How effective is typing tutor software?

In 1995-1996 META Consultants undertook market research to investigate the general effectiveness and user satisfaction of existing typing software. A sample of over 90 business and professional people completed the questionnaire Typing Software – How Was It For You? regarding existing typing tutorial software.

What were the results?

Q.  How do you feel about using existing typing tutor software?

Stressful, boring or indifferent	70%
Enjoyable or satisfying	30%

Q.  How would you rate the effectiveness of existing typing tutor software?

Poor or very poor	56%
Satisfactory	23%
Good or very good	21%

• Largely ineffective at teaching professional and managerial people basic keyboard skills unless they persist for an average of 28 hours.
• Slightly effective for people who have already learned traditional typing. These people can expect to increase their skills by small to modest amounts with an average input of 12 hours.

Q.  Are you interested in hearing about an alternative method of teaching keyboard skills?

Definitely	75%
Undecided	19%
Declined to comment	6%

This research indicated that the eText Method and Software should be seriously considered as an alternative method of teaching keyboard skills. This applies particularly to professional and managerial people who have limited time but need keyboard proficiency to be creative and fully productive.

So how do people feel about conventional typing tutor software?

Examples of comments META Consultants received on conventional typing tutors between 1996 and 2001 included:

my keying skills are reprehensible and the power age has increased my email volume to 200+ pieces daily, all of which i attempt to respond to. (key word: attempt) i have tried mavis and others but still can’t ‘home row’…
J.O’G. – Philadelphia

I tried [name of product] and found it awful. I gave up after half-an-hour.
T. C. – Government official

With [well-known typing tutor package], I often just got stuck there, frozen, because of a total mental block as to where the damn letter was! …. this has not happened once since I started using typeSmart ”.
B.A. – Small Business Manager

As for my lack of success with these products … mostly, its the home row thing, I just can’t get my hands to sit on it. Both of these products use it …. TT99 [Typing Tutor 99 Platinum] uses CETM (sic) which has the same finger patterns as eText but is fixated on the home row.Another problem I have is that I’m dyslexic and the purely visual/mechanical teaching method doesn’t work well with me. Mavis recommends saying the letters as typed, which helped but then there was that darn home row thing and it beeping like crazy whenever I got off target.”
David A. – Head Information Systems