VOICE TYPING

When I first started teaching seniors computing and we did a section on the keyboard I suggested that would be worthwhile them learning to touch type. The last 5 years I have not suggested that because it would take up to 10 hours to teach a person to touch type, at best at 40 words per minute, using the typing tutor programs, whereas, it only takes less than an hour to teach someone to use voice recognition on a computer were they could type at about 80 words a minute. 5 years ago I would suggest people use Microsoft voice recognition. Now I would suggest anybody to use Google Docs, voice typing. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XIBWYH1Rekw

It is so much easier faster and more accurate, even though it lacks some of the editing capabilities. The trouble with you doing voice typing on a computer, is you have to go into a specific program or application to use it. It cannot be used wherever you would normally use a keyboard. Whereas on a phone or a tablet wherever you would normally use a keyboard you just press a microphone icon. This means it can be used anywhere you would normally type. I quite often use voice typing to name a file or rename a file on a phone.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mGxpw4K5Tq4 The standard keyboard on a phone or tablet is the qwerty keyboard. There a number of apps available now which allow you to change it to an alphabetic keyboard. That is a keyboard that has the letters arranged A through to Z, which is probably a lot easier to remember for those that have never use the keyboard before. Anyone else teaching voice typing? Anyone suggest to the students they switch to and alphabetic keyboard on phones?