Touchscreen Technology and Its Implications

It's strange when you consider the fact that in the 1940s computers were so big and so expensive to build, that Thomas J Watson predicted there would only ever be a worldwide market for maybe five computers. These days it's rare to find a home that doesn't have a computer in it, or a person that doesn't come into contact with a computer at least once a day. These contrasting technological positions serve to prove that technological developments have certainly come a long way in the past 70 years or so.

As we move forward into the 21st century it seems that digital technology is revolutionizing many aspects of our social and economical environments; the working world is quickly catching on to how versatile digital mediums are and the social world is realizing how effective and economical they are as forms of communication. In addition to these adjustments it seems that all of this new technology is also effecting the cognitive development of younger generations of children too, with a higher percentage of children now preferring interactive learning approaches to subject matters, and responding better to tactile and visual learning cues. Dr Gary Small, author of Brain - Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind' goes as far as to say that this period of technological advancement will cause our brains to adapt at a rate that they have not since man first began using tools.

The effects that digital technology has had on the education sector are quite significant, tools such as interactive whiteboards and student response systems are already helping students to engage in interactive learning processes and teachers to gauge exactly how each individual is progressing. Learning through these interactive approaches engages the student and helps them to develop an understanding through reason and logic rather than simply call response. Digital technology and new interfaces also have implications for creative control in a number of realms, with education as a small section. There's no doubt that the introduction of the touch screen has already inspired musicians and artists to try out new techniques.

As computers become more heavily ingrained into society it seems that finding new techniques for interfacing with them is inevitably going to be useful. For musicians and artists expression is essential, and there's no doubt that a computer keyboard limits what you can do. For example, graphic designers can draw and express themselves far more freely with a pressure sensitive graphics tablet. Touchscreens might even further this as many people struggle to draw on a pad whilst looking at a separate screen.