Unit 4 Competency 1
What is QWERTY?
Directions: You will learn about the history of the typewriter and about QWERTY in this WebQuest. Make sure to
answer all questions. There are 14 questions in this activity.
1. Add a Blank 3 column footer with your name, period, and date. Save in your directory as: QWERTY_1st initial
and last name. (ex.: QWERTY_JSmith)
2. Hold the Ctrl key and left click the web address to visit the websites.
3. Answer the questions below. You can key your answer or copy/paste.
Question/Hyperlinks
Your Answer/Response
Use the following link to answer questions 1-3:
http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/firsttw.html
1. The first typewriter was called what?
2. Which years was the first typewriter produced?
3. Which keyboard did the original Sholes and Gidden typewriter use?
(HINT: Look in the last paragraph on the page.)
Use the following link to answer questions 4 & 5:
http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/index.html
Sholes & Glidden Type Writer
1874-1878
QWERTY
122 years old
4. How old is this
keyboard?
Sholes & Glidden Typewriter of 1874
5. What is this a picture of
?
Use the following link to answer questions 6-11:
http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/whyqwert.html
6. Where does the name “QWERTY” for our typewriter keyboard come
the first six letters in the top alphabet row
from?
(the one just below the numbers)
7. The QWERTY keyboard is also called what?
the "Universal" keyboard
8. When Sholes built his first model in 1868, the keys were arranged in
alphabetically in two rows
what order?
9. The first typewriter had its letters on the end of rods called
he had to take the most common letter pairs
"typebars." If two typebars were near each other in the circle, they
such as "TH" and make sure their typebars
would tend to clash into each other when typed in succession. So, Sholes hung at safe distances
figured what?
10. The first machines (typewriters) only typed what?
Capital letters
11. The new Remington No. 2 (in 1878) offered both upper and lower
Shift Key
case by adding the familiar ___________________.
Use the following link to answer questions 12-14:
http://www.answers.com/topic/dvorak-simplified-keyboard?nr=1&lsc=true&cat=technology
A keyboard whose layout is altered from
12. What is a Dvorak keyboard? (Definition)
that of the standard qwerty keyboard to
speed up typing; more of the frequently
used keys are on the home row.
13. ________ of words are typed on the home row of the Dvorak
keyboard compared to 32% with qwerty, and more words are typed
using both hands.
14. The Dvorak layout was intended for the ___________ language.
70%
English