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Software Review of:
Typing Instructor 
Deluxe edition, Version 10 

From the January, 2000 issue of PC Alamode Magazine
byGW Lewis
boxTyping Instructor, Deluxe Edition Version 10 is made by Individual Software. I read an article on the Typing Instructor Deluxe Edition Ver. 9, by Terry Flannery in the November 1999 issue of the Alamo PC magazine PC Alamode (pages 48 & 49). Version 10 of this program is similar to Version 9. The program places the typist, and would be typist, in a virtual airport full of typing adventures. It has foreign settings such as China and Australia, as well as, various other countries. The program also has a wide variety of music: from rock to blues, to country, to classical, all designed by the program to make typing fun and enjoyable. This helps to keep the tediousness out of repetitive typing. 

Typing Instructor is for anyone who wants to learn how to type. It is also beneficial to those who know how to type and just want to improve their speed and accuracy When you first start Typing Instructor, you are asked to enter your name and skill level. If you prefer, you can take a typing test (known as the skill test) to determine your current skill level. There are four typing levels in the program. Just Starting is for the beginner with little or no knowledge of the keyboard. The program sets your minimum recommended words per minute (WPM) goal to 10. Look and Type is for the typist with some limited knowledge of the keyboard and also has a minimum goal of 10 WPM. The Touch Typist has a working knowledge of the keyboard with a minimum goal of 30 WPM. Expert Touch Typist has full knowledge of the keyboard with a minimum goal of 40 WPM. 

Typing Instructor uses this formula to calculate your WPM: 

    Number of characters typed / Number of seconds elapsed = Characters typed per second (CPS) 

    CPS x 60 = Characters per Minute (CPM) 
    CPM / 5 = Words per Minute (WPM) 

Typing Instructor recommends lessons based upon your current skill level. The program also allows you to create a Personalized Typing Plan based on your selections of lessons, tests, Magazine articles and Virtual Adventure games. Additional lessons, tests and practice materials can be downloaded off the Internet from Typing Instructor Online. You can view the results from your lessons, tests and magazine articles completed with Typing Instructor. You can view your test results by key and identify which keys scored the lowest. If you want you can repeat only those lessons that emphasize those particular problem keys. You can view your results by hand to determine if your left or your right hand is stronger than the other. If you want to strengthen your skill with a particular hand, you can choose those lessons that use that hand the most. As a typist, you may notice that you are stronger or weaker on a particular row. With Typing Instructor, you can take specific lessons to target the rows where you are weakest. Certain fingers may score lower than other fingers. The program allows you to display test results by finger, by hand, by row, etc. Adjusted, peak and average WPM, and accuracy, are also displayed once you have completed, paused or stopped a lesson. If you want, you can also print out a Certificate of Achievement showing your name, date, Actual WPM, Accuracy % and Adjusted WPM. 

After your typing lessons, the Magazine Rack is the perfect place to practice your new typing skills. The Magazine Rack has hundreds of articles on sports, medicine, literature, entertainment, history, law and children's classics. You can also download additional practice material and articles from the Internet. If you would like to polish your speed and accuracy the Virtual Adventures Arcade is the place to be. The arcade offers seven different games designed to entertain you while you practice typing. These interactive typing games are: Cliffhanger, Flotsam Fighter, Sea Adventure, Tomb Typer, Gone Fishin’, The Wild West, and Xtreme Typing. Each game offers levels to match your skills and you can play them as often as you like. My favorite was playing Sea Adventure where you have to type the words faster than the lobster chasing you to win the game. I also liked Gone Fishin’ to improve my 10-key (numeric keypad) skills. 

At the main terminal, there is a section called How to Type. How to Type gives tips to the typist on how to improve typing. It provides instruction on proper posture while at the keyboard, positioning of the hands on the keyboard, strategies for improving your typing speed and accuracy, and video clips showing exercises to help you relax and reduce stress while you type. 

If you are interested in how typing was started there is a video entitled the History of Typing that I found quite enlightening. I learned that in 1867, Charles Latham Sholes, invented the QWERTY keyboard arrangement. Sholes rearranged the type bars of frequently used combination as far apart as possible to reduce the probability of jamming and allowed the operator to type more quickly. This arrangement, called the universal keyboard, is still in use today. A curious fact that you may not know is that all the letters in the word "typewriter" are in the top line of the QWERTY keyboard. A more efficient keyboard arrangement was devised in 1936 by August Dvorak. On the Dvorak keyboard, the right hand does equal work to the left, the strongest fingers do the most work and 70% of the typing takes place on the "home row, " where the fingers naturally rest. However, the QWERTY keyboard has remained, to this day, the accepted keyboard. 

Typing Instructor comes with a 1 CD-ROM and a user guide which describes individual components of the program and makes navigating through the program an effortless journey. The CD is required to be used while running the program. If you need technical support, contact Customer Service and Technical Support 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM, Pacific Standard Time, Monday-Friday. 
 

    Individual Software Inc. 
    4255 Hopyard Road, #2 
    Pleasanton, California 94588-9900 
    Customer Service: (800) 822-3522 
    Fax: (945) 734-8337. 
    Website: www.individualsoftware.com
    E-mail: techsupport@individualsoftware 
      (Please include the product name and daytime phone number). 
System requirements include: 486 or Pentium PC or higher, Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 95 or Windows NT 4, 16 MB RAM available, 10 MB Hard Drive space available, Double Speed CD-ROM Drive, 256 Color VGA or higher display, Sound Card, Speakers or Headphones, Mouse, and (recommended but not required) a Modem. 

CompUSA sells Typing Instructor, Deluxe Edition V. 10 for $39.99. You can also purchase the program from Individual Software by calling Customer Service at 1 (800) 822-3522. 

G.W. Lewis is the Personnel Clerk at the Immigration and Naturalization Service at the San Antonio District Office, as well as the Administrative Assistant for GSM Enterprises on a part-time basis.