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Is there an online typing trainer that doesn't feed me malformed words to type? So i can concentrate on typing speed without worrying about mistyping words as it wants them.

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Isn't part of the training to be able to type what ever you see rather than what you think you see? – ChrisF♦ Jul 27 '10 at 12:12
@ChrisF: Most of my typing is output directly from brain to keyboard, so i don't have to look at whatever i'm typing. I type pretty fast, but i have to look at the keyboard to do it (otherwise my fingers start mistyping pretty horribly). :) – RCIX Jul 28 '10 at 1:36
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Fair point, but equally the nonsense words and letter groups will help you find your way around the keyboard. It's so you don't have to think where the letters are. – ChrisF♦ Jul 28 '10 at 10:21
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"equally the nonsense words and letter groups will help" -> I don't think so. I believe patterns play a very important role in typing speed. I would be interested in any study on the topic. – Nicolas Raoul Jul 29 '10 at 7:04
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@Nicolas Raoul, @RCIX - I agree with ChrisF. I was classically trained as a typist, and it's an important skill to train your fingers to have the muscle memories to where the keys are regardless of the word patterns. Touch typing (which is what you're looking for here) has nothing to do with the body or content of what you're typing and everything to do with character in-character out. The best typing courses have you type nonsense blindly, that way what goes in is more likely to be what comes out. Otherwise your brain will begin outputting your own pattern expectations through your fingers. – Joel Etherton Aug 5 '10 at 18:18
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4 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

Well, on http://keybr.com/ (flash-based) you can click the "tutorial:" setting area at the top left and change it from the random text default to

  • Web site/blog -- any RSS feed you like
  • Custom Text -- cut and paste whatever you like

.. which is a pretty nifty feature!

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It also discovered my non-US layout keyboard - nice! – splattne Aug 2 '10 at 15:47
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I use http://typingweb.com

The pedagogy is better and it quickly switch to real text.

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"You don't need Mavis Beacon when you have instant messaging" - Stewart Smith

;)

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Try Quick Brown Frog. It's a pure-HTML5 (no Flash, no Java) webapp I'm working on for learning how to type.

The practice section has a number pieces of "real text" from Wikipedia that you can type. You can also point it at a URL of your choice, and it will create a lesson from the URL content.

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