Welcome to the Lomak Typing Tutorial

Notesai Typing Tutorial

Welcome to the Notesai Typing Tutorial

Getting started (philosophically speaking)

It is worth mentioning that new users of the Notesai sometimes have the impression the keyboard is going to overcome all of their computing problems and is a solution to everything. Unfortunately, Notesai is just a computer keyboard that has to be learnt like any other tool. When learning to drive the Notesai it is important to remember that most life changing goals are achieved slowly and with lots of practice. It is with this in mind that we have included a Typing Tutorial designed to ease you gently into this new concept and greatly improve your chances of success.

Getting ready for the Tutorial

To get the best results from the Notesai keyboard it needs to be set up correctly. If you are using a desktop PC, Notesai should be set up with the following in mind:

A new user should be assisted with positioning of the keyboard, screen and light pointer. When using the remote head-pointer it is important to sit square on to the keyboard, and look straight ahead, viewing both the screen and keyboard simultaneously. The centre point of your vision should be the junction of the two.

When you are using a remote head mounted light unit, you should be positioned between 600mm and 1000mm (60cm to 1m) from the keyboard to be able to actuate characters and see the screen display without unnecessary head movements. The further away you are from the keyboard the less movement is needed to move between characters. However, seeing and recognising the characters is compromised so the ideal distance is user-defined.

To get the best results, the computer screen should be positioned directly above the keyboard with only a small gap between the two.

The light pointer can be positioned on the right or left side of your head. Whichever side is chosen the light unit should be positioned so that the dot is appearing to come from the centre of your forehead. If you are positioned central to the keyboard then the maximum benefit can be gained from the keyboard layout.

Training of the Mouse function should be done after you have gained a degree of competence with the keyboard. This is so you feel comfortable with the light operation and are applying the select/acknowledge philosophy. The action of the mouse mode is start/stop, where a joystick movement starts a process in motion and a return to the middle position is needed to stop it. The game Solitaire is an excellent tool for learning control of the mouse function. You can expect to become involved in the game, allowing your auto-system to develop quickly.

For sensitivity, sound and light contrast set-ups look in the User Guide under ‘Using Lomak’ – ‘Using the Set-Up Mode’.

Note: We have provided typing boxes in this Tutorial for you to use. To complete each exercise, type the text from above the box into it. Don’t worry about speed at this stage, just relax and choose the characters carefully.

If you are being assisted, a standard mouse can be used at the same time as the Notesai for clicking in the boxes. If not, use the Notesai mouse function to navigate and select (see “Notesai Mouse Tutorial” later in this document). You can move pages up and down by using click and drag on the slide bar.

The Tutorial

Plug your Notesai into a USB port and wait for the computer to recognise the keyboard. (The first time it will need a few minutes to set itself up.) Actuate the Rest button in the bottom right hand corner by passing the dot through the green window. With the green light on, the rest of the keyboard will be inactive and you can set your dot to a centre position without the worry of activating characters. To start, pass through the green Rest button again and activate the keyboard. You are now ready for the first lesson.

You will notice there are two character letters to each character of the alphabet circle. The black characters, comprise the letters ‘adehilnorstuw’ which represent 83% of letters used in English written text. This leaves only 17% use of the orange circle or ‘Alpha-shifted’ letters. The difference in percentage use of the outer circle means that recognition, or feel of where the letters are, comes slower than those of the inner circle and patience has to be exercised when using the ‘alpha-shift’.

Lesson One

Complete the exercises shown below, by activating the character sensors and ‘Confirm’ in turn. Try to develop a slow rhythm, and go through the ‘Confirm’ to the next letter.

Exercise 1

Type the inner circle letters, with and without spaces, to get a feel of their locations. Repeat until comfortable with the layout.

(Note: keep your lessons short at first until you get comfortable with using the Notesai. Don’t expect dramatic increases in typing speed at first. This will only come with experience and patience.)

Type each letter followed by a Confirm

(Click inside the boxes provided, to type letters and words)

adehilnorstuw

Now try with a space between each letter

a d e h i l n o r s t u w

Exercise 2

When doing Exercise 2, put a space between each pair of letters by actuating the space character found between the left and centre ‘Confirm’ buttons.

(Note: your word processing program may try and make words out of your letters, making you think you did not put the space in the correct place. Don’t worry about it as it is only an exercise for movement and not worth adjusting your software.)

aa ad ae ah ai al an ao ar as at au aw

alan and sasha are in australia at easter

da dd de dh di dl dn do dr ds dt du dw

dad and dennis addressed the indian dealer

ea ed ee eh ei el en eo er es et eu ew

ernie earned endless deals for leslie

ha hd he hh hi hl hn ho hr hs ht hu hw

her hair has a sheen and she is hot

ia id ie ih ii il in io ir is it iu iw

it is oil in the soil that is inert

la ld le lh li ll ln lo lr ls lt lu lw

all the lads lost lollies and letters

na nd ne nh ni nl nn no nr ns nt nu nw

no one needs a nut near nelson

Introduction to Test One

You may be surprised to know that the top ten most commonly used letters in English written text (1988) make up 74% of the total text.

Ranked in order of overall frequency of use they are as follows:

E - 12.62%,T - 9.33%,O - 7.65%,A - 7.61%,I – 7.34%
N - 7.11%,S - 6.5%,R - 6.15%,H - 5.51%L - 4.11%.

Because we know our alphabet off by heart, once these letters are mastered the remaining characters come easily.

The following test sentences are made up of words that contain only the top ten letters. Try to memorize the sentences first before typing them so that you can go for speed without forsaking accuracy.

The Test sentences, shown below, enable you to keep track of your progress in typing.

You need to be able to time the test sentences and write down the result.

Your first test will establish your present typing speed. You will use this same test later on in the tutorial to register your progress against this standard.

Write your times in minutes and seconds: e.g.:1:35 (one minute and 35 seconds).

Relax and enjoy the journey.

Test One

The test sentence to be typed Date of Test .…/.…/…. / Type your time in here
tell helen to train the lion in the tent
I lost the loot as the train hit the wall
hire or rent a tent in the rain
the oil stain on her shirt is neat
the tin stoat has oil on its tail

Exercise 3

oa od oe oh oi ol on oo or os ot ou ow

the other oars are older than those ordered

ra rd re rh ri rl rn ro rr rs rt ru rw

our real reason rates as serious

sa sd se sh si sl sn so sr ss st su sw

sam and tessa still sit listed sessions

ta td te th ti tl tn to tr ts tt tu tw

tonite lottie is to test toni on tents

ua ud ue uh ui ul un uo ur us ut uu uw

under the stud is a loud sound

wa wd we wh wi wl wn wo wr ws wt wu ww

walter was one when world war two was won

Test Two

Do Test One again and record your results

(If your times for Test 2 are similar to Test 1 don’t worry as you are still at the very beginning of your journey to success.)

Exercise 4

For this exercise you will be using the Alfa-shift key which will enable the orange characters to be typed. E.g.: to type ‘b’, actuate the Alfa-shift key and “Confirm” it, then go to the key marked ‘b’, followed by another “Confirm”. You will have typed ‘b’.

Continue with the exercises as above, and include the outer circle letters as they occur.

ba bd be bh bi bl bn bo br bs bt bu bw

barb and bob sell blue berries in both boats

ca cd ce ch ci cl cn co cr cs ct cu cw

in church the choir croons carols in chorus

fa fd fe fh fi fl fn fo fr fs ft fu fw

fred floated for four days on his flat raft

ga gd ge gh gi gl gn go gr gs gt gu gw

gauge how good greta gets the girls gifts

ja jd je jh ji jl jn jo jr js jt ju jw

jacks jester job will just end in june

ka kd ke kh ki kl kn ko kr ks kt ku kw

ken the king kicked like a kid

ma md me mh mi ml mn mo mr ms mt mu mw

the middle man in the mirror is mad

pa pd pe ph pi pl pn po pr ps pt pu pw

pats puppies are proud pedigree poodles

qa qd qe qh qi ql qn qo qr qs qt qu qw

a quick query of the queen is required

va vd ve vh vi vl vn vo vr vs vt vu vw

all valves in the vehicle moved uneven

xa xd xe xh xi xl xn xo xr xs xt xu xw

extra oxygen is expected to relax rex

ya yd ye yh yi yl yn yo yr ys yt yu yw

any news you yawn too is yesterdays news

za zd ze zh zi zl zn zo zr zs zt zu zw

new zealand zero czar and zodiac all have z

Congratulations, you have just finished typing 2240 characters (including spaces), an amazing achievement for a one fingered typist. You can now relax and move on to the fun part of producing words and sentences without having to hunt for the letters.

Test Three

Do Test One again and record your results

Lesson 2

You have now mastered the letters of the alphabet and need to practice your new skills.

The first exercise in lesson 2 (Exercise 1) comprises straight text copy. Exercise 2 is where all the letters of the alphabet are used in specially constructed sentences to reinforce their relative positions.

Exercise 1

Copy the text from the story shown below. When creating capitals, use the ‘Shift’ key closest to the selected character before actuating it, then confirm the selection.

Chapter fourteen in which the captain is put off his ship

And so it was that the captain was put off his own ship

in a small rowing boat in the middle of the ocean.

For company he was given Wrecks, his dog, but the

mutineers did not have the heart to throw Bill, the

cabin boy, off with him. The captain was also given the

small, fat, red and white striped cannon from his cabin

and a number of decorative cannonballs. He, himself had

been dressed in the suit of heavy armour from the

passage outside the galley. These were not, as it first

seemed, for his own defence. They were in fact an

attempt to make sure his boat would sink and then to

ensure he could not swim when it did.

Exercise 2

The following exercises contain all the letters of the alphabet. Relax and enjoy.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Everyone got excited when crazy Jim practiced kite

flying by the muddy quarry.

Gibbon played the zither while his mother exercised

very quickly with Joyce and Frances.

Exercise 1 (The captain, continued)

The attempt almost worked. The water came up to the

gunwales and was so close to spilling into the boat that it

seemed the slightest ripple would bring doom for the

captain. But luckily for him the sea was flat calm. The

flattest calm he had ever seen. And as long as he was

completely still he could only hope that the boat would

stay afloat.

Exercise 3

Keep up the good work.

Excellent Jonquils, Daffodils and Azaleas can be grown

here every year from imported stock.

We excel at making heavy mauve and azure pots,

suitable for keeping quality jam.

We squeezed over six juicy lemons to find which bugs

keep zapping the fruit.

Exercise 1 (The captain, continued)

When the ship was some distance off, the mutineers,

seeing the boat still sitting on the surface and wishing to

speed its watery end, decided to fire at it. It was clear that

even if they missed, the wave that the cannon shot

produced might be enough to do the job. So a single

cannon was fired over the stern of the ship and the

mutineers then sailed off over the horizon without

another backward look. As it turned out it was this shot

that saved the captains life.

Exercise 4

Rest your eyes and focus on something distant before continuing.

A few quiet relaxation and jogging exercises help

prevent dizzy spells by making you fit.

With every packet of quick to make jelly, receive an

extra big size pad.

People living in Phoenix require well bred horses full of

zest, kept for fancy show jumping.

Exercise 1 (The captain, continued)

Too scared to move lest the rocking let the water come

splashing over the sides and drag the boat down he had

sat motionless and pleaded with Wrecks to jump

overboard. He had figured that the decrease in weight

might be enough to allow him to strip off the armour and

remove the cannonballs. Then he would lift Wrecks back

on board. But no amount of pleading or ordering could

persuade Wrecks to jump, and he lay with his head in his

paws and looked up at the captain with long sad eyes.

Then came the noise of the cannon and when the cannon

ball hit the water with an almighty splash about fifty yards

away the dog stood up and assuming this was some

sort of game he sprang lightly from the rowing boat and

paddled off to fetch it.

Exercise 5

Keep it up you are nearly to the end.

Years ago, deep in the jungle, lived a tribe of women

called Amazons, who killed extra food for their queen.

Eliza had mixed hopes when she travelled to Java in

February to see the king and queen crowned.

The circus duo were happy with the expert performance

of the eleven jugglers, the queer piper and the bucking

zebras.

Exercise 1 (The captain, continued)

The captain immediately saw his chance. The water was

now a fraction of an inch below the gunwales and

movement was possible. Unclamping his armour as

smoothly as possible he was able first to take off the

heavy metal gauntlets. These were followed overboard

by the leggings and spurs and finally the back plate. He

keptthe breast plate and helmet. They might come in

handy.

By the time Wrecks returned looking disappointed not

to have found the object that had made the splash,the

pile of decorative cannonballs had been reduced tojust

one and the immediate danger of sinking was past.

Now all the captain needed to do was find food and water

and make his way to dry land. Surely there must be an

island somewhere within about one hundred miles.

Congratulations, you have just completed the Typing section of this Tutorial and are no doubt sick and tired of exercises. Take heart that you have written well over 1000 words or over 6000 characters (including spaces) using the Notesai keyboard and have done so at the speed of light.

Test Four

Do the test again and record your results

Lesson 6—Punctuation

The two most common used characters of punctuation are the comma and full stop. Both these characters have been placed on the Notesai keyboard to enhance the speed of text creation, and are positioned in the top right of the left circle. A Comma or Full Stop is created by a left hand loop followed by a Confirm then a Space and another Confirm (the space follows in most instances).

The space is of course not compulsory, and can be bypassed easily by looping low, or not ‘Confirming’ to the centre circle cluster.