David D. Thornburg is an inventor, educational futurist, author, and speaker whose career spans the earliest days of the personal computer era. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and was among the first employees at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), joining as its 25th member. During his decade there from 1971 to 1981, he worked on a wide variety of projects, including the design of user-interface technologies for the Xerox Alto — the groundbreaking 1973 machine that prefigured the Macintosh. Among his contributions was the invention of the first inexpensive touch screen.
The Sinclair Connection
Thornburg’s first encounter with the ZX80 was at the June 1980 Consumer Electronics Show. The tiny, inexpensive British computer clearly captured his attention. By October 1980, he co-authored a “Computers and Society” column in *Compute!* magazine alongside Betty Burr, covering the machine. Shortly after, the first issue of *Syntax ZX80* (November 1980) carried news of a product he was developing through his company Innovision: the PrestoDigitizer.
David Thornburg, inventor and company president, described the device as a supplement to the keyboard, allowing users to write and have the characters appear on the screen. Users could also use it to draw on the screen. He felt that handicapped users and children would find it especially useful. The device was to be paired with an interface that would convert its analog output to digital signals the ZX80 could understand. By January 1981, Innovision confirmed that the PrestoDigitizer required Sinclair’s newer 8K BASIC ROM. Despite the promising announcements in both *Syntax ZX80* and *SYNC* magazines, the PrestoDigitizer was never released for any Sinclair computer, and references to a Sinclair version disappear after early 1981. The device did eventually come to market — a flyer archived by Kay Savetz shows it was sold for the Atari 400/800, platforms that had the necessary ports built in.
From Xerox to Koala Technologies
In 1981, Thornburg left Xerox and worked for a time at Atari before helping start a company to launch two of his hardware designs: the KoalaPad touch tablet and the Muppet Learning Keyboard, made in conjunction with Jim Henson of Muppet fame.
The KoalaPad, released in 1983 by Koala Technologies Corporation, was originally designed by Dr. Thornburg as a low-cost computer drawing tool for schools. It was available for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, TRS-80 Color Computer (as the TRS-80 Touch Pad), and IBM PC compatibles, and came bundled with the drawing program KoalaPainter. The KoalaPad became a hit with home users and students alike. In 1984, Thornburg authored *The KoalaPad Book*, a guide to using the device for drawing, music, games, and programming. The story comes full circle for Timex/Sinclair users: in 1985, Zebra Systems developed an interface that brought the KoalaPad — likely the CoCo version, which used a compatible connector — to the TS2068, bundled with their ZebraPainter software.
Educator, Futurist, and Author
With the birth of his son, Thornburg developed a deep interest in the role of technology in K-12 education, a focus that would define the second half of his career. After his hardware ventures, Dr. Thornburg became a consultant with a focus on the role of technology in K-12 education and held adjunct teaching positions at Stanford University, College of Notre Dame (Belmont, CA), University of Sao Paulo, and Walden University. He also served on several advisory boards, including the education board of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
Throughout the 1980s, Thornburg wrote the regular “Computers and Society” column for *Compute!* magazine, reaching a broad readership of home computer enthusiasts. He also served as an associate editor of the publication.
Thornburg is the Founder and Director of Global Operations for the Thornburg Center and co-founder of the Thornburg Center for Space Exploration. His most influential contribution to educational theory is a framework built around four primordial learning spaces: the Campfire (shared storytelling and instruction), the Watering Hole (social and peer learning), the Cave (solitary reflection), and Life (hands-on application). He first proposed these ideas through *Campfires in Cyberspace* in 1996. He later expanded the framework with a fifth space — the Holodeck, an immersive, interdisciplinary learning environment — in his book *From the Campfire to the Holodeck: Creating Engaging and Powerful 21st Century Learning Environments* (2014). His other books include *Shift Control: Reflections on Education, Technology and the Lives of Today’s Students* and *The Invent to Learn Guide to 3D Printing in the Classroom: Recipes for Success* (co-authored). He has been a sought-after keynote speaker for schools, governments, and foundations around the world for decades.