Touch Typing in Ten Lessons: The Famous Ben'Ary Method -- The Shortest Complete Home-Study Course in the Fundamentals of Touch Typing

I used a similar book when I was learning to type on a manual typewriter 30 years ago! This was adapted for electric typewriters and even mentions word processors, so it has very slight modifications. This is not "fun" or "entertaining" like some of the typing programs out there, but I wanted my 9 and 6 year olds to learn to touch type the way I did. I put a piece of paper over the computer screen so the kids can't see what they are typing and used a black marker to cover the letters on the keyboard. I wanted to buy a new, inexpensive keyboard to blacken but my husband said to just color our keyboard in. I can type with my eyes closed (98 wpm the last time I tested in 1982) so I wasn't worried about finding the keys later. My kids have always been impressed with my keyboarding skill so they are motivated to learn so they can type like me. Since they know that I learned in a similar fashion they don't seem bothered that there are no pirate ships or fun games to motivate them. Their motivation is their desire to touch type, quickly.This is below low-tech, all the way down to no-tech. It is also incredibly inexpensive. I thought I paid $9.00 but it is now $7.38 which may be what I paid for it. I didn't have to worry about software compatibility, glitches in the program and keyboard skins that didn't fit....some of the myriad problems I had read about when researching a typing program for my children. You need absolutely nothing else. I would love to have a real typewriter for them to learn on, and a throw away keyboard that they could use just to practice strokes would be nice, but we are doing fine without it and my investment is less than $10.00 so you can't be the price.The program has been very simple for my 9 year old. My 6 year old's hands are too small so we will wait a couple of years for him to try again. Any old style typist, secretary, transcriber, etc. will tell you that to improve speed and accuracy you just need repitition. In the old days, after learning where home keys were and what fingers were responsible for which letter you just drilled words and paragraphs for an hour or more a day, days on end, until you achieved the results you wanted. Repition, repitition, repetition. This book will give you the basic tools, and some drills but basically, as soon as you or your children know where to put your fingers, you just need to practice for a couple of months and you will get the results you want.

I have typed for many years and bought this little book out of curiosity as part of a search for ways to regain my typing speed (currently 60wpm; has been higher in the past) after a period of relative inactivity. I found the typewriter description at the beginning of the book amusing and of historical significance. The book is still relevant because:1. This is primarily an excellent beginner's text. There are many online typing learning resources but if you prefer the printed word and instruction, this is an excellent beginner's book. It is nice that the book has a spiral binding and will lie flat on a copy stand.2. For more advanced typists, this book can be used to increase typing speed by going through the exercises with timing drills. Again, the process is similar to many online resources and it just depends on whether you like the printed word or online resources.

This is so much like typing classes when I was in HS, 1940s. There is no substitute for repetition and practice. Tedious? Sure. But technology has not come out with a viable alternative, unless you consider a robot. I bought it to help my adult mentally handicapped son learn to keyboard, rather than hunt and peck. He asked for a standard typewriter, I got one for him, now he wants to know how to use it properly. I went through the whole book, copied appropriate (for him) pictures and text from a variety of pages, with very few printed words. I added my own support by encouraging him to practice a lot so his fingers would get used to hitting specific keys when held in position. I really don't know how much time/effort he will devote to this, but just having the instructions always ready to use will be most helpful. I copied, adapted, and sent a total of 8 pages, one side. That's about the limit to fit his attention span. Since I have the book, I can refer to specific pages to answer questions, make suggestions. Keyboarding is hard for me too because I was a speed typist, and computers require exact pressure on each key in a measured pace or they jam up. I still use a standard typewriter for single pages and envelopes, and sometimes because I know how to unstick the letters and how to make small immediate changes to other parts. Much easier to type when your machine keeps going. Thanks for the clear and plain instruction. I can still hear my typing teacher sing-songing every letter!

I think a cd would have worked out better.

I have friends who ask me to order books on line for them, since they don't have computers. An 83-year-old friend of mine was given a new typewriter, and wanted a book to learn how to type from. But not a book that did MORE than teach him how to type, such as a tutorial for someone wanting to gain typing skills for employment, just a simple little book. I reviewed what Amazon had available, and after examining several books, settled on this particular easy-to-follow book. My friend is thrilled with it, and spends at least a half-hour a day working on his new skill. I was so happy to be able to give him this little gift which he is enjoying oh so very much. When you're 83, and in comparatively good health, every day with little to do makes for a very boring life. He is looking forward to the day he can bat out letters to his sons and grandchildren -- I believe his goal is 15 words a minute, which may seem small to touch typists -- but, like he said to me, "I got all the time in the world so even if I only manage 15 or 20 words a minute, I'm fulfilling a very long-time dream." Thanks to Amazon, I was able to help my dear friend make that dream come true.