1. Input Devices What is input? Everything we tell the computer is input.
There are many input devices you may see in use
with a typical PC.
This section looks at some of them.
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2. Input Devices
The first input device we will look at is the keyboard. This is the most often used input device. The layout of the keys was borrowed from the typewriter with a number of new keys added. Several variations are popular. The keyboards shown put the function keys in different places. The ‘Enter’ and ‘Backspace’ keys are different shapes and sizes. Some have arrow keys while others do not.
ICT Tools: Input Devices

3. Input Devices
Mouse
A ball underneath rolls as the mouse moves across the
mouse pad. The cursor on the screen follows the motion of
the mouse. Buttons on the mouse can be clicked or double-
clicked to perform tasks, like to select an icon on the screen
or to open the selected document.
Advantage
moves cursor around the screen faster than using keystrokes.
Disadvantage
requires moving hand from keyboard to mouse and back. Repeated motion can lead to carpal tunnelsyndrome.
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4. Input Devices Trackball
Instead of moving the whole mouse around, the user rolls the
trackball only, which is on the top or side.
Advantage
does not need as much desk space as a mouse
is not as tiring since less motion is needed.
Disadvantage
requires fine control of the ball with just one finger or thumb
repeated motions of the same muscles is tiring and can cause carpal tunnel syndrome.
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5. Input Devices Game Devices
Cursor motion controlled by vertical stick (joystick) or arrow buttons
(gamepad)
Advantage
a joystick gives a more natural-feeling control for motion in games, especially those where you are flying a plane or spaceship
both have more buttons for special functions than a mouse and can combine buttons for even more actions.
Disadvantage
more expensive
bulky
better ones require an additional peripheral card for best performance.
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6. Input Devices Pen input
Used especially in Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)
Pen Input is used for
data Input – by writing PDA recognises your handwriting
functions like a mouse in moving a cursor around the screen and clicking by tapping the screen
gestures – issuing commands by moving pen in patterns. So a certain kind of swirl would mean to save the file and a different kind of swirl could mean to open a new file.
Advantage
can use handwriting instead of typing
can use gestures instead of typing commands small size.
Disadvantage
must train device to recognize handwriting
must learn gestures or train device to recognize the ones you create
can lose the pen which is not usually attached to the device.
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7. Input Devices Touch screen Make selection by just touching the screen.
Advantage
it's natural to do – reach out and touch something.
Disadvantage
it's tiring if many choices must be made
it takes a lot of screen space for each choice since fingers are bigger than cursors.
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8. Input Devices Digitizers and graphics tablets
Converts drawings, photos, etc to
digital signal.
The tablets have special commands
Advantage
don't have to redraw graphics already created.
Disadvantage
expensive.
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9. Input Devices Scanners
These enable both pictures and text to be input into a
computer. Scanning text in order to recognise the words
and letters requires special software.
The most common type of scanner is the flat bed, but
smaller and cheaper hand-held scanners are also
available.
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10. In this section
you will become more familiar with different input devices
you can use this knowledge to help you choose the peripherals that match your needs.
ICT Tools: Input Devices