Dvorak keyboard training

Dvorak keyboard training

This is a free online typing course, that enables you to learn the Dvorak<br>Simplified Keyboard layout rather quickly. There are five lessons, each of which<br>most people can complete within two hours. After these lessons, you will<br>be able to touch type the entire alphabet.

1 - Home row, 8 keys (start positions)2 - Home row, 10 keys3 - Home row + C, F, K, L, M, P, R, V4 - Home row + B, G, J, Q, W, X, Y, Z5 - The entire roman alphabet

No keyboard mappingMap QWERTY to DvorakMap QWERTZ to DvorakMap AZERTY to Dvorak

~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) { } ____<br>` 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 [ ] BS<br>___ " > ? + |<br>Tab ' , . P Y F G C R L / = \<br>Caps A O E U I D H T N S - Enter<br>_____ : _______<br>Shift ; Q J K X B M W V Z Shift

Instructions

How does this tutor program work?<br>Put your fingers on the 8 base positions "AOEU HTNS" ("ASDF JKL;" on a<br>QWERTY keyboard) and type the highlighted word. Press the spacebar after each<br>word. Good luck!

How is learn.dvorak.nl different from other Dvorak typing courses?<br>Almost all keyboard education software is stuck in the age of QWERTY, where<br>not a lot of words can be made with just the home row, and you had to type<br>endless sequences of letters (but not words). Most Dvorak keyboard tutors use<br>the same approach, but instead of "fff jjj fjfj", they'll have "uuu hhh uhuh",<br>even though this inefficient way of learning to type is no longer necessary<br>with the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard. Instead of focussing on the positions of<br>letters first and letter patterns (muscle movement patterns!) second, this site<br>skips right to learning to type entire words. The first lesson introduces all<br>eight base positions. I believe that this is the golden mean between learning<br>individual letters, and switching to Dvorak cold turkey.

How often should I repeat a lesson and when should I advance to the next<br>one?<br>There are no set values for this. Do whatever feels good. But if you really<br>need my guidance, how about advancing when you can finish an entire lesson (100<br>words) in 15 minutes?

Why no punctuation?<br>When you've finished all the lessons and can type the entire alphabet<br>without looking at the keys, you're ready to use Dvorak in day to day use. Keep<br>a cheat sheet nearby for the punctuation keys, and you'll quickly learn them.<br>Only 9 non-alphanumeric keys are different from QWERTY; you can probably do<br>that on your own.

Keyboard settings

You do not have to change your keyboard settings to use this site (if you're using US QWERTY,<br>QWERTZ or AZERTY.) Do you see that drop-down that says<br>"No keyboard mapping"? When you choose your current layout from that list,<br>you can type Dvorak here without changing anything on your computer.

But... everything else will still be QWERTY / QWERTZ / AZERTY...<br>Yes. That's okay, it won't slow you down when learning Dvorak. Just learn<br>the alphabet first, and configure your keyboard layout later. Not being able<br>to type words is incredibly frustrating; you don't have to put yourself through<br>that.

I've finished lesson 5 and I rock. Can I change my settings now?<br>Of course, and you definitely should! In Windows, it's under Language<br>Settings, (not Keyboard). In Mac OS X, under International. Under Linux<br>you can set it via your desktop environment's configuration manager, or you can<br>run "setxkbmap dvorak" in X or "loadkeys dvorak" on the console.

Keyboard labels?

Is modifying your keyboard the best way to learn a new layout?<br>Not really. The best way to learn a new layout is to use blank keys. If you<br>want blanking stickers for your keyboard and don't mind spending € 5 plus shipping, just e-mail me. They're black, by the way.

What if I don't want to relabel my keyboard?<br>Just keep using your QWERTY labels then. It can be a bit confusing, but it's<br>still a good way to learn Dvorak, because it encourages you not to look at the<br>keys.

So labeling your keyboard with a Dvorak layout is a bad idea?<br>Yes, while you're still learning the layout it's better if your keyboard<br>doesn't try to help you. To see the letters, you need to remove your hands, and<br>that movement screws up the training scheme. When you've mastered the alphabet,<br>though, proper key labels can help you to locate those nasty seldom used<br>symbols. Besides that, it'll look really cool and be a great conversation<br>starter.

But I still want them because it'll make my keyboard (and me) look more<br>interesting. Do you sell Dvorak keyboard stickers/labels?<br>Yes. With these, you can change any keyboard to the Dvorak layout in 10<br>minutes. The stickers will stay on for years on end (if you cleaned your<br>keyboard before applying the labels). The following colors are available:

white on black (also available in 15x15 mm for island keyboards)<br>black on white (also available in 15x15 mm for island keyboards)<br>yellow on transparent<br>red on transparent<br>orange on transparent<br>blue on transparent

Send an e-mail to aoeu@aoeu.nl<br>if you want to order. They're € 5 per sheet; shipping is free for addresses in<br>The Netherlands,...