ErgonomicsTyping Science

Tips on Cleaning A Very Dusty Keyboard

April 21, 2015

First, clean the keys. 1) Begin by removing all keys 2) Put the keys in a container with a tight-fitting lid 3) Cleaning time! Fill the container with a mixture of water and dish soap 4) Shake shake shake (look, bubbles!) 5) Pour the keys into a colander and rinse under cold running water 6) Get a paper towel and lay out the keys to air dry Now, the keyboard! 1) Turn the keyboard upside down and tap it gently to remove large pieces of dust and debris 2) Use a compressed air cylinder to blow out smaller pieces of dirt 3) After removing all dirt, get a disinfecting cloth and wipe your keyboard down 4) Once keyboard and keys have dried completely, reattach the keys Voila! Your keyboard looks brand new! View original post here Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments

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Typing PracticeTyping Science

7 Ways Multi-Tasking Affects Your Life

April 16, 2015

Contrary to popular belief, multi-tasking is a counterproductive approach to getting things done. It essentially means dividing up your attention and cognitive energy to multiple sub-tasks, which has proven to not be as effective as many time management gurus would have you believe. First of all, it is impossible to simultaneously deal with two tasks, because your mind can only focus on one thing at a time. When you switch from one task to another, it interrupts any creative, cognitive, and mental processes, forcing you to backtrack and regroup when you try to pick up your previous train of thought. The result? A lot of time wasted, and poor results on most of the projects – if you get any results at all. Here’s why multi-tasking can slow you down: Multi-tasking is poor time management Instead of focusing your energy on a single task, having to quickly switch between different tasks ultimately doesn’t let you be as productive as you would be if you were only working on one thing. Think of the time you waste trying to get up to speed and resume a project you left 20 minutes ago, only to switch to a third task because it has become a priority for the day. Multi-tasking distracts you from completing any project efficiently Multitasking achieves only one thing: putting a lot of projects and tasks on your to-do list. Unfortunately, you are generally left with many projects on the line and none of them completed. When you focus…

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Typing Science

Are Classrooms Ready For Wearable Tech?

April 1, 2015

As if social media and Ed tech weren’t enough, now teachers have a new headache: what to do about wearable technology. Whether wearable tech has positive, useful applications in the classroom is currently up for debate, but as with every new technological advancement, with proper training for both educator and student, new technology has the capability of providing substantial benefits in schools. From Google Glasses to smart watches and productivity wristbands, teachers have a lot of assessment and experimentation to do in order to find wearable technology they can use in their classrooms. Google Glasses While this is a costly technology, and one that for many schools is not sustainable, these voice-activated computer glasses can have a large array of applications in the classroom, allowing students and teachers a new level of interactive, tech-based learning experience that drives learning forward. One widely accepted use of the Google Glass in the classroom is for creating first-person videos. Smart Watches Smart watches are better understood as smartphone hardware extensions. You can operate and control several mobile-operating apps through a smart wristwatch to increase productivity, collaboration, and overall improve class efficiency during classroom activities and learning. While there’s still a long way to go before this information-displaying wearable tech finds its way into classrooms worldwide, its usefulness needs to be explored and evaluated. A smart watch could have an astonishing number of applications, from allowing students to submit questions to a lecturer during a presentation to getting smarter notifications on important meetings and…

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ErgonomicsTyping PracticeTyping Science

How Keyboard Letter Position Affects Our Attitude Towards People, Brands & Words

March 5, 2015

Would you believe it if someone told you that your attitude towards people and things might be affected by which keys you use to type out their names? A new study suggests it’s true. People have a friendlier, more positive feeling towards people, brands, things, and even words if the words and names are typed using mostly right-side keyboard keys. The study by cognitive researchers K. Jasmin and D. Casasanto looked into how use of each side of a keyboard, left or right, affects the way people feel about different words, people, and things. For instance, if your name is typed using mostly left-hand keys, then people are more likely to have an unconsciously negative bias towards you. On the other hand, if your name (take “John” for instance) can be typed out using mostly right-hand key strokes, then people will be more positively influenced. The study showed that this subliminal disposition applies whether a person is typing a name, writing something about a specific subject, or simply typing out a word. In this research study, the participants were asked to evaluate how they felt about random English, Dutch, and Spanish words. Language was not the defining factor for their evaluations, because none of the participants knew all three languages. Instead, the focus was on which keyboard side the letters that made up that word fell on. But why is this such a significant factor? The researchers pointed out that the left hand’s job is more intense and possibly stressful,…

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Typing Science

Research Help For Students and Adults - Thank You, Google!

February 23, 2015

“Research paper” is a phrase that can send chills down any student’s spine. It can involve so much more stress than a pop quiz and more disappointment than a cancelled school trip. Google has come to the rescue once more, by helping students, academics, and anyone else in need of rigorous, expert-level research tools to complete their research quickly and accurately. Research is now primarily digital. We don’t go to a library to reference books and hard copy journals like we did ten years ago. As technologies advance we are in fact expected to have at our disposal tech-driven research that could make library visits entirely redundant. Testimony to this growing trend of using the Internet, and Google in particular, for school research needs is the response by teachers. When teachers were surveyed and asked what they thought the most likely tool their students use for research is, the respondents said that at least 94% of US students use Google. According to the same Pew Internet survey,  teachers believe that 75% of their students are very likely to use Wikipedia and other online encyclopedias when doing their research. YouTube and social media sites come third, with a 52% likelihood. While students still consult study guides like Cliff Notes, Sparknotes, and major news organizations and agencies, Google is the go-to source thanks to its many and varied research tools. Google Scholar Google Scholar is a service that gives access to journal articles, theses, studies, books, and content abstracts. It is widely…

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Typing For KidsTyping Science

What Everybody Ought to Know About Laptop Use In College

January 28, 2015

Skeptics say technology has no place in the classroom. The distractions are too many to count, and students almost always end up chatting on social media rather than paying attention to the lecturer. But aren’t college students mature enough to decide for themselves whether they will follow a  lecture to its conclusion instead of playing on their tablet? If done correctly, using a laptop or tablet in the classroom will actually help a student with their learning performance. With good typing skills, students can take advantage of technology to boost their educational opportunities and make the most out of every lecture, seminar, and class they attend. Better Organization Students are often lost in the piles of reading material they have to go through for their exams. Taking notes on a tablet or laptop helps students keep their studying under control. Manageable digital notes make studying a breeze. What’s more, it eliminates the risk of losing valuable information through hastily-taken and illegible handwriting. Better Focus During Class With a laptop or tablet, a student is more focused on taking notes – as long as all social media notifications are turned off. The screen-focused model urges the student to devote their entire attention to the lecturer and their screen, to ensure they don’t miss any important information. Better Student Engagement Lecture rooms are notorious for being big and favoring anonymity. Students are not forced to participate unless they want to, and there’s really no motivation to participate, especially if the lecture in…

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Typing PracticeTyping ScienceTyping Tips and Tricks

Improving Your Typing Speed Can Get You These Jobs - Part or Full Time

December 26, 2014

Do you know how to touch type? I mean, are you really good at it? If you are, then keyboarding can be your ticket to a good full time or part time job. Many entry-level jobs require touch typing skills, so improving your touch typing won’t hurt your career, no matter what field you want to work in. There are numerous jobs you can easily get if your typing performance is above average. Administrative/ Executive Assistant 50-60wpm At this typing level you can get an administrative assistant position. Of course, you will probably also need other technological and managerial skills – think about brushing up your skills in language(s), Internet and Microsoft Office knowledge, or CRM and other common software products. Responsibilities of this job include creating documents and reports, filing, customer support, and administrative support such as setting up meetings or client appointments. The position can even include social media account management. Editor / Language Specialist 60-80wpm At this typing speed and with a passion for language you could get a job as an editor at a publishing house, a magazine, an online newspaper, or any other print or digital media agency. The proliferation of digital media companies that publish their own content makes editors a sought-after profession these days. Your daily duties will include various levels of editing and proofreading of books, articles, white papers, and all other sorts of content. You need to have an eye for detail and good typing speed and accuracy, so that you…

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Typing For KidsTyping PracticeTyping ScienceTyping Tips and Tricks

Typesy 2015 Is Ready For Action With Its Brand New Cloud Version!

November 27, 2014

2014 is drawing to a close and with it eReflect says goodbye to the 2014 version of Typesy™. eReflect has been preparing Typesy™ 2015 for some months now. Today, a completely revamped typing tutor offers even more games, activities, and advanced features to make learning to touch type a fun experience for all. A Cloud-based Typesy™ Experience The brand new cloud-based Typesy™ is equipped with the latest tools, features, and capacities to make learning even more efficient and pleasant. Typesy™ 2015 is entirely cloud based. This means there are no heavy downloads, no re-installs for new versions, no limited access from a single location. The Typesy™ interface is cloud-accessible for every user, from anywhere. Software updates will be instantly implemented and the user will always have the latest version to practice with. Being cloud-based also means no ads to distract your practice sessions. You’ll also like the fact that you can enjoy fast, responsive software that uses the latest cloud technology to promote your learning. Social Media Sharing eReflect’s software products are notable for their compelling approach to learning. Every activity and game is fun to practice with, and every aspect of the software makes learning a pleasurable experience. Today, eReflect is introducing social media integration for its Typesy™ 2015 software as a way of encouraging users to practice more, and then show off their results on Facebook. Users can create a unique Typesy™ profile where they can check their practice history and results, as well as share their practice…

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Typing ScienceUncategorized

Does Social Media Marketing Work For Your Business?

June 20, 2014

Social media has become a strategized corporate priority. Businesses of all sorts and sizes are jumping onto the social media marketing bandwagon, some because everyone else is doing it, others because they’ve truly realized the power social media has to offer. For social media marketing to work, a solid plan has to be in place. Blindingly engaging in social media doesn’t lead anywhere. How are you going to quantify the success of your social media marketing if you don’t know what your milestones are? Having a social media plan ensures you can engage with your company’s followers, create awareness and visibility around your brand, and hopefully turn more visitors and followers into loyal customers, thereby increasing sales. Some questions you need to answer for your social media campaigns to be effective are basic. How do you write effective tweets? What’s the best time to post on Facebook? Do you really need to use Instagram too? Once you’ve got these answers and a content marketing editorial calendar, you need to take into account the following questions: Should you ever self-promote? If you have a blog post you want to tweet about, you don’t just create promotional tweets. This is the number one mistake businesses make: using social media as marketers only, and not as end users. To appeal to your Twitter followers you need to make them feel they’re on the same page as you are, sharing the same concerns and the same tastes. They need to feel you are sharing…

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Typing For KidsTyping Science

Top Tips on Tech Toys

December 26, 2013

Gifts are great! Adults would generally agree with that statement, and we can’t think of any kids who would disagree. Around the world, one of the most popular categories of gifts is the “gadget” category, and most of those gadgets these days involve some sort of interface, whether that’s with a touchpad or a keyboard. While your kids might appreciate the latest high-tech toy, it’s important to remember that there are disadvantages as well as advantages to encouraging them to spend time using electronic devices. For example, did you know that there’s a big difference between “active” and “passive” use of devices like smartphones and iPads? Are you aware of the impact of these toys on a child’s health and eyesight? To get the best results from these gifts, follow these guidelines: Keep it personal. Recent studies using Skype showed that younger children are much more likely to pay attention to the screen when there’s a human face displayed. Additionally, when the children are prompted by the on-screen person to respond or interact, they’re more engaged in the process and more quick to learn and remember. A device that just plays recordings or videos won’t stimulate a child’s brain as much as one that keeps them involved in an ongoing, ever-changing conversation. While babies and toddlers can’t use the keyboard to communicate, you can help older children to get better at typing so that they can profit from online chats and e-mail messages. Keep it active. The American Academy of…

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