Joel Runyon INTRODUCTION: When you have the attitude that nothing is impossible, the possibilities are endless. Whether you dream of learning a new language, bungee-jumping in Australia, starting your own business, or just making the most of every day, you’ll get inspiration from blogger and master of the impossible, Joel Runyon. We asked him about some of the things that have inspired and challenged him. Typesy: What made you start looking at things in terms of turning “impossible” into “done it!” in your life? I was sitting at home in my parents basement & spending a lot of time “wishing” my life was different. There was a lot of stuff out there that I wanted to do – but it all seemed impossible. I felt sorry for myself a lot, but then decided to flip the script & instead of looking at impossible like something that told me I couldn’t do something – I could try and see it as a challenge to do it anyways. Typesy: You encourage people to make things happen, instead of waiting for them to happen. This sounds simple, but what’s one of the biggest issues that people have with actually doing this? Getting the balls to actually do it. Typesy: Your own “Impossible List” has some impressive accomplishments, and they’ve taken you all around the world. When did you come up with this list? I’ve added to it over time. Originally it was “run a triathlon” – simply bcause it was something that I was interested in doing. Every time I’ve…
James Barham INTRODUCTION: “If at first you don’t succeed …” is the start of a well-known maxim. How have you finished that phrase in the past, when faced with failure? One of the hardest things to do is discover how to use what seems like a completely negative outcome and find the positive aspects, applying that new knowledge to future efforts as you try and try again. One person who transformed failure into success is Adam Connell, blogging wizard and internet entrepreneur. We asked him to tell his story. Typesy: You’ve written about how a failed record label led you to develop a successful business model in the online music industry. Can you share this story with our readers? Back when I was in college, I was studying music technology. My friends and I produced all sorts of crazy electronic music. Then, one morning a friend of mine brought in some new tracks he’d been working on. They were incredible. On a par with the music Warp Records was releasing at the time. A few days later, I heard how one of our lecturers was able to setup his own small record label. This gave me the idea to start my own record label to help showcase other artists from my college and to keep it lean, it would simply exist online to minimize overheads. After months of planning, looking into the legal side of things and building a website – we were ready to go live. The problem was I…
Why You Should Learn To Touch Type
Touch typing is an essential tech skill. The great news is that you can quickly and easily learn to touch type, if you have the right tools. Reaping the benefits of touch typing is only a step away. Boost your productivity at work Touch typing can literally save you dozens of hours every month. When you can touch type accurately and with above-average speed, you end up doing more in less time. This is especially important if you’re a student or a professional whose daily work life revolves around some sort of data or content input. Any person in a field that involves a computer keyboard can get a boost in productivity by learning how to touch type. Boost your career prospects A recent survey by Change for Education revealed something astonishing. Digital natives and millennials, despite their obsession with social media and technology, are in fact lacking basic tech skills. The research showed that people lack basic tech skills such as solving multi-step problems using technology. This is a huge surprise; one would expect millennials and digital natives who were practically born with smartphones in hand to have at least a certain level of tech-related competency. 58 percent of millennials are having trouble solving problems using technology, the study confirms, even basic tasks such as sorting email invitations. Where am I going with this? While the facts may be negative, these findings also have a positive slant, and suggest that despite the competition, you can stay ahead of fellow…
By the time a student is in 2nd or 3rd grade, they’re generally already a digital native. They’ve done their fair share of typing, even if they have never been formally taught how to properly use a keyboard. Several schools across the US and other western countries offer applied technology classes in middle school. However, this seems to be a little too late to truly help students develop good typing skills. By the time they start using computers and keyboards in class, students have already learned how to touch type, in a manner of speaking. However, this self-taught skill is more often than not counterproductive, harmful for their wrists and fingers, and ineffective in the long run. Educators teaching keyboarding to 7th and 8th grade students warn that at this point, students have already established a series of bad typing habits. They primarily use their index fingers to type, or worse, use one hand only. Some students have slightly more advanced typing methods in place, but most revolve around a “hunt and peck” method which not only wastes time but also draws the typist’s attention away from what they’re trying to say, and towards simply locating where the “W” or “V” key is on the keyboard. Early exposure calls for early action Today, we are witnessing unprecedented engagement with technology. Children at the tender age of three and four are already tapping away on tablets or learning their first words with the help of an app. While touch typing was…
How would you feel if you found out there’s a way to improve your typing skills at the same time you’re practicing your English? Sounds pretty great, right? School assignments and hefty schedules, extracurricular activities, and even your social responsibilities can overwhelm you. That’s why it’s important to come up with effective and time-efficient study methods, like improving two skills in a single practice, or leveraging existing knowledge when you learn a new skill. For instance, if you want to learn Italian, your proficiency and knowledge of Spanish will give you a head start.Since both languages belong to the same language family of Indo-European languages, there are many similarities in vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, and grammar, such as their use of the gerund. With the thought of multitasking in mind, why not use a computer during your your next English practice session? If you’re working on new vocabulary, find a vocabulary game you can play online. If you’re working on your spelling, there are several spelling activities you can use to practice for free and at the same time hone your typing speed and accuracy. The best thing about this plan is that you don’t really need to worry about typing correctly or quickly when you practice your English skills. All you need to do is focus on the activity at hand and the aspects of the English language you’re concentrating on, and at the sametime – without any extra effort – your typing skills will improve, too! Next time you…
Are Women Better Typists Than Men?
Is typing competency gender-specific? Do men have an inborn tendency to become great typists, or is it the other way around? According to the US census back in 1910, 8 in 10 typists in the country were women. Women were just starting to enter the labor market and typing jobs were considered the perfect job for a woman — diligently typing away what their male bosses would dictate. Typewriter manufacturers like Remington used to design their first typewriter models with women in mind. In fact, typewriters would be adorned with flowers and other feminine décor to make women more comfortable working on them – or so the theory went. Fast forward to the 21st century and everyone is today using keyboards and typing in one way or another. Who’s better at it? Anatomy It’s a matter of anatomy, many argue. Women often have slender wrists and dainty fingers and so their hands are more easily capable of efficiently and error-free typing away on a keyboard, which often has small, close-set keys. In contrast to the more “manly” and often larger and more cumbersome hands, women’s anatomy seems to make them better at typing and other activities that require manual dexterity, like crocheting for instance. However we shouldn’t forget that unless a man is in manual work that stresses and thickens knuckles and joints, men’s hands can be equally long and nimble, thus perfectly capable for touch-typing accurately and quickly. Motor skills Others in the scientific (and sometimes pseudo-scientific) fields seem…
Ed Tech Redefined Learning, But How Much Are We Really Using Technology In The Classroom?
Education technology, or Ed Tech as it’s more commonly called, is the latest buzzword in schools and colleges. Optimists and fervent supporters of new technologies find Ed Tech to be our ticket to “Edutopia,” learning environments that promote learning through seamless interactive learning while also staying primarily tech-focused. Skeptics, on the other hand, find Ed Tech’s adaptation in the classroom a complex, time-consuming, and often unfeasible process, especially as teachers resist change and the new ways of conducting their classes. While many schools have made significant advances, blending traditional learning with new technologies to facilitate each student’s education, others are still merely dabbling with educational technology. Teachers make a few timid attempts to test the waters, perhaps with a tablet or two in the classroom, setting up a virtual class network for student collaboration, or assigning projects via the cloud. Although these are all fundamental Ed Tech tools, alone, they can only do so much. More thorough and strategic implementation is needed to make the most of what Ed Tech has to offer. It will take time before education is overhauled, before we leverage new ways to learn new things. For the time being, the majority of educators and schools can focus on how they might introduce a technology or two in the classroom and use that technology to save time, or make learning a bit more interactive. Learning in a technology-based environment For Ed Tech to actually facilitate and promote better learning opportunities for students, we need imaginative and…
Which Term Should It Be - Typing or Keyboarding?
An online war is raging. What do you call the practice of pressing keys on a keyboard? What do you call the activity of touch typing on a tablet’s virtual keyboard? Touch typing or keyboarding – or something else entirely? The world is apparently confused. “Typing” was the word people came up with over a century ago, to describe a new phenomenon, the activity of pressing keys on the newly-invented typewriter. But today, actual physical typewriters are no longer in general use, except by some die-hard vintage buffs, including writers and novelists who relish the multisensory experience a 1920’s Remington typewriter offers. So what’s the best term to describe the process, when it’s not done on the original machine? Technically speaking, the word “typing” should be reserved for activities that involve a typewriter. A keyboard has a slightly different structure: it’s flatter, often smaller, and is part of a system that also includes a monitor or display screen. Many people think that the word “keyboarding” should be used when talking about the activity if it involves keyboards, when using PCs, Macs and laptops. Many argue against the terms “typing” and “touch typing” saying they’re as obsolete as typewriters. Some elementary and high schools offer students the opportunity to learn how to keyboard, but in general the average student is self-taught. The Internet offers a wide range of resources to learn to keyboard, from typing games and how-to videos, to numerous keyboarding lessons. Typing and touch typing are the most widely…
Touch typing is fun. Sadly, not everyone knows this. Teachers often skip keyboarding classes in favor of more advanced IT skills like coding, ignoring the fact that all areas of information technology require fast and accurate typing. What’s worse is that teachers – and parents – often assume that children will just magically learn how to touch type on their own. They might not be the fastest typists, these adults think, but at least they’ve got the basics. This means that there are two issues that are preventing all children from becoming touch typists at an early age: the lack of awareness of keyboarding’s fun aspect, and the misconception that students will be self-taught, proficient typists. Teachers often consider keyboarding classes boring. In fact, they can become the class a student looks forward to the most. One way to easily incorporate fun into keyboarding instruction is to use one of the many touch typing software and games available for classroom use. Keyboarding is a straightforward skill. The beginner needs to learn the keyboard basics, then practice their typing accuracy, and finally spend time practicing until they achieve their desired typing speed. The introductory classes focus on proper hand and finger placement, ergonomics, and some touch typing rules. The rest is simply practice, practice, practice. But practice doesn’t need to be boring, not with so many interesting options available. Typing improvement software The touch typing software industry is thriving. Many companies, such as eReflect, offer cutting-edge, high-quality touch typing software. These…
What Touch Typing Can Do For Your Memory
Touch typing is a skill most of us practice daily, though we are rarely conscious of the process. In a way, this is because it quickly becomes an automated practice, much like riding a bike or knitting. Touch typing is a cognitively complex process that rests on the body’s ability to develop what is called “muscle memory.” When we learn to touch type, we are essentially teaching our hands and brains to coordinate with one another so that we can press the right keys in the right sequence to form orthographically correct words every single time. Touch typing requires building muscle memory to truly master it. In order to become an efficient touch typist you need to improve your typing accuracy. In order to consider yourself a competent typist, your error percentage (mistyped words) needs to be very low: at about 1-5% . The great thing about touch typing is that once you master touch typing accuracy, you can easily improve your touch typing speed through continuous practice. But what does building touch typing accuracy really entail? Keyboarding: A stunning cognitive process We’re exceptional intelligent creatures who easily adjust and master new skills and technologies in relatively little time, often with exceptional results. When you touch type on a keyboard what you’re basically doing is training the muscles of your hands and fingers to remember where each fingertip goes. In other words, touch typing is a motor learning skill you learn through consistent, repetitive keyboarding practice. Through repetitive practice you…