Hi All, When I learned to touch type in high school, we used an application similar to "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing" that drilled character sequences into my muscle memory. I think there was a real advantage to this approach over simply stumbling through the process of learning to type. The application chose intentionally difficult sequences and required that I practice those ones over and over again. The result was that I could touch type the unusual sequences at nearly the same rate as regular sequences, and my overall achievement in touch typing was quite remarkable. (I have since lost my edge, as I now only type at about 85 WPM).
This approach to learning seems very similar to what modern psychology has identified as the way in which people become experts: Deliberate Practice [1]. The idea is that expertise is not accidental and comes through a designed learning process [2]. Some of the important elements include: 1. Identifying specific elements that need to be improved and then working intently on them. 2. A great deal of repetition. 3. Feedback. I am fairly new to Vim and am interested in taking a disciplined approach to learning how to navigate and modify code using its powerful stateful approach to text editing. In particular, I want to eventually learn how to refactor code without thinking too much about what keys I'm pressing. Are there any "Mavis Beacon Teaches Vim" type programs or plugins out there that would help me accomplish this? Thank you, Duane Johnson [1] (PDF) http://projects.ict.usc.edu/itw/gel/EricssonDeliberatePracticePR93.pdf [2] http://www.openeducation.net/2008/11/02/deliberate-practice-%E2%80%93-where-self-reflection-work-ethic-and-ambition-meet/ -- You received this message from the "vim_use" maillist. Do not top-post! Type your reply below the text you are replying to. For more information, visit http://www.vim.org/maillist.php To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject.
