Course description

If you type with two fingers, or look down at the keys for every word, this course teaches you to touch type: to type with all your fingers, eyes on the screen, accurately and at a steady pace. It's written for adults who type for work, study or job applications and want to stop hunting for keys.

It's practical and honest. Learning a new way to type takes regular short practice, and your speed usually dips before it climbs. The course shows you how to measure your own progress with simple timed checks, so you can see it happening, and it never compares you with anyone else.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons. Every lesson has a timed practice block with drills to type and a short practical exercise. You follow Rukiya, a school cook in Cumbria who typed with two fingers, through a few months of learning to touch type for a new office job. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, a drill sheet and example answers, plus tools such as an offline practice page that times your drills and counts your errors, a progress log spreadsheet that works out your speed and accuracy, keyboard and finger zone charts, a set-up checklist, a symbols card and a shortcuts card.

What you'll learn

• Getting started: what touch typing is, honest expectations, your first timed check with your usual method, the offline practice page, the progress log and a practice habit that fits your week.
• Setting up comfortably: chair, desk, keyboard, mouse and screen, breaks, laptops and working at home, following HSE's guidance on screen work.
• The keyboard and the home row: a tour of the UK keyboard, how it differs from the US layout and from Mac keyboards, the home row, the bumps on F and J and each finger's zone.
• The letter rows: every letter, one reach at a time, from the home row up to the top row and down to the bottom row, with drills for each step.
• Capitals, numbers and symbols: Shift for capitals, the numbers row, punctuation, the pound sign, quotation marks and other symbols, and the number pad.
• Accuracy first, then speed: why accuracy comes first, measuring speed, accuracy and net speed, finding your error patterns, rhythm, not looking down and building speed safely.
• Practice that works: a 15-minute daily routine, common words and letter patterns, getting past plateaus, tracking your progress and practising with your own writing.
• Real typing: copying from paper and screen, emails, documents, editing shortcuts and moving around text on Windows and Mac.
• Comfort, health and accessibility: preventing strain, what the NHS says about repetitive strain injury and when to see a GP, keyboard accessibility settings, typing with one hand, dictation and laptop keyboards.
• Your plan and final project: a 4-week practice plan, adjusting it, and a final project: your own typing record and a target built from it.

Who it's for

Adults in the UK who want to type faster and more accurately without looking: people returning to work, changing jobs, studying, or simply tired of hunting for keys. You need a computer with a keyboard, ideally a UK layout, and about 15 minutes on most days.

What this course is, and isn't

The course uses its own simple method for measuring speed and accuracy, and the only numbers that matter are your own. It gives general information on comfort and health from HSE and the NHS, not medical advice. Windows and macOS settings change between versions, so the lessons tell you what to search for if something has moved. No typing websites, apps or brands are recommended: everything you need is in the practice packs or already on your computer.

What will I learn?

• Set up your chair, desk, keyboard and screen comfortably, following HSE's guidance on screen work, and plan short, regular breaks
• Find the home row by feel and type every letter on a UK keyboard with the right finger, without looking at the keys
• Type capitals, figures, punctuation, the pound sign and other symbols by touch, and use the number pad
• Measure your own speed, accuracy and net speed with timed checks, and keep a progress log
• Find your error patterns and fix them with short, focused drills
• Practise in a 15-minute daily routine and get past plateaus by changing what you practise
• Copy from paper, type emails and documents by touch, and edit quickly with keyboard shortcuts on Windows and Mac
• Recognise the early signs of strain, know when to see a GP, and use keyboard accessibility settings and dictation
• Follow a 4-week practice plan and build your own typing record and a realistic target

Frequently asked questions