Five Apps To Improve Typing Speed & Accuracy

/0 Comments/in , , , /by Jocelyn Mackie

For any transcriptionist, accuracy and speed are paramount to your success. You can develop these skills on the job, but you risk compromising quality. Regularly devoting time to skill improvement is the best way to reliably improve your typing skills.

Fortunately, there are many typing apps available that vary from serious and clinical, to fun and silly. It depends on the skills you want to enhance and what platform work best for you personally when it comes to your learning style and preference. The five apps below offer a variety of options to help you improve your typing skills. Consider giving one or all a try.

1. Ratatype

Ratatype is a full-service typing education platform featuring tutoring and testing. You take an initial typing test when you first visit the website and after that, you have the opportunity to sign up with an email address or Facebook account. The resources offered by this site are not available to you unless you create an account but they are free once you are signed in.

Fortunately, this effort proves to be worth it. One resource includes a brief overview of touch typing, which you likely know if you already perform transcription. However, if you are self-taught or have gaps in this skill, the tutorial contains extra tips you may missed at some point. Posture, finger position, and even the distance between you and the monitor are all topics in this overview. If you are an experienced typist, you can at least consider the overview a good checklist for making sure you don’t have any gaps in your knowledge.

The other resource Ratatype offers is their typing tutor. It offers a series of exercises to develop your typing speed and accuracy. They start very basic with letters on the home row and then expand into complex combinations. None of the combinations involve real words which makes them more challenging than you might expect. As you complete each exercise, the difficult improves and you gain informal certifications along the way. There’s also a typing test available so you can check your speed again as you complete exercises.

2. 10fastfingers.com

10fastfingers.com offers the tests and tutorials similar to Ratatype with an extra element—international competition! Choose the correct language first (or you won’t stand a chance) and prepare to enter an epic battle over the title of quickest keyboarder. Top scores post once the competition concludes. Most rounds last 60 minutes and accommodate whoever enters them in that time period.

You can track your progress by opening an account with the website, which is free. Even if you’re not the competitive type, there are still tools available to help you improve. There are also typing tests involving the most commonly used words. Choose between the one with the 200 most common words or the advanced test with 1,000 of the top words. There is also a text practice screen and an app that will help your typing speed on mobile devices too. It is unlikely you would transcribe on a mobile device, but if you want to text faster, then this can’t hurt.

3. TypeRacer

You can consider TypeRacer a cuter version of the first two. It works on an automotive racing theme that is easy to master. You control a race car with your typing speed; you gain speed if you are quick and accurate and lose it when you make mistakes. The text you type is pulled from books and popular games, giving you an assortment of complexity in the material.

Choose a single-player “race” to practice or get involved in competitions with other users. Unlike the worldwide 10fastfingers.com, this is a field of five which can feel a little less intimidating.  Once you finish your race, it will indicate your typing speed and the source of your material. Races also show the words-per-minute of your competitors which will give you an idea of how your skills stack up.

Of all the apps, this one makes typing mistakes the most noticeable. When you miss a letter or type the wrong one, your car stops and the field turns red. It stays that color until you fix it. This can be a good tool if your accuracy suffers and you tend not to notice the errors until you finish.

If you wish to track your progress or maintain bragging rights on a high score list, you need to register. But if you wish to enter races as that mysterious dark horse named “Guest”, that option is also available to you.

4. Keyboard Ninja

Keyboard Ninja is there for you when you want to learn from something less serious. Based on the Fruit Ninja game popular on tablets, this is a fun option that helps you better coordinate where your fingers land on your keyboard.

There are many options for difficulty. You can limit your practice to the home, top or bottom row, the numbers pad or include all letters. There are also three levels: easy, medium, and hard. If you choose the hard level and include all the keys, prepare for extra challenge!

Like Fruit Ninja, the object is to slice fruit before it falls to the ground, but avoid the bombs. The difference is you type the letter or number that corresponds with the fruit, rather than run your finger across a touch pad. If you hit a letter attached to a bomb, your game is over. This will help with accuracy and definitely improve your hand-eye coordination—an often overlooked skill with transcription.

5. Tommy Q

Many keyboarding games have a basic concept: Hit letters in order to affect a certain action whether that is slicing fruit or popping balloons. Tommy Q is unique from many games in that it not only requires typing full words but also using the arrow keys. It also contains elements of strategy that make it seem more like a video game than a tool for enhancing job skills. However, it works very well for the latter.

You will enjoy Tommy Q if you are a zombie aficionado as well as a transcriptionist. In this game, zombie hoards invade Tommy’s backyard. He defends his turf with a hand cannon that shoots baseballs. As you type the words associated with a zombie, Tommy shoots out a tennis ball and when you successfully complete the word, the zombie is dead. You gain points by typing correctly and lose points with mistakes.

However, the game offers further complexities besides typing that will expand your keyboarding proficiency. You also need to position Tommy with the arrow keys before you type and shoot. The game also makes “power-up” items available that you gain by typing their words. With all the different dynamics involved in this game, you will likely find it much more entertaining than your typical typing tests and a good reprieve from work, as well as some needed education.

The best part of all these apps is that they encourage what you need most to improve at transcription jobs and typing speed: Practice. It does not matter which one you choose as long as you can remain consistent.

10 Grammar Mistakes No Transcriptionist Should Make

/4 Comments/in , /by Tracy Theodoroff

 

If you’re a transcriptionist, there’s a good chance you find yourself correcting everyone else’s grammar.

But you just can’t help yourself, can you?

Hey, the fact that incorrect grammar and spelling irks us is what makes us good at our transcription jobs.

Am I right, and can I get a heck yeah?

So while the rest of the world would rather watch paint dry, let’s rejoice in taking a moment to make sure our mad grammar skills are truly up to snuff.

Here are ten easily made grammatical errors that we transcriptionists must be sure to avoid. These examples are typical of what I often see in my insurance transcription job, but these tips should apply to all types of transcription work. Most of these grammar mistakes are homophones (a word pronounced the same as another, but having a different meaning). And if you’re unintentionally changing the meaning of a transcript…that’s never a good thing.

All right. Show me what you’ve got! You get extra brownie points for getting all of them correct without cheating.

 

1) Did you need to hire an (aid/aide) to help you out at home after your injuries?

Survey says aide is the correct answer here, because an aide is an assistant, while aid is a form of help. So, like, to make that as clear as mud, take a look at this example.

I really need an aide to clean my house and bake me some cookies, because this walking aid is getting in my way.

Can you aid me in getting an aide?

 

2) Based on his (affect/effect), I’d say he was seething over what happened in the accident.

Affect is usually a verb, and effect is usually a noun.

Except when they aren’t.

I see people making this grammar mistake all the time. Affect is a noun when referring to the appearance of someone’s mood, and effect used as a verb means to bring about.

Despite his apathetic affect, he still wanted to effect change in the policy.

What’s the above answer then? Affect. I bet you didn’t expect your online transcription job to involve so much grammar, did ya?

I personally love Grammar Girl when I get stuck on this one.

 

3) Sure, the (principle/principal) I owe on the loan is way less than the car is worth, but it’s the (principle/principal), because the accident wasn’t my fault.

This is another one of those grammar mistakes I see fairly often in my insurance transcription work.

Maybe you’ve heard the old adage, there’s a pal in principal. It was supposed to help you remember the correct spelling for the guy whose office you got sent to when in trouble at school. But principal is also a sum of money that draws interest while principle is a general truth or rule.

So mark yourself correct if you chose principal and principle, respectively, as the answers above.

 

4) Have you been a freelance transcriptionist for (awhile/a while)?

I’m not going to bore you to death here with explanations of adverbs versus phrases. Instead, I’ll offer this tip for avoiding this grammar mistake: Take awhile and replace it with another adverb such as “loudly,” “quickly,” “silently,” or whatever floats your boat.

Were you at the light for quickly or not for very long?

Yeah, that clearly makes no sense, right?

Now, take a while and replace the while with an actual period of time, like a month, year, or whatever you’d like.

Were you at the light for a year or not for very long?

So in this example, a while is the correct answer, no Schoolhouse Rock needed. But if you want a more in-depth explanation, you can always visit the Grammarist.

 

5) Had you already (past/passed) the stop sign when the other car hit you?

Again, to avoid making you wish you could dig your eyeballs out with a spoon, it’s shortcut time. This one is great, especially if you’re an insurance transcriptionist.

When referring to movement, substitute “moved past” in your sentence. If it works, then use passed. If not, then past is the one to use.

Had you already moved past the stop sign when the other car hit you? Or, I drove moved past the stop sign before he hit me.

See. The second sentence doesn’t sound right, which means you should use past.

According to Grammar-Monster, “Passed is the past tense of to pass. For everything else, use past.” Pass it on!

Wow. You’re getting pretty good at this. Work-from-home transcriptionist or grammar pro? It’s getting hard to tell!

 

6) I just want to (ensure/insure) we get all of the facts of the loss.

This one is relatively straightforward, but often confused. To ensure is to make certain, while insure means to protect against loss (uh, duh, like insurance, right?).

We want to ensure we’ve got those facts of loss straight!

This is one of the simpler grammar mistakes to correct.

 

7) Are you having the pain (every day/everyday) or just occasionally?

Every day refers to each day, as in:

I drive my sister bonkers every day.

Everyday is an adjective that means daily or ordinary, like:

Shall we take the Aston Martin or the everyday car instead?

The answer here is every day.

 

8) She needs an interpreter because she just (emigrated/immigrated) from Mexico and doesn’t speak English.

You emigrate when exiting a country. You immigrate when coming into a country. See a pattern here with those initial letters? Emigrate, exit. Immigrate, in.

So what’s the answer?

The lady in question emigrated (exited) from Mexico.

 

9) Did you feel the accident was (eminent/imminent/immanent) or were you completely unaware that it was going to happen? 

According to Merriam-Webster, eminent means well-known, imminent refers to something about to happen, and immanent is something inherent or present within.

Maybe it was an eminent diplomat who immanently knew the accident was imminent.

 

10) The students went on a trip to the state (capital/capitol) last week.

Use capital when referring to the primary city in a country, province, region, or state, which is usually (but not always) the seat of the government.

The capital of Oregon is Salem.

Capital can also mean the money that a person or business has in their possession. It refers to the letter that starts a proper noun or sentence. Oh! And one more–it can also refer to a severe type of crime, which can result in the death penalty.

Use capitol with an “o” when referring to a building that holds a government’s legislative branch.

Capitol Hill is where the United States Congress regularly convenes.

 

And that’s all for now, fellow transcriptionists! How did you do, honestly? What grammar mistakes trip you up regularly? Leave a note in the comments and let us know!

 

——————————————-

Psst! We’re hiring. If you’re an awesome transcriptionist looking for something new, click below to see our open positions.

Click to Transcribe for Us_button

——————————————-

How To Speed Up Your Transcription Turnaround Time (TAT)

/28 Comments/in , /by Karla Ellison

Turnaround time (TAT) is a big deal for transcriptionists. The more you can increase your transcription speed, the more you can make as a freelance transcriptionist. Quick turnaround times also make you more attractive to employers and clients.

But, how can you work faster?

One of the more common myths about transcription turnaround times is that typing speed is the biggest factor in how fast you transcribe. Sure, being a hunt and peck typist isn’t going to help you. And it seems logical to say that a speedy typist should automatically be capable of a shorter transcription TAT.

But it’s not the case.

Why?

Because most online transcription jobs require far more than just typing. They also involve listening, research, comprehension, mind reading (wait, was that my outside voice?) and the ability to handle all of those things at once without missing a beat.

According to TypingPal, the average typing speed is 40 wpm. This would translate to roughly 4-8 time the length of the recording, depending on various factors.

So, let’s take a look at six real factors that might affect your transcription job turnaround speed. First, we’ll touch on factors that are important to understand, but outside your control. Then we’ll look at what you can actually do to improve your transcript turnaround time.

 

6 turnaround time factors outside your control

1) The number of speakers

A one-speaker file is generally easier to transcribe than one with many participants. Having said that, there are always exceptions. For instance, if someone is speaking fast, has a heavy accent and is discussing highly technical terminology, you’ll spend longer transcribing the document.

2) The audio quality

Obviously, subpar audio quality requires continual rewinding and re-listening to understand what is being said. The better the audio quality, the better shot you’ll have at a shorter transcription turnaround time.

3) How fast the speakers are talking

This is another one of those factors that’s outside your control that you might not have considered. You can’t control how quickly people speak. Consider the difference between a slow, clear speaker who takes long pauses versus an auctioneer. Guess which one will be faster for you to transcribe?

And fast isn’t always better. Consider the case of Coach Bobby Bowden who was called “the toughest man to transcribe in all of sports.” He spoke at 350 words per minute. Yikes!

4) The time it takes to proof a transcript

Checking for accuracy is a must. Many transcriptionists proof as they go and then do a final once-over to catch anything they might have missed.

Others proof to audio, meaning they listen through an entire file a second (or third) time while looking over their completed transcript to weed out any remaining errors.

Either way, proofing takes time and has to be figured into your overall turnaround ratio.

And make sure your headphones aren’t making proofing more difficult than necessary.

5) The amount of research required

No matter what type of transcription job you have, some degree of research will always be necessary.

If you’re working with highly technical material and have to stop every other word to look up unfamiliar terminology, that 10-minute file might well take you over an hour to complete—regardless of your experience.

Familiarity is the key to efficiency, so if you run into many of the same terms and phrases repeatedly in your online transcription job (as is often the case with insurance transcription), consider yourself lucky. You’ll be in an excellent position to create shortcuts and enhance your productivity.

6) The transcription style

Think about the different types of transcription styles out there—clean-read verbatim versus verbatim versus non-verbatim…and the list goes on.

It might seem that having to capture every utterance or sound would be more time consuming than being able to breeze along and leave those things out of the transcript. But, that’s not always the case. Creating a clean-read transcript from audio that is chock-full of false starts and tangents can be arduous as well, creating a drag on your transcript turnaround time.

Yes, there are many factors in your transcription job that are simply outside your control when you receive an audio file, but the good news is that there ARE steps you can take to improve your turnaround time.

 

3 Ways to speed up your turnaround time

1) Use transcription productivity tools to increase your output

One of the simplest ways to improve at your online transcription job is by utilizing Word’s AutoCorrect or Macro features. Word expander software such as Instant Text or Shorthand can also greatly increase your productivity and reduce your turnaround time. And a foot pedal is a must-have.

2) Practice with dialects and accents

There are many dialects and accents out there. If you’re not personally familiar with them, it’s hard to know if you’re hearing what you think you’re hearing. Ear training comes with practice. But, in the meantime, it can slow you down.

The International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA) website has an extensive, freely-accessible database of audio and corresponding transcripts, covering English-language dialects and accents as heard around the world. Here you’ll find a huge inventory of audio categorized by a person’s original language. You can listen to the speaker audio while viewing the transcribed text. Practicing here can help you improve your ear—and your transcript turnaround time.

3) Improve your office ergonomics

Your neck and shoulders ache, you have an eyestrain migraine, and your wrists zing every time you strike a key on that keyboard. Needless to say, if your setup isn’t ergonomically sound and you’re feeling discomfort, you might find it hard to be productive and efficient.

If you’re interested in making ergonomic improvements to your workspace setup, check out our post about transcriptionist ergonomics for work-from-home transcriptionists.

One more bonus tip—don’t give up!

When I was first starting out as a transcriptionist, I was extremely fortunate to have a wonderful professional mentor whose wise words I’ve never forgotten. I experienced a very rough first day at my transcription job in which my turnaround time was way too embarrassing to divulge here.

I felt like I was never going to be able to do this transcription thing!

She told me that even very experienced transcriptionists, when faced with a new job, account, or type of transcription, felt just like I did that day—as if they’re starting all over. She explained that it came with the territory, that the speed and efficiency would come with familiarity and time, and that there would always be days like this. But there would also be much, much better days.

In that moment, instead of feeling inadequate and awful, I felt hopeful. She was right. And her advice still holds true to this day.

 

So, what TAT should you aim for?

Shoot for a 4:1 or 3:1 transcript turnaround time

There is no hard and fast rule for how long any given unit of audio will take a transcriptionist to complete. Many transcriptionists, myself included, shoot for a 4:1 or 3:1 TAT, finishing an hour of audio in three to four hours. But that’s an average—sometimes you’ll have files you can complete in less time, and sometimes, you’ll just have one of those days. Just remember, the more experience you gain, the more efficient you’ll become overall.

So let’s hear from you now. What’s your average transcript turnaround time?

Allegis Legal Transcription Services

/1 Comment/in /by Allegis


The Role of a Legal Transcriptionist in the Court System

1) Clarity

Witnesses who backtrack in an interview, deposition or even on the stand can be effectively contradicted, thanks to the use of legal transcripts based on audio recordings. The entire premise of “I didn’t say that…” in a courtroom becomes a moot point because the judge can rely on a fuller, clearer record of the audio playback. While some court reporters may have captured the goings-on in a courtroom through their records, there is always a chance that they may have heard incorrectly. Transcripts based on audio recordings effectively eliminate the question of validity entirely.

For their part, legal transcriptionists using digital audio recordings can go back, review the incident as many times as needed and capture all of the spoken words, isolating different players in a deposition or courtroom and assigning them a role in the transcribed document with clarity.

2) Transparency

There are several cases where transcripts based on audio recordings have helped further the aims of transparency that court reporting, in general, is supposed to provide to a citizenry.

In other words, it keeps things honest. Governing bodies can also use the transcripts of recordings to verify judges’ behavior, using them wherever there is a question of a judge’s integrity, or a chance for corruption and misconduct.

Accountability is a direct consequence of increased transparency. With clear digital recordings and accurate transcripts, trial participants can expect access to these recordings with increased speed. This makes transcripts from digitally recorded proceedings a highly useful tool for verification.

3) Improving access to justice

Appellate courts obviously stand the most to gain from clear, transparent and accessible transcripts. When a case is appealed, a defendant needs to have access to an official record of the court proceedings relating to their trial.

This goes double if the trial is lengthy and unfolds over a period of years. Procuring court reporters’ official written transcripts is both a time-consuming and expensive process, slowing both the defendant’s search for justice as well as the judicial process as a whole.

Digital recordings and transcripts offer courts the ability to export digital media files and documents that are ready for review faster, with greater accuracy. This fast procurement allows other tangentially-related players — such as media reporters covering a case for citizen knowledge — a well-expedited process.

Courts are always in control of their files and transcripts but accessing these files — for journalists and laypeople — can be a streamlined process.

4) A fuller picture for juries

In State v. Olkon, a Minnesota case that involved Ellis Olkon and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft, the jury had to follow a cautionary instruction on the use of transcripts of audio recordings.

Essentially, if juries wish to listen to audio recordings during deliberations, they have to be returned to the courtroom and furnished with the transcript of the recording so they can consult this transcript while audio playback is occurring (Minn. Crim. R. Pro. 26.03, subd. 20(2) (b)).