How to practise typing in dark?

Question

I'm familiar with a-z,but not so familiar with symbols like -=[]{} and so on.

Is there a tool that can help me get familiar with those not so frequently used symbols so that finally I can type with ease in dark?

Answer 1

Typer Shark is one of my favorites. I has levels for the symbols. http://www.popcap.com/games/free/typershark

Answer 2

GNU typist is a free, open source typing tutor. Lessons T13, T14 and T15 are focused on "special symbols". Moreover, as explained here, you can create your own lessons.

Answer 3

I guess this is probably your reason to ask this in the first place, looking at the characters you give as example, but I would propose Programming on a regular basis.

It's the only place I know where you will find these characters used often, and writing a lot of code would make you practice these "odd" characters (in a C-type language, at least).

On this topic, I would recommend you to read this article from the Coding Horror blog: We Are Typists First, Programmers Second.

Answer 4

I know this is an older question (with no marked answer tsk tsk), but I'm surprised no one has said this:

Das Keyboard

No marked buttons. Print out a layout and put it within eyesight... Forces you to NOT look at the keys. Once you get a little more practiced, remove the printout.

Makes you type the same in the day as at night because either way... you can't see the keys.

Answer 5

Well if you want to be able to practice when it's not dark, you can get a blank keyboard - http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/keyboards-mice/8396/

Depending on why you need to type in the dark, a backlit keyboard like the logitech G11 -http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/keyboards-mice/8396/ - may remove the need to type 'blind' - i'm assuming some light for the display is allowed.

Answer 6

Here's another twist on it: a typing game in the form of an arena shooter ("QWERTY Warriors")

Answer 7

My piano teacher would hold a book over my hands so I couldn't see them, forcing me to trust I already knew where the keys were. You could easily fashion a shell out of cardboard that goes over the keys, hiding them from your direct view. Then just type a lot. Use guides, lessons, and tutorials, or just type a lot. Focus on the special characters you have trouble with.

Another piano teacher noticed I tended to lose my confidence towards the end of a particularly difficult piece of music. This was because when practicing, when I messed up, I'd start over at the beginning. I very quickly became very comfortable with the beginning of the piece, but because I only played the last part of the piece when I could get to it without faltering or failing, it was played probably less than half the number of times the beginning of the piece was played. Focusing on and exercising the parts you have difficulty with (in your case, the special characters) regardless of whether or not you are typing real sentences, can be very helpful in growing your confidence and strengthening your ability to touch-type all the characters on the keyboard.