However, the researchers emphasize that, if properly learned, the touch typing system can have some benefits over self-taught strategies. Interestingly, for each group they found some participants that were typing very slowly, and others who were very fast, all using the same strategy. Some typists had unique behaviours, like using Caps Lock instead of the shift key, or using both thumbs together to hit the space bar. The strategies ranged from using mainly 1 or 2 fingers of a hand, to using a modified touch typing system. They found 4 groups of typists that were doing similar movements with the left hand, and 6 groups for the right hand. The study found a large diversity of ways to move hands while typing, by looking for commonalities between the participants in which finger they used to press a key. It is not advantageous for Photoshop shortcuts or gaming, often done with one hand on the mouse," Feit explains. "The touch typing system was developed for typing sentences on typewriters. The researchers believe that our typing techniques reflect the tasks we do often with a computer. While the left hand was always kept on the same position, the right hand would frequently move from one side to the other, covering a large number of keys. Interestingly, most participants used their left and right hand very differently. For example, fast typists have learned to keep their hands fixed on one position, instead of moving them over the keyboard, and more consistently use the same finger to type a certain letter. The motion capture data showed that, instead of the number of fingers, there are other factors that predict typing speed. The motion tracking data exposes it, and for the first time we can exactly say which finger presses which key," explains Dr. "When you ask a person which fingers they use for typing, they cannot tell much. Similar high fidelity systems have been used in professional film-making. Therefore they placed reflective markers on the joints of the fingers and recorded their position with 12 high-speed infrared cameras. To record the exact finger movements during typing, the researchers used a so called optical motion capture system. This is the first study that explores how people type if they never learned the touch typing system. "We were surprised to observe that people who took a typing course, performed at similar average speed and accuracy, as those that taught typing to themselves and only used 6 fingers on average," explains doctoral candidate Anna Feit. Their findings challenge the common belief that you need to have taken a touch typing course - to learn how to type with all 10 fingers - in order to be fast: Researchers from Aalto University studied the typing behavior of 30 people covering a broad range of age and skill.
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