''Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing'' is an

application software Application software is any computer program that is intended for end-user use not operating, administering or programming the computer. An application (app, application program, software application) is any program that can be categorized as ...

program designed to teach

touch typing Touch typing (also called blind typing, or touch keyboarding) is a style of typing. Although the phrase refers to typing without using the sense of visual perception, sight to find the keys—specifically, a touch typist will know their location ...

. Released in late 1987 by The Software Toolworks, the program aimed to enhance users' typing skills through a series of interactive lessons and games. Mavis Beacon is an entirely fictional character, created for marketing purposes.

History

Background

Founded by

Les Crane Les Crane (born Lesley Stein; December 3, 1933 – July 13, 2008) was an American radio announcer, television host, and actor. A pioneer in interactive broadcasting, he is also known for his 1971 spoken-word recording of the poem ''Desiderata'' ...

, Walt Bilofsky, and Mike Duffy, The Software Toolworks became widely known for developing '' Chessmaster 2000'', a popular chess simulator. Norm Worthington and Mike Duffy also contributed significantly to the development of the program. The character Mavis Beacon, famously associated with teaching typing, was originally portrayed by Haitian-born model Renee L'Esperance. The name "Mavis" was inspired by

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel music, gospel singer and civil rights activism, activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving memb ...

, the lead vocalist of

The Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American Gospel music, gospel, soul music, soul, and Rhythm and blues, R&B singing group. Pops Staples, Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group w ...

, while the surname "Beacon" was selected for its connotation of guidance and light. Les Crane, a former talk-show host and an early partner in ''The Software Toolworks'', played an integral role in creating the persona of Mavis Beacon.

Development

The program's early versions supported both the traditional QWERTY keyboard layout and the alternative Dvorak Simplified Keyboard layout.Since its initial release in 1987, ''Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing'' has undergone numerous iterations. The 2011 Ultimate Mac Edition by Software MacKiev introduced two-player competitive typing network games, integration with iTunes, Dvorak keyboard support, practice typing song lyrics, RSS news feeds, and classic novels. In 2021, Encore, Inc. released ''Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 2020''.

Sales

In 1999, the series had sold over six million copies. In 2000, two products from the franchise were on the Top Selling Educational Software list. ''Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 10.0'' was in the fourth position, and ''Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 5.0'' was ranked eighth. Distributions of the software include

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

, Commodore 64, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Mac (computer), Mac, Microsoft Windows, Palm OS, and Amiga.

Documentary

In 2024, a documentary titled ''Seeking Mavis Beacon'' premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, which investigates the origin of Mavis Beacon. The creators of the film discovered that the image of a corporate-attired Black woman on the software packaging was not of someone named Mavis Beacon, but rather a Haitian model named Renee L'Esperance. She was paid $500 for posing for the marketing photo, wasn't involved in the development or the sales of the software, and did not share in any of the presumably significant profits generated by the product. L'Esperance herself neither appears in nor is directly quoted in the documentary.

Gameplay

Users can find themselves racing a virtual car by accurately typing words that appear on the screen. The program also includes typing drills that present users with passages of text to type out, which provides a comprehensive overview of their progress. Successful completion of lessons and tests can result in the achievement of certificates.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' technology writer Peter Lewis noted its potential to improve typing skills in 1987. ''

Compute! ''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', is an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET. ...

'' magazine's review in 1989 supports the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard.

Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British monthly computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when Future split '' ST/Amiga Format'' into two separate pub ...

's Paul Tyrrell praised its user-friendly design. Nick Veitch of CU Amiga noted that the program was more interesting than traditional educational packages. ''Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Version 5'' was described as a "well-polished program" by Superkids.

Legacy

Minigames A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than th ...

in the ''Mavis Beacon'' series are credited with being some of the progenitors of the typing game genre of video games, typically inventive, low-budget

indie games An indie video game or indie game (short for independent video game) is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large Video game publisher, game publisher, in contrast to ...

. While these games are often still assumed to be educational in nature, many of them go beyond being educational games in order to fully utilize typing as a control method.

References

External links

''Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing'' by Encore
(Windows and Mac editions)

(Mac OS X edition) * {{moby game, id=/mavis-beacon-teaches-typing