Does typing have a future?


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The time-honored skill of typing is still helpful, but it's becoming less necessary. And that raises the question: Does typing have a future?

In high schools and community colleges where keyboarding classes have been a staple for decades, some fear the courses may go the way of cursive writing lessons in elementary schools.

Dallas typing instructor Julie Phillips says predictive keyboards on smartphones and tablet touch screens that guess which words are being typed have taken the skill out of keyboarding. She says fewer students are coming in with keyboarding knowledge.

Mobile technology analysts say keyboards likely won't disappear from computers. But mobile phone-makers say speed is important, and predictive screens decrease the time needed to type ? or thumb ? each word.

Video: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/will-typing-follow-cursive-out-classroom

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It's not going anywhere anytime soon. I use my keyboard all the time without an issue, but the onscreen keyboards have me wanting to hurl my phone across the room on a regular basis. I'm amazed I still text more than phone people, these days.

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I think typing is safe, as long as users prefer a physical keyboard to an on screen one, the thing that worries me nowadays is how much less handwriting is required in schools compared to when I was at school...

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I think typing is safe, as long as users prefer a physical keyboard to an on screen one, the thing that worries me nowadays is how much less handwriting is required in schools compared to when I was at school...

Why? What needs to be written?

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I think typing is safe, as long as users prefer a physical keyboard to an on screen one, the thing that worries me nowadays is how much less handwriting is required in schools compared to when I was at school...

Many schools nowadays don't even teach cursive writing at all, it's becoming a lost skill, and I think it's a sign of the dependence of new generations on technology, and of their inability to perform even basic tasks without some kind of computer to help them.

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Many schools nowadays don't even teach cursive writing at all, it's becoming a lost skill, and I think it's a sign of the dependence of new generations on technology, and of their inability to perform even basic tasks without some kind of computer to help them.

I was taught cursive, but personally, I see no use for it.

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Handwriting, for one :p

Please tell me I've just missed the sarcasm and that isn't a true statement...

No sarcasm, and no 'handwriting' is not a valid response. Name one thing that absolutely, positively, needs to be a written document and not printed/typed/emailed.

Paper and regular books are a waste of space and resources and should be completely abolished. We aren't there yet as far as normal documents go, but we are for books. Wasting young children's time and educational experience on something that does not need to be done doesn't help anyone.

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Had the course when I was a kid. Hated it. But perhaps it did have some use. I still have to write things down and my handwriting is not really unreadable, but it is very chaotic and plain ugly.

Typing will go the way of handwriting one day, sure, but it won't be nearly as soon as these retarted post-PC era drooling "metrosocial" retards pretend.

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Many schools nowadays don't even teach cursive writing at all, it's becoming a lost skill, and I think it's a sign of the dependence of new generations on technology, and of their inability to perform even basic tasks without some kind of computer to help them.

I was taught cursive, and I can count the number of times I've had to use it on zero fingers. We don't learn Latin either. Some things just don't need to be taught anymore.

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What about if you need to write a dozen page paper? What about when you need to write A LOT more pages than that in a disertation? What about if you are a programmer?

I hate using onscreen keyboards. There needs to be a physical response. I tried a tablet once in a class and could not do it. I need to be able to get a physical response, otherwise I might miss the space bar by hitting the incredibly large bevels or something).

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Many schools nowadays don't even teach cursive writing at all, it's becoming a lost skill, and I think it's a sign of the dependence of new generations on technology, and of their inability to perform even basic tasks without some kind of computer to help them.

Ugh. I had cursive writing in my curriculum between 10 and 12. Now I write in block letters that can best be described as "lazy" or "drunk".

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Ugh. I had cursive writing in my curriculum between 10 and 12. Now I write in block letters that can best be described as "lazy" or "drunk".

Mine too. My cursive sucks. My signature is never the same, even on the same day. I do not know why they still require it since it clearly looks like I am somebody else :p

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I was taught cursive writing, it was one class/one grade, and it was over with. I rarely use it, but I still know how to write in this style. Typing, I was taught in grades 3/4/5/6/7. No joke, felt it was overly-excessive. I used to be able to type 120-135 wpm. I can't touch that anymore, I average 70-90 wpm. Typing shouldn't go away as a skill - kids will use it on day to day basis. Also, physical keyboards > touch keyboards! There's no way you're typing an essay/report/any document of length on a touch screen device without comfort issues.

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Seeing as typing with a keyboard has lasted since typewriters I think we can safely say they will be around for quite a long time. Nothing beats the physical keyboard.

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Seeing as typing with a keyboard has lasted since typewriters I think we can safely say they will be around for quite a long time. Nothing beats the physical keyboard.

This article isn't talking about the keyboard, what it's talking about is typing out word after word character by character like we do now at our desks, but on mobile devices, that really isn't the case.

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I was taught cursive, and I can count the number of times I've had to use it on zero fingers. We don't learn Latin either. Some things just don't need to be taught anymore.

I just feel like cursive writing displays a certain level of intelligence and attention to detail. Cursive, and writing by hand in general, is dying out because human beings are lazy. I have a brother and several friends who can barely print legibly, let alone write in cursive. I'm just afraid that people are becoming far too dependent on technology to do "everything", and we're just going to turn into a society of obese consumers with no real skills outside of punching buttons on a screen.

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Many schools nowadays don't even teach cursive writing at all, it's becoming a lost skill, and I think it's a sign of the dependence of new generations on technology, and of their inability to perform even basic tasks without some kind of computer to help them.

You know what's scarier?

I'd like to see those same kids if they had to do some manual labour, but then I guess they'll simply say where's the computerised exoskeleton needed to help lift 'such and such' item....

No sarcasm, and no 'handwriting' is not a valid response. Name one thing that absolutely, positively, needs to be a written document and not printed/typed/emailed.

Paper and regular books are a waste of space and resources and should be completely abolished. We aren't there yet as far as normal documents go, but we are for books. Wasting young children's time and educational experience on something that does not need to be done doesn't help anyone.

Yes, because PC's, laptops and tablets are MUCH greener to produce than recycled paper notebooks and the like aren't they? Oh and while I have this post, just because you don't need or have a use for it, (and I am happy to concede there are many among us who may be physically unable to handwrite), doesn't mean it needs to be consigned into oblivion.

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I think both typing and writing (if not full out cursive) still both have their place. Companies are still years behind the tech market (Think about how many companies STILL haven't moved from Windows XP.) And in an office environment the keyboard is simply a better method of entering data being faster, and providing that much needed physical feedback for blind typing. I won't be getting rid of mine anytime soon (unless I happen to break this one, in which case it'll be replaced the same day if not sooner). As for writing by hand, most forms here are still required to be filled out by hand, because a digital signature is not acceptable on state forms. So I see a happy future for both mediums for many years to come.

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