One Handed Optimization; Typing with the Twiddler
When cellular phones initially hit the scene, the concept of a portable telephone was revolutionary. While rudimentary compared to today’s devices, their utility at the time was unmatched, in particular the ability to operate as a computer despite their size. However, a certain barrier to entry made them somewhat clunky, and was eventually made obsolete as designs on mobile phones evolved towards haptic feedback application and touch screen controls. This barrier was the multitap keyboard; a system requiring users to repeatedly press individual keys in order to input specific characters. The smart phones of the early aughts used these types of inputs, and were an iteration on the personal digital assistants, or PDAs, which used a stylus and touch controls but had no calling functionality. These devices were intuitive on their own, but some particularly savvy users desired to feel more like they’re technology was a part of them, not just an item.
Creating the Next Tactile Tool of Choice
Portable displays, mobile speakers and headphones, and of particular note for me, standalone, on-the-go keyboards. Almost a decade before some of the original, multitap smartphone keyboards were on the market, Handykey prototyped the original Twiddler in 1992. A one handed, chorded keyboard that was wired up to your device of choice, and was made to make on the go typists lives simpler and less conspicuous. Type from your pocket and have the results print to displays in the lenses, or portable displays on the brim of your hat. Of course, it’s probably not quite that simple. When I mentioned farther up that the Twiddler was a chorded keyboard, you may have scratched your head at that. If you’re familiar with common smartphones today, you’re likely used to having a standard, QWERTY keyboard present on the touchscreen when focused on a text field. Chorded keyboards function like chords on a guitar; inputting a combination of keys generates a specific character.
Despite its advertised intent, it might be clear to see why the design didn’t quite catch on compared to touch keyboards. The design seems convoluted, and some people even conducted an observation on how they might improve the typing skills of novice users of the device. However, what interests me is the way that it might also be applicable to people who struggle to type with normal keyboards. While researching the potential differences between learning QWERTY keyboarding and learning Twiddler skills, I encountered an older article on teaching typing skills to children with learning disabilities.
Using the Twiddler for Aspiring Typists
Many of the observations conducted in this study involve the way that long, unbroken sessions of learning how to type with minimal supervision can be frustrating for younger students. The paper mentioned a conducted observation of 14 children with learning disabilities and noted how they performed and improved over a six month period given varying levels of instruction. While completing this observation, a couple of key points of contention for the students were noted. One of the items I thought was interesting given the Twiddler’s purpose was the focus on diverting attention away from the typing device and towards the monitor. By ensuring that attention is split between these two, it was noted by the paper that overall performance improved when children were able to focus on what they were typing without referencing their hands. One of the children was even quoted as saying that the task was more difficult when using both of their hands.
This is especially interesting given that the Twiddler is still being manufactured today, under the company TekGear. They come in all different kinds of colors, are available wireless, and can even be synced with supporting software called the Twiddler Tuner. You can use this to customize the specific keystrokes you’re comfortable with for your individual device. I’d love to see if this customization feature could be used to help more people that might need accessibility considerations. One handed typing might end up helping amputees or paralytic people utilize computers more efficiently. The Twiddler might even be useful for re-examining how we teach children typing, potentially as a new method to help learning disabled children improve their keyboarding skills.
References and Further Reading
A few of these were retrieved via JStor, a research tool. You might need an account to visit them, or be working/taking classes at an institution that provides you with access!
Weiss, P. (1999). Smart Outfit. Science News, 156(21), 330–332. Retrieved April 7, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4012016 : This piece was a great point of reference for talking about other pieces of wearable technology, and how being inconspicuous was a big point for the market moving forward. It’s also where I retrieved the side-by-side view of said “smart outfits”.
https://twiddler.tekgear.com/tuner/ : A link to the current Twiddlers companion software Tuner, mentioned above. Check out the manual and documentation, also included in these references, for some of the cool features available with the current build that weren’t covered here.
https://twiddler.tekgear.com/doc/doku.php : A copy of the current Twiddlers manual and documentation. Contains instructions on how to use the above support software, as well as more in-depth details about it’s capabilities and construction
https://www.cc.gatech.edu/home/thad/p/030_10_MTE/twiddler-novice.pdf : An article on improving typing skills with the Twiddler, if you’re interested. Contains a profile of study participants and their speeds and proficiency with the Twiddler. While it’s an older paper, it should still shed some light on the skill required to use it effectively, and how we take modern typing skill for granted.
Neuman, S., & Morocco, C. (1987). Two Hands Is Hard for Me: Keyboarding and Learning Disabled Children. Educational Technology, 27(12), 36–38. Retrieved April 8, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44424962 : A paper on keyboarding in learning disabled children. Also an older source, but it was instructive for my thoughts on utilizing the Twiddler as both an alternative and an aide for up and coming typists.
BECKMAN, D., & HIRSCH, D. (2001). Just Married: Cell Phone and Palm: Merger of mobility and muscle produces pocket-size prodigy. ABA Journal, 87(12), 68–69. Retrieved April 8, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27841915 : An article on one of the original Palm handheld ‘smartphones’, and was useful in forming the initial section of this post on early digital assistants and mobile devices.
