{"id":45,"date":"2020-11-27T14:42:11","date_gmt":"2020-11-27T19:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/chapter\/the-base-position\/"},"modified":"2022-07-25T15:16:17","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T19:16:17","slug":"the-base-position","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/chapter\/the-base-position\/","title":{"raw":"Topic B: The base position","rendered":"Topic B: The base position"},"content":{"raw":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.<\/p>\r\nhttps:\/\/media.bccampus.ca\/id\/0_3wjhetwe?width=608&amp;height=70&amp;playerId=23449753\r\n<h1>The Home Row<\/h1>\r\nThe home row is the set of keys that are the base position for fingers. These are the keys located on the middle row of the keyboard.<a id=\"retkeyboard1\"><\/a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1500\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"600\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1500\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Home-Row-keyboard.png\" alt=\"A keyboard with two sets of keys in the middle row highlighted.\" width=\"600\" height=\"173\" \/> The home row keys on the keyboard are A, S, D, and F on the left and J, K, L, and the semicolon (;) on the right.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1502\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"326\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1502\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Home-Row-Keys.png\" alt=\"Fingers on each hand have a base position associated with a specific key on the keyboard. Long description available.\" width=\"326\" height=\"252\" \/> <a class=\"internal\" href=\"#hrld\">[Image Description]<\/a>[\/caption]\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Always try to return your fingers to the base position when you are not typing.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Keyboards usually have small bumps on the F and J keys. They help the users locate the base position without having to look.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Place the index fingers over the \u201cF\u201d and \u201cJ\u201d key.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Finger names<\/h2>\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1503\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Hand-labelled.png\" alt=\"Fingers on the right hand with labels, left to right: thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger.\" width=\"300\" height=\"248\" \/>\r\n<h1>Touch Typing Rules<\/h1>\r\n<h2>Colour-coded chart<\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Always position your fingers properly on the keyboard to press the right keys when typing.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The colour-coded chart below shows which finger should press each key.<a id=\"retkeyboard2\"><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1508\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"830\"]<img class=\"wp-image-1508\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Keyboard-labelled-2.jpg\" alt=\"A keyboard with the keys grouped into sections. Long description available.\" width=\"830\" height=\"349\" \/> Labelled keyboard. <a class=\"internal\" href=\"#kdes\">[Image Description]<\/a>[\/caption]<img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1509\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Hand-labelled2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"315\" \/>\r\n<h2>Correct finger placement<\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Press all <strong>Section A<\/strong> keys with the <strong>left little<\/strong> finger<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Press all <strong>Section B<\/strong> keys with the <strong>left ring<\/strong> finger<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Press all <strong>Section C<\/strong> keys with the <strong>left middle<\/strong> finger<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Press all <strong>Section D<\/strong> keys with the <strong>left\u00a0<\/strong><strong>index<\/strong> finger<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Press all <strong>Section E<\/strong> with either <strong>thumb<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t<li>Press all <strong>Section F<\/strong> keys with the <strong>right<\/strong><strong> index<\/strong> finger<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Press all <strong>Section G<\/strong> keys with the <strong>right middle<\/strong> finger<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Press all <strong>Section H<\/strong> keys with the <strong>right ring<\/strong> finger<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Press all <strong>Section I<\/strong> with the <strong>right little<\/strong> finger<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h1>Typing Speed<\/h1>\r\n<h2>Ways to improve typing speed<\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Familiarizing yourself with the keyboard layout can improve your typing speed.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Develop good typing habits; focus on hitting the right keys.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Take your time when you have just started learning; slow down to be accurate.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Learn to be accurate first, then improve speed.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Not only practice often, but practice correctly.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Speed will come naturally through practice, repetition, and time.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Take online typing tests<\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Some\u00a0online typing speed test tools\u00a0can determine how many words per minute <strong>(wpm)<\/strong> you type and how accurate your typing is.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>There are many free typing tests available online, such as:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/testmytypingspeed.in\/\">TestMyTypingSpeed<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/10fastfingers.com\/typing-test\/english\">10fastfingers<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.keyhero.com\/free-typing-test\/\">Key Hero<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thetypingcat.com\/typing-speed-test\/1m\">The Typing Cat<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h1>Image Descriptions<\/h1>\r\n<strong id=\"hrld\">Home row image description:<\/strong> the base position keys for the left hand are:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Little finger: A key<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Ring finger: S key<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Middle finger: D key<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Index finger: F key<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe base position keys for the right hand are:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Index finger: J key<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Middle finger: K key<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Ring finger: L key<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Little finger: Semi-colon key<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<a class=\"internal\" href=\"#retkeyboard1\">[Return to Home row image]<\/a>\r\n\r\n<strong id=\"kdes\">Labelled keyboard image description:<\/strong> a standard keyboard with the keys grouped into sections labelled A to I from left to right. Each section corresponds to a finger that would press the keys in that section.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Section A keys are pressed by the left little finger. The keys include the back quote, Tab, Caps Locks, Shift, Control, the number 1, letters Q, A, and Z, and Alt.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Section B keys are pressed by the left ring finger. The keys include the number 2 and letters W, S, and X.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Section C keys are pressed by the left middle finger. The keys include the number 3 and and letters E, D, and C.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Section D keys are pressed by the left index finger. The keys include numbers 4 and 5, and letters R, T, F, G, V, and B.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Section E key is the space bar. The space bar can be pressed by a thumb on either hand.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Section F keys are pressed by the right index finger. These keys include numbers 6 and 7, and the letters Y, U, H, J, N, and M.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Section G keys are pressed by the right middle finger. These keys include the number 8 and the letters I and K, and the comma.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Section H keys are pressed by the right ring finger. These keys include the number 9 and the letters O and L, and the period.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Section I keys are pressed by the right little finger. This includes the rest of the keys on the right side of the keyboard, including the number 0, the hyphen, the equals sign, the delete key, the letter P, the open bracket, the close bracket, the backslash, the semicolon, the apostrophe, the enter key, the forward slash, the shift key, the Alt key, and the Control key. <a class=\"internal\" href=\"#retkeyboard2\">[Return to Labelled keyboard]<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"kaltura_player\" title=\"Unit 2 Topic B: The base position\" src=\"https:\/\/api.ca.kaltura.com\/p\/148\/sp\/14800\/embedIframeJs\/uiconf_id\/23449753\/partner_id\/148?iframeembed=true&#38;playerId=kaltura_player&#38;entry_id=0_3wjhetwe&#38;flashvars[leadWithHTML5]=true&#38;flashvars[streamerType]=auto&#38;flashvars[localizationCode]=en&#38;flashvars[sideBarContainer.plugin]=true&#38;flashvars[sideBarContainer.position]=left&#38;flashvars[sideBarContainer.clickToClose]=true&#38;flashvars[chapters.plugin]=true&#38;flashvars[chapters.layout]=vertical&#38;flashvars[chapters.thumbnailRotator]=false&#38;flashvars[streamSelector.plugin]=true&#38;flashvars[EmbedPlayer.SpinnerTarget]=videoHolder&#38;flashvars[dualScreen.plugin]=true&#38;flashvars[Kaltura.addCrossoriginToIframe]=true&#38;wid=0_bbug7yhk\" width=\"608\" height=\"70\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" sandbox=\"allow-downloads allow-forms allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-pointer-lock allow-popups allow-modals allow-orientation-lock allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-presentation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1>The Home Row<\/h1>\n<p>The home row is the set of keys that are the base position for fingers. These are the keys located on the middle row of the keyboard.<a id=\"retkeyboard1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1500\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1500\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1500\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Home-Row-keyboard.png\" alt=\"A keyboard with two sets of keys in the middle row highlighted.\" width=\"600\" height=\"173\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1500\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The home row keys on the keyboard are A, S, D, and F on the left and J, K, L, and the semicolon (;) on the right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1502\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1502\" style=\"width: 326px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1502\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Home-Row-Keys.png\" alt=\"Fingers on each hand have a base position associated with a specific key on the keyboard. Long description available.\" width=\"326\" height=\"252\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1502\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a class=\"internal\" href=\"#hrld\">[Image Description]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>Always try to return your fingers to the base position when you are not typing.<\/li>\n<li>Keyboards usually have small bumps on the F and J keys. They help the users locate the base position without having to look.<\/li>\n<li>Place the index fingers over the \u201cF\u201d and \u201cJ\u201d key.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Finger names<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1503\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Hand-labelled.png\" alt=\"Fingers on the right hand with labels, left to right: thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger.\" width=\"300\" height=\"248\" \/><\/p>\n<h1>Touch Typing Rules<\/h1>\n<h2>Colour-coded chart<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Always position your fingers properly on the keyboard to press the right keys when typing.<\/li>\n<li>The colour-coded chart below shows which finger should press each key.<a id=\"retkeyboard2\"><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1508\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1508\" style=\"width: 830px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1508\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Keyboard-labelled-2.jpg\" alt=\"A keyboard with the keys grouped into sections. Long description available.\" width=\"830\" height=\"349\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1508\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Labelled keyboard. <a class=\"internal\" href=\"#kdes\">[Image Description]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1509\" src=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/322\/2020\/11\/Hand-labelled2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"315\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Correct finger placement<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Press all <strong>Section A<\/strong> keys with the <strong>left little<\/strong> finger<\/li>\n<li>Press all <strong>Section B<\/strong> keys with the <strong>left ring<\/strong> finger<\/li>\n<li>Press all <strong>Section C<\/strong> keys with the <strong>left middle<\/strong> finger<\/li>\n<li>Press all <strong>Section D<\/strong> keys with the <strong>left\u00a0<\/strong><strong>index<\/strong> finger<\/li>\n<li>Press all <strong>Section E<\/strong> with either <strong>thumb<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Press all <strong>Section F<\/strong> keys with the <strong>right<\/strong><strong> index<\/strong> finger<\/li>\n<li>Press all <strong>Section G<\/strong> keys with the <strong>right middle<\/strong> finger<\/li>\n<li>Press all <strong>Section H<\/strong> keys with the <strong>right ring<\/strong> finger<\/li>\n<li>Press all <strong>Section I<\/strong> with the <strong>right little<\/strong> finger<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>Typing Speed<\/h1>\n<h2>Ways to improve typing speed<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Familiarizing yourself with the keyboard layout can improve your typing speed.<\/li>\n<li>Develop good typing habits; focus on hitting the right keys.<\/li>\n<li>Take your time when you have just started learning; slow down to be accurate.<\/li>\n<li>Learn to be accurate first, then improve speed.<\/li>\n<li>Not only practice often, but practice correctly.<\/li>\n<li>Speed will come naturally through practice, repetition, and time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Take online typing tests<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Some\u00a0online typing speed test tools\u00a0can determine how many words per minute <strong>(wpm)<\/strong> you type and how accurate your typing is.<\/li>\n<li>There are many free typing tests available online, such as:\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/testmytypingspeed.in\/\">TestMyTypingSpeed<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/10fastfingers.com\/typing-test\/english\">10fastfingers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.keyhero.com\/free-typing-test\/\">Key Hero<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thetypingcat.com\/typing-speed-test\/1m\">The Typing Cat<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>Image Descriptions<\/h1>\n<p><strong id=\"hrld\">Home row image description:<\/strong> the base position keys for the left hand are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Little finger: A key<\/li>\n<li>Ring finger: S key<\/li>\n<li>Middle finger: D key<\/li>\n<li>Index finger: F key<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The base position keys for the right hand are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Index finger: J key<\/li>\n<li>Middle finger: K key<\/li>\n<li>Ring finger: L key<\/li>\n<li>Little finger: Semi-colon key<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"internal\" href=\"#retkeyboard1\">[Return to Home row image]<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong id=\"kdes\">Labelled keyboard image description:<\/strong> a standard keyboard with the keys grouped into sections labelled A to I from left to right. Each section corresponds to a finger that would press the keys in that section.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Section A keys are pressed by the left little finger. The keys include the back quote, Tab, Caps Locks, Shift, Control, the number 1, letters Q, A, and Z, and Alt.<\/li>\n<li>Section B keys are pressed by the left ring finger. The keys include the number 2 and letters W, S, and X.<\/li>\n<li>Section C keys are pressed by the left middle finger. The keys include the number 3 and and letters E, D, and C.<\/li>\n<li>Section D keys are pressed by the left index finger. The keys include numbers 4 and 5, and letters R, T, F, G, V, and B.<\/li>\n<li>Section E key is the space bar. The space bar can be pressed by a thumb on either hand.<\/li>\n<li>Section F keys are pressed by the right index finger. These keys include numbers 6 and 7, and the letters Y, U, H, J, N, and M.<\/li>\n<li>Section G keys are pressed by the right middle finger. These keys include the number 8 and the letters I and K, and the comma.<\/li>\n<li>Section H keys are pressed by the right ring finger. These keys include the number 9 and the letters O and L, and the period.<\/li>\n<li>Section I keys are pressed by the right little finger. This includes the rest of the keys on the right side of the keyboard, including the number 0, the hyphen, the equals sign, the delete key, the letter P, the open bracket, the close bracket, the backslash, the semicolon, the apostrophe, the enter key, the forward slash, the shift key, the Alt key, and the Control key. <a class=\"internal\" href=\"#retkeyboard2\">[Return to Labelled keyboard]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-45","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":34,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/45\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/45\/revisions\/626"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/34"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/45\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/computerstudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}