this line of work it is always good 138 00:10:25,966 --> 00:10:29,563 to continue improving your spelling and grammar skills. 139 00:10:29,563 --> 00:10:32,891 For this you can take lessons or do online training. 140 00:10:38,711 --> 00:10:40,139 The summary. 141 00:10:43,093 --> 00:10:48,241 This Learning Outcome focused on making a schedule when practicing 142 00:10:48,241 --> 00:10:51,442 and the optimal circumstances for this. 143 00:10:51,442 --> 00:10:54,115 The measuring of progress is important 144 00:10:54,115 --> 00:10:57,448 and analysing and focusing on problem areas 145 00:10:57,448 --> 00:11:01,210 to further improve the typing skills.