The Dvorak keyboard is a keyboard with a different key layout than the QWERTY layout. Dr. August Dvorak and William Dealy developed the Dvorak keyboard in 1936. You can see that the Dvorak keyboard is known as the simple keyboard or the simplified keyboard. However, in most cases the design failed to attract much attention and the QWERTY layout is much more popular.
The Dvorak keyboard layout places the vowels in common use toward the center.
There are some indications that the Dvorak keyboard may result in faster typing for those skilled in using it, due to the placement of the letters. In 1985, Barbara Blackburn won the Guinness Book of World Records title of “World’s Fastest Typist” using a Dvorak keyboard. Her top speed measured at 212 words per minute, and her fifty minute typing speed was an average of 150 words per minute.
Those who “search and peck” at keyboards may have trouble with a Dvorak keyboard.
Many believe that Blackburn’s success is directly related to the principles that Dvorak had in mind when determining where to place the keys on the Dvorak keyboard. The most frequently used letters are in the middle row, and the top row also contains the most frequently used letters. The bottom line contains the least used letters. Also, most of the most frequently used letters are on the right side of the keyboard and support right-hand dominance.
But above all, part of the principle of the Dvorak keyboard is to increase the speed by changing hands to write each letter. The most common words are usually consonant, vowel and consonant. In the middle row of the Dvorak keyboard, the board is divided between all the vowels on the left and the most common consonants on the right.
Most new computers have software available to convert a regular keyboard to a Dvorak keyboard. However, if someone is learning the style, they may need to customize the keyboard to see which letters are different on the Dvorak keyboard.
Dvorak also designed several keyboards for one-handed typing. They are designed separately for use with right-hand or left-hand writing. With the one-handed typing that always accompanies text messages, they can become more popular.
It is likely that the QWERTY writing format will continue to be taught more than the Dvorak keyboard, although there is support for the conversion. Not all old keyboards can be converted, and typists or people who search and peck occasionally need to see what letters they are playing. This is perhaps unfortunate, as tests of the Dvorak keyboard indicate that it is likely to be more efficient.
