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Loadstar 128 25
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t.keypad tutor
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2022-08-28
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128 KEYPAD TUTOR
by Robert Markland
I often sit in awe as my accountant correctly enters a column of figures
at blazing speed, chews gum, and carries on a conversation -- all at more or
less the same time. Touch typing is taught as a general subject at all
levels beginning in middle school or earlier. However, outside the areas of
business and accounting, keypad instruction is not readily available.
Learning touch keypadding is similar to learning touch typing, but is
actually easier because fewer keys are involved. Computer-based tutorials
are superior to manual teaching methods in several respects: A computer can
automatically chart and record student progress, then present progressively
more difficult assignments and provide audible feedback when incorrect keys
are pressed.
Speed and accuracy are achieved through repetitive drills. Learning the
keypad, like any psychomotor skill, requires many hours of practice. Set
aside 30 minutes to an hour a day and do your best to keep to a regular
schedule.
Leave the disk containing 128 KEYPAD TUTOR and KEYPAD GRADES in the
drive. The program automatically fetches student data and writes to the
disk after certain housekeeping tasks and when you Quit. If the grade file
is not found or is unreadable the program creates a new one.
As you begin each practice session, you are asked to log-on. 128 KEYPAD
TUTOR accommodates 4 different students. If you are using the program for
the first time you may wish to select Student 1. Then you can go to the
HOUSEKEEPING menu to change "Student 1" to your name.
AUTO SELECT LESSONS
-------------------
Choose "Auto Select" to have 128 KEYPAD TUTOR structure your lessons,
beginning with the "Home Row" keys. Before each drill all of the keys used
in the lesson are highlighted. The dialog box at the top of the screen
provides instructions as necessary.
Bend the four fingers of your right hand and keep your wrist straight.
Lightly touch the number 4 key with your index finger, the number 5 key with
your middle finger, the number 6 key with your ring finger, and the minus
key with your little finger. These are the "Home Row" keys and there is a
small projection on the face of the number 5 key to give you tactile
feedback. Press any key to begin.
Do not look at your fingers. Instead, concentrate on the screen and
press the highlighted key as quickly as you can. If you make a mistake a
tone is sounded. Think about which finger is required and try again.
The default lesson duration is 5 minutes. Do not stop until you are
advised that the drill is completed. At the end of each drill your Correct
Keystrokes per Minute (CKM) are calculated. The box which appears at the
upper left of the screen shows your CKM for this drill, your last CKM and
your high CKM. If you reach the target speed of 100 CKM the program will
advance you to the next lesson. If you fall short of this goal the same
drill is repeated.
You will no doubt complete 6 to 12 drills--depending upon how much time
you have set aside for your practice sessions. Press X at any time to
return to the Main Menu.
Lesson 2 focuses on the Home Row and Upper Row keys 7, 8, 9, and +.
Extend your finger to strike the key immediately above the corresponding
Home Row key then return that finger to the Home Row.
In Lesson 3 you will practice the Home Row and the Lower Row keys,
including 1, 2, 3, and Enter. Retract the appropriate finger slightly to
strike a key immediately below the Home Row.
Lesson 4 teaches the Home Row and Bottom Row keys, 0 and the decimal
point (.). Use the side of your thumb to press the 0 key and your ring
finger for the decimal point.
You will practice all 14 keys on the keypad in Lesson 5. At this point
you should be familiar with the keypad so work on keeping your hand and arm
movements to a minimum while attaining greater speed.
Lesson 6 is more or less optional. In addition to the 14 keypad keys
the mathematical operators *, = and / are included. Move your right hand to
the left and press these keys with your right index finger. Move your hand
back to the Home Row as quickly as possible, and feel the projection on the
number 5 key to ensure correct finger alignment.
MANUALLY SELECT LESSONS
-----------------------
This mode serves two purposes, primarily after you have completed Lesson
5. If you have no need for the *, =, and / keys, manually select Lesson 5
to repeat the full 14 key drills to improve your speed. Anytime you have
been away from the keypad for a while you may want to select any of the
other lessons to brush up on specific portions of the keypad which may be
giving you trouble. Following each drill you may choose to repeat it,
select another lesson, or return to the Main Menu.
HOUSEKEEPING
------------
These functions allow you to control student record information and the
duration of the drills in each lesson.
RENAME/DELETE STUDENT - You may change the name of the logged-on
student, or delete that student to reinitialize lesson defaults.
SET LESSON DURATION - After you have become accustomed to 128 KEYPAD
TUTOR you may find that you prefer drills of longer or shorter duration.
Each student may select from 1 to 10 minutes.
PURGE GRADE FILE - Use this function at any time to restore the default
values of ALL four students.
QUIT
----
It is important that you use Quit to exit 128 KEYPAD TUTOR in order to
save your most recent CKM scores to disk. If you are using the LOADSTAR
disk Quit will return you to LOADSTAR. Otherwise you will return to BASIC.
You will notice that the 7, 8, 9, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, Enter, 0 and the
Decimal Point key configuration is pretty much standard on all keypads,
including computers, adding machines and calculators. It should take you
much less time to use your bank's ATM. And if you get in the habit of
pressing the right end of the 0 key you can easily "speed dial" a touch tone
phone.
RM
\\\\\ R - Run RETURN - Menu \\\\\