Anyone have suggestions about the best way to learn? I first heard about, and tried, Dvorak layout about 17 years ago. I've tried it two or three times since then, but since its so easy to switch the keyboard back, each time I'd get frustrated (because I needed to get real work done) and decide to do it later when I didn't need to get real work done.
Nowadays, I think that the solution might be a Dvorak keyboard cover for the macbook. This way I can hunt and peck in Dvorak while learning, or at least find the key and not be completely stymied.
I would strongly advise against hunting and pecking. Print out the Dvorak layout and place it next to your computer, put your fingers on the home row, and type. Doesn't matter how slowly---it's important to make the correct finger press the correct key. Don't switch back and forth between QWERTY and Dvorak, you'll learn best if you do it in an immersive way.
Personally I think that a print out next to your screen is a better idea than any cover, because you want to break the habit of looking where you are typing.
I'm the original poster (and I just updated the post a bit), my suggestion is to print the layout out, glue it to your monitor, don't look at the keyboard, and get into arguments with people on IRC about something. You'll learn pretty quickly through frustration.
I just took a bunch of blank adhesive labels, cut them into key-sized squares, pasted them to my keyboard, and wrote the Dvorak letters on them. I kept them on for about a month, I think, until I realized I didn't need them anymore, then just removed them.
I did this tutorial[1] to learn the letters in a logical order and then I typed out a paragraph from the Wall Street Journal first thing every morning at work before switching to qwerty for the day. At some point I was able to get through the day without reverting to querty. However, I did relapse after a few months during a busy period of work. A year after that relapse I switched to Dvorak cold turkey and have used it full time ever since.
Nowadays, I think that the solution might be a Dvorak keyboard cover for the macbook. This way I can hunt and peck in Dvorak while learning, or at least find the key and not be completely stymied.
Here's the first keyboard cover I found in Dvorak format: http://www.kbcovers.com/servlet/Categories?category=Dvorak