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    thinking to improve typing

    • Started by nimbostratue
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    • Registered: 14-Jan-2011
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    I was thinking of making lessons that involve more thinking into typing for example I would make a lesson with colors: red blue black green ... etc  and I would color the word red with black, the word black with green, and have the user only type the real color the text display and not the text itself. Another lesson is to bring some images on the screen bird, dog, cat ... etc and either replace the head of each animal by the head of the other or number the images in different numbers and ask the typist to type the image either according to the head of the animal or either in order/reverse order of the numbering of the image. Of course there should be some time constraints/error constraints. Unfortunately I can not find a software  that will allow me to do this, and I find more and more reason to write a new one to achieve what I want. What do you thin of the idea? Will it be beneficial in terms of learning and increasing the brain capacity to distinguish?

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    • From: Sofia, Bulgaria
    • Registered: 05-Mar-2011
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    Hm... I think there are such softwares, just not involving typing. I really can't point out any that does that but I think I've seen such.

    If working the brain is your goal I don't think there are any benefits of actually typing, since usually people type mindlessly (not thinking about how to type). If you want to train both the brain and the desired layout or touch typing, then I'd say I'd do it separately, since people are enough frustrated on learning the keyboard by itself and they don't need anything else to think or worry about.

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    pafkata90 said:

    Hm... I think there are such softwares, just not involving typing. I really can't point out any that does that but I think I've seen such.

    If working the brain is your goal I don't think there are any benefits of actually typing, since usually people type mindlessly (not thinking about how to type). If you want to train both the brain and the desired layout or touch typing, then I'd say I'd do it separately, since people are enough frustrated on learning the keyboard by itself and they don't need anything else to think or worry about.

    Can you point out a certain software. I know some mental games has something similar to that like luminousity.

    Of course these games are not intended for people who are beginner typist, only for advanced one. As you already have noticed that one tends to type the words he thinks in more slowly than the words he sees and do not think of. The aim is to improve on this aspect. You could of course take dictation lessons  but I thought this would be even more fun and interesting.

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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
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    Your color task is known in neuropsychology as the Stroop test. We use it in functional fMRI - but I haven't seen a typing version of it. But now you have a name for it at least. ;)

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    DreymaR said:

    Your color task is known in neuropsychology as the Stroop test. We use it in functional fMRI - but I haven't seen a typing version of it. But now you have a name for it at least. ;)


    Great name I call it Stroop typing test then :).

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    • From: Sofia, Bulgaria
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    Maybe it'll help you look for it. Sorry but, as I said earlier, I can't recall any names of software.

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    • From: Vista, CA
    • Registered: 31-Jan-2012
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    I really don't think this would help typing so much as help with thinking. The speed you set responses at and the error tolerance would just serve to gateway the process for people who were at "x" point in their typing process. (Plus or minus their thought process, which is what you're really testing here.) Not to say "this is pointless" just that I don't see much benefit from a typing standpoint.

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    Harper_Jayne said:

    I really don't think this would help typing so much as help with thinking. The speed you set responses at and the error tolerance would just serve to gateway the process for people who were at "x" point in their typing process. (Plus or minus their thought process, which is what you're really testing here.) Not to say "this is pointless" just that I don't see much benefit from a typing standpoint.

    The speed should be adaptive to each user. The method should help in the following respects
    1- correlate more muscle memory with thinking instead of eye sight alone. In the beginning stage of learning touch typing and a new layout, people tend to type faster by about 10 WPM the words they sea than the words they hear and think about how to type it. You can prove this to yourself by taking dictation lesson in Mavis Becaon typing tutor.

    2- Although dictation lessons could do (1), I think this way would be more interesting and increases the mind response when  distinguishing  between contractions, like the color name and the label or text  color :)

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