Devices for cognitive and intellectual development and interactive surfaces: why Asus Eee PC triumphs?

Abstract

Since its origins the man has always sought ways to enhance their cognitive abilities: memory, learning, understanding, preservation and dissemination of information. And it has used many different media and tools to represent the information in them. Cognitive artifacts are all those tools that we use for this purpose and which act as enhancers of human intelligence and cognitive ability. In this context the emergence of netbooks or ultraportable PCs are a revolution as cognitive artifacts for their characteristics as laptops, the improve of mobility thanks to their small size, the relative accessibility thanks to their affordable cost and the ability to interconnect us with the World Wide Web. Their introduction could be a revolution in education, social and cultural development at all levels.