Hi everyone,
I just wanted to share an idea for a new learning system and see what you thought.
The challenge is to transition from QWERTY to Colemak when you already know touch typing using QWERTY. And switching back-and-forth between Colemak and QWERTY can be hassle.
There are only 17 new positions to memorize. So - why not make the switch gradient?
Every 3 days, learn the position of one new key. It works like this:
Your QWERTY layout stays the same. On the first day, there's just a single change: The E key becomes F. And the existing QWERTY F key stops working -- it's just a dead key for that day, does nothing (but it makes a beep when you press it, so you don't end up typing lower instead of flower).
And where does E go? It's still there - you just have to work a bit to get to it. When you hit QWERTY "E" key once, it sends an F. But if you are actually trying to type an E, just hit the E key rapidly two times ("double-tap").
And you just work like this for a while. For the first few hours, it's going to be really irritating - but your overall typing speed would not be greatly reduced. You're still using your QWERTY skill, but getting used to finding F somewhere else.
After a few days, you'll find that you no longer hunt-and-peck for the F key. You just know where it is, and type it easily. Great! It's time to add another key to your layout. And so, the QWERTY R becomes "P" (but stays R on double-tap). And the QWERTY P just dies, becomes a dead beeping key for now.
When eventually the "F" key gets added as a single-stroke key, double-tapping the QWERTY "E" key stops working. It just makes a beep. And you then remember to hit the correct key for E.
Remember -- this whole process is supposed to take a month or two. But it has the following advantages:
1) You keep your QWERTY productivity more or less intact, without feeling guilty about being so slow at work
2) You don't have to dedicate time to lessons - it's integrated right in your workflow
3) You have just a single key to remember. Not a whole layout -- just one key. You can make a sticky note "E = F" and stick it on your monitor. That's all you have to remember at any given point in this process.
Once "E = F" becomes second nature, you move on, and your mantra becomes "R = P" for the next few days. But by that time you don't need the "E = F" sticky note.
Technically, this whole system could be done using AutoHotkey (including the double-taps and beeps and disabling keys etc etc).
So, what do you think? Am I way off base here, or does this actually sound like an interesting idea?
