The Magic Behind the TypeWell Dictionary (Part 2)

Photo of a scrabble game in progress. The words "HAPPY," "GEAR," and "VAINS" are visible

When someone sends TypeWell a word suggestion to add to the abbreviation dictionary, I personally look up each word in a variety of dictionaries to try to verify that it’s a real word. Sometimes the “word” is really a misspelling or lesser usage of the proper word, and I’ll discuss those with the submitter to decide what to do. Even if a word is “improper,” we’ll often include it in the dictionary because if a teacher says an improper word, well, you need to capture that. So improper words are a feature, too.

The Magic Behind the TypeWell Dictionary (Part 1)

A stack of old hardcover books on top of a closed laptop

Counter to what most people might think, minimizing keystrokes is not the only goal of the TypeWell abbreviation system. We also have to consider the issue of learnability, and how real users function in a classroom transcribing environment.