1. Introduction

1.1. Courses in Data Processing and Teacher-Training

(1) The storyline

In spite of professional protest teaching shorthand and typing regressed to the level that of prior to the 1950s. Both skills had been taught mainly as extra subjects before that for some 80 years. Teacher-training had also been problematic. On the one hand quite many pupils learnt shorthand and typing in vocational training, on the other hand there were few teachers holding a university degree. This was due to the fact that most teachers simply applied (mostly for personal reasons) after some hours’ training and „teacher-training” and passed an exam before a committee and got a certificate in teaching typing and shorthand. But this certificate was hardly more than that of a vocational trainer’s. There were some initiatives in the 1950s (with diplomas issued by colleges). Teacher-training started in 1974 (yet again, unfortunately, not at a university level) at Nyíregyháza College (which was that time called „Bessenyei György Teacher-Training College”).[1]

(2) Teaching Shorthand and Typing Today in Vocational Training

Today in education one can hardly recognize the original labels of these subjects. We can find them among trainings belonging to the set of fields in business administration, namely as courses within vocational training in three main areas:

a) office and business administrational chores concerning word processing (e.g., word and document processing, editing, filing, office administration’s duties,etc.).

b) duties of security, local government, authority-related, controlling and quality assurance,

c) duties in customer service, client-contact.[2]

2. Training Possibilities and Educational Institutes

2.1. Vocational Trainings with a Panel of Word Processing in Business Administration

In Hungary there is a wide range of business administration trainings and as shown in Table 1. certain kinds of touch-typing and/or word processing are thought in each.

2.2. Vocational Trainings in Business Administration with a Shorthand Panel

None of the trainings included in the table above has a shorthand module. It is solely included among the subjects to be taught in the two vocational trainings for office assistants as it is shown in Table 2.

Professional requirements

− The second task in the test for speech notation stenographers consists of a 7 minutes’ long dictation at a 200 syllables/minute speed to be taken down in shorthand; the conversion of shorthand notes to word processor and shaping it into either a document or into minutes.

− The second task in the test for reporters is a 5 minutes’ long dictation at a speed of 150 syllables/minute to be taken down in shorthand; and converting these notes into a record.[11]

Unfortunately, we do not have sufficient data of the number of training locations where shorthand training is available; at locations represented on the Internet training for speech notation stenography varies in the number of teaching hours.

As it is shown in Table 3. court-reporting stenographers’ training is capital based. There have been two further by the search engine for the profession in Hungary. But the links do not provide any factual data. These training locations are most probably certified, however, they may not provide training in this area.

The search engine has not found any hit for ongoing minute-book keeping/reporting training in Hungary at present.

Table 1. Vocational trainings that include touch-typing and word processing Level of training Label of training Title of the subject Former title of the subject Location of training Vocational training in higher education Legal assistant[3] Typing and Correspondence Typing; Correspondence skills secondary education, higher education Law enforcement assistant[4] secondary education, higher education Vocational training in higher education Special business administrator[5](Trade manager in a foreign language, Business administrator) Word and document processing Typing; Correspondence skills secondary education, higher education Advanced level vocational training Secretary in business administration[6](Secretary in a foreign language, School secretary, Managing secretary) Typing and documenting Typing; Correspondence skills secondary education and training courses Customer service manager in a foreign language[7] Typing, word and table processing Typing; Correspondence skills Basics in word processing secondary education and training courses Secondary level vocational training Customized customer service assistant[8] Typing, word and table processing secondary education and training courses Phone and digital help-desk assistant[9] Typing, word and table processing Typing; Correspondence skills Basics in word processing secondary education and training courses Secondary level vocational training Office assistant[10](Typist, Typist-drafter) Typing and documenting Typing; Correspondence skills secondary education and training courses

Table 2. Vocational trainings including shorthand-writing Level of training Label of training Title of the subject Former title of the subject Location of training Intermediate training Speech notation stenographer Stenographic Speech Notation Shorthand courses Court reporter Stenographic Speech Notation Shorthand; Minute-gook keeping courses

Table 3. Court-reporting stenographers’ training Training location Academic training Business communication Number of teaching hours Vocational training ShorthandNumber of teaching hours Teaching hours total 1. Budapest 180 270 450 2. Budapest 40 160 200

Table 4. Teaching Business Administration skills in higher education Higher Education Institution Specialization in Business Administration BA Minor in Business Administration Training in typewriting Training in shorthand Eötvös Loránd University of Arts and Sciences X X Electronic word and data processing No Eszterházy Károly College X X No(E-publication) No Kaposvár University X X Electronic word processing Text and document processing Nyíregyháza College X X Electronic word processing Document processing University of Pécs X No data Electronic word processing No University of Szeged X No data Electronic word processing No

2.3. Trainings in Business Administration and Courses of BA Business Administration

Higher educational training in business administration has fundamentally changed with the launching of the Bologna Curricula.[12] Business administration within in Hungarian Language and Literature. Accordingly, students are awarded a diploma of BA in Hungarian with specialization in business administration.[13]

Within the overall menu of trainings provided by universities and colleges there are altogether 6 institutes where they list specialization in business administration or BA Minor in Business Administration among the training choices.

Table 4. features the fact that there are two institutes where training in shorthand is available: these are the places where they have a full time teaching staff with a degree in stenography and typewriting (i.e. business administration). Besides the acknowledgement of the need for parliamentary stenography the majority of intellectuals and education specialists share the opinion that the time of stenography is over: recording speech has numerous ways now that technologically make work easier and they have made stenography by now dispensable.

2.4. Hard Copy and Digital Aids for Training in Graphic Shorthand

(1) Due to the general attitude towards stenography books and teaching aids – written during the last 10-05 years by experts with decades of experience in stenography – are not available in bookshops. One has to order them straight from the author. Besides these books and aids teachers who teach stenography in higher education prepare notes for courses of their own by themselves.

(2) Training in stenography on-line is still just about to start in Hungary. There are few links that provide information concerning the history and theory of stenography and a short overview of standard Hungarian short-hand. These, however, cannot be made much use of in standard long-distance learning and e-learning. They are practical interfaces:

a) http://gyorsiras.uw.hu/start.htm (by Józsy): the site provides an aid for students at Nyíregyháza College in preparing for shorthand practice: it offers audio files (dictations), stenographs, abbreviations and codes. It is not updated any more.

b) http://ugyvitel.uw.hu (by Bartus Berny): this site is also provided by Nyíregyháza College students specializing in business administration.

It does not provide aids for BA courses any more. The news columns list results of competitions, and the site also features a forum.

c) http://gyorsiro.mindenkilapja.hu: this site is to promote shorthand. It features a single, beginners’ level static chapter on shorthand. The site has almost no visitors.

(3) At the University of Kaposvár a CD is being processed at the very moment to help learning shorthand. Besides audio tracks and visual images it also features the methodology of writing shorthand markers, word-images and the way they are actually operated. After the testing period the authors intend to make this CD available on the Internet for those who incline to study and learn shorthand.

A short presentation of the CD is available for the participants of the 48th Intersteno Congress provided by Dr. Katalin Varga-Hajdics, Ph.D. and Eszter Cecilia Szücs in their lecture, „Modernization of Business Administration Trainings in the 21th Century – Best practice at Kaposvár University”.

2.5. Hungarian Steno Machine

In the first decades of the 20^th century a Hungarian steno-machine was available. Bernát Kozma, school principal and shorthand-writing teacher, transformed the system of Marc Grandjean, from French. One of Kozma’s pupils was a successful competitor in the national championship of shorthand-writing (200 syllables level) in 1930.[14]

Despite of the early innovators the Hungarian steno-machine has not spread. A modern version is being developed nowadays.

„Pannon CEO Ove Fredheim presented Ildikó Fullajtár Mecs, chair of HARKE (Association for the Rehabilitation of the Audibly Disabled) the greatest charity donation of the year in informatics. The cheque for 25 million HUF will (most probably) cover the completion of the standardization of the application, Eclipse – developed in the USA – and the training of five speech shorthand reporters till the end of 2009. The steno machine and the software – after hearing persons have learnt how to use them – may make the world even more widely accessible for our fellow creatures who live with disabilities because with the help of these aids we can provide subtitles for television programmes, lectures in real time. They can be taught at every level of education (the only prerequisite is that one could read!). Minutes and could be put down in them. The steno machine takes minutes and with teaching the audibly disabled a few keys and with the combinations of these keys every word can be put down. Electric impulses are converted into a totally readable and intelligible text. The software operates in the language it was designs – in English, and, hopefully, its Hungarian version is coming out soon. The importation of this software was initiated by HARKE.”[15]

Developers thought that the adaptation of the software to Hungarian language would be ready by the first half of 2009 and that, meanwhile, they could also purchase the necessary accessories for the application and they could go on and start training the individual who would put down/interpret in real time what is being said for those who live in the world of silence. Unfortunately, the project was not successful so at this moment we have no steno machine in Hungarian.

2.6. E-learning in Trainings for Business Administration

There has been a curriculum development within the framework of a blog run by BA students in Hungarian Language and Literature with Business Administration Specialization at the Kaposvár University:http://irmagy.blogspot.com. Students have uploaded contents in German, English and French for processing. Students are graduating and the blog is at a standstill at this moment but its development is due in the future.

Students have also participated in an interactive learning process developed by the postgraduate teachers’ training platform, Tenegen: http://netgen.prompt.hu is the link via which my course, „Ügyvitel” (Business Administration) can be entered with a password. Here students have been doing various chores during their training.

3. Conclusions

The need for being fast and the expansion of knowledge recommend bigger and wider professional background form the individuals as well. The need for quick and high quality learning is a worldwide phenomenon.

Information technology and digital writing result in typing commands, thoughts, and text messages.Touch-typing, shorthand-writing and word processing has a big advantage in learning and working as with this ability information getting and communication can be fast.

The vocational trainings in administration and clerical / secretarial field include touch-typing modules. Some of the training institutes teach in the traditional method with printed books and copying while others use software. Touch-typing, shorthand-writing and word-processing is practical knowledge that can be used immediately after getting to know it. The more one use it the better he/she can do it.