computer literacy

education Basic skill in use of computers, from the

perspective of such skill being a necessary societal skill.

The term was coined by Andrew Molnar, while director of the

Office of Computing Activities at the National ScienceFoundation.

"We started computer literacy in '72 [...] We coined that

phrase. It's sort of ironic. Nobody knows what computer

literacy is. Nobody can define it. And the reason we

selected [it] was because nobody could define it, and [...] it

was a broad enough term that you could get all of these

programs together under one roof" (cited in Aspray, W.,

(September 25, 1991) "Interview with Andrew Molnar," OH

234. Center for the History of Information Processing, Charles

Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota).

The term, as a coinage, is similar to earlier coinages, such

as "visual literacy", which Merriam-Webster dates to 1971, and the more recent

"media literacy".

(1998-09-07)