This article includes a timeline describing the beginnings of the typewriter, why its keyboard is organised as we know it, and some of the impacts this technology has had on today’s lifestyle. Click on the “timeline” title to display the chart.
It is interesting to note that today most people use typewriting skills without formal training. Additionally, the common ways people have to type -or text, which is now used as a verb- widely deviate from the traditional typewriting guidelines and best practices. According to White (1935) university professors urged secondary schools in the 1930s to have students trained in typewriting since that skill favored better grades besides the neatness typewritten papers convey, and because typewriters were proliferating in the work market at that time.
Nonetheless, “texting” could be considered a different skill than typewriting due to several reasons. First, the keyboard of handheld digital devices, although sporting the Qwerty layout shown in the timeline above like the regular keyboards of office equipment -computers nowadays instead of typewriters- does not provide the usual ergonomic conditions for the typewriting activity. Texting is generally performed with movements of the fingers while typewriting frequently involves the whole hand, and sometimes the forearm. Second, texting is used to produce digitally written informal communication, while typewriting can also produce formal digital and printed documents. And last but not least, texting promotes the use of symbols and acronyms as part of daily language which, in time, might erode the form of a language.
Will typewriting become again a matter of training? What would be the benefits of such venture? Regardless of the answers one thing is for sure, technology will continue to drive and shape the change.
References
White, B., (1935). Typewriting as a Factor in College Success. The School Review, 43(5), 374-378. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/stable/1080273
Hi Alfonso,
Thank you for this timeline on the typewriter. In my writing classes, participants are often surprised to learn that the QWERTY keyboard was created to slow down typing.
The photos you used give a rich historical feel to the timeline. If we were to take this assignment further, you could put them into presentation software (PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.) to make it easier for people access.
Cheers,
Fiona
Hello Fiona,
Thanks for your comments. It’s very interesting to see how Qwerty has maintained its prevalence in the market, and all is due to volume since by the time other inventors came up with more efficient layouts of the keyboard (or so they claim) the vast majority of typist and installed base were already familiar with Qwerty.
I have pictures for the events that don’t show any, but I have to convert the format because TimelineJS doesn’t accept them. So the timeline might get a bit better in that regard.
Cheers!
Alfonso