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When it gets fully broken down it may be in fact affordable computers that made the biggest impact.  No matter what I/O device is attached it has been the ability to run programs that can do so much more than simple mechanical or graphic devices. I know that is a very broad statement and I can hear the moans and groans already.  But maybe that is why there doesn't seem to be any great leaps since then. Everything else has just been an incremental chipping away or building upon of various input and output devices.

Computer tape > floppy discs > laser discs > CDs > solid state memory > etc.

Punch cards > keyboards > mice > trackballs > touch screens > machine vision > gestural recognition > etc.

Monochrome monitors > full color monitors > video walls > video projectors > LCD projectors > laser projectors > 3D > etc.

All just more of the same.

I realize your students want to understand the issue from the standpoint of technology but it really is all about the content in the end.  Those early Computer geeks had it right when they coined the "GIGO" phrase.

As a designer it has always been a frustration when money goes to hardware and physical environment and not to content development or even more importantly good copy and script writing.

a little more than 2 cents worth...

Erich Rose

Erich Rose Design
807 The Living End
Austin, TX 78746
512-626-9930; [log in to unmask]




On Jan 13, 2011, at 3:07 PM, Eugene Dillenburg wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> "[I]t is not the technology but the content that is important"
> 
> I agree, but that's not the question my student asked.  People are using digital tech to tell their stories, to convey their content.  Where did that come from?  Which installations have influenced the field at large?
> 
> Perhaps there is no single, simple answer, and that's good to know, too.  But thanks to everyone for the input so far!
> 
> -- Eugene
> 
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

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