Computer literacy
Encyclopedia
Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with a range of skills covering levels from elementary use to programming and advanced problem solving. Computer literacy can also refer to the comfort level someone has with using computer programs and other applications that are associated with computers. Another valuable component of computer literacy is knowing how computers work and operate. Having basic computer skills is a significant asset in the developed countries
.
The precise definition of "computer literacy" can vary from group to group. Generally, literate
(in the realm of book
s) connotes one who can read any arbitrary book in their native language[s], looking up new words as they are exposed to them. Likewise, an experienced computer professional may consider the ability to self-teach (i.e. to learn arbitrary new programs or tasks as they are encountered) to be central to computer literacy. In common discourse, however, "computer literate" often connotes little more than the ability to use several very specific applications
(usually Microsoft Word
, Microsoft Internet Explorer
, and Microsoft Outlook
) for certain very well-defined simple tasks, largely by rote
. (This is analogous to a child claiming that they "can read" because they have rote-memorized several small children's books. Real problems can arise when such a "computer literate" person encounters a new program for the first time, and large degrees of "hand-holding" will likely be required.) Being "literate" and "functional" are generally taken to mean the same thing.
of a computer
. Being "computer functional" is usually what is meant by one with computer skills; computer literacy is only really evident in advanced computer skills.
They include:
Basic computer skills
Intermediate skills
Advanced skills include
that technology has grown and is growing and on the other hand we have the practical use of the personal computer in our everyday life. Computers are not just the boxes that took up large amounts of space with an even bigger monitor. Now we have hand devices and cell phones to assist us, in most post-1995 model year cars, at least 10 processors can be found controlling major components of our vehicles.
Taking most common points into consideration from former forms of literacy topics, the subject requires a formal breakdown of the core components. To evaluate or maintain a consistently gradual rise in practical application and social productivity from any technology we have to understand how computers benefit humanity as a whole. Starting from the local sense.
The fear of some educators today is that computer training in schools will serve only to train data-entry clerks of the next generation, low level workers of the knowledge economy
. On the other hand, some hope that enhanced computer literacy will enable a new generation of cultural producers to make meanings and circulate those in the public sphere. The wildfire of cultural production associated with sites such as YouTube
seems to support this notion.
Different countries have different needs for computer literate people due to their society standards and level of technology
. The world's digital divide
is now an uneven one with knowledge nodes such as India disrupting old North/South dichotomies of knowledge and power.
Computers are just as common as pen and paper for writing, especially among youth
. There seems to be an inversely proportional relationship between computer literacy and compositional literacy among first world computer users. For many applications - especially communicating - computers are preferred over pen, paper, and typewriters because of their ability to duplicate and retain information and ease of editing.
As personal computers become common-place and they become more powerful, the concept of computer literacy is moving beyond basic functionality to more powerful applications under the heading of multimedia literacy.
It is frequently assumed that as computers and Internet access are common-place in the first world, everyone in those countries must have equal and ready access to this technology, and to skills in how to effectively use it. There is, however, a significant digital divide
in even the most technologically advanced and enabled countries, with digital haves and have-nots.
The Digital Inclusion Forum, a consortium set up through joint participation from the Wireless Internet Institute, IBM
, Intel, Microsoft
and Ohio’s One Community, is just one organization developed to address this. Their organizational mission in this is to provide a “comprehensive resource center to inform, educate and share best practices among state and local government leaders, industry and institutional stakeholders on identifying and implementing sustainable market solutions to bridge the digital divide in North America.”
A variety of private sector nonprofits and foundations also contribute to this, in addressing the needs of underserved communities. Per scholas
, for example runs programs offering free and low cost computers to children and their families in underserved communities in the South Bronx
, New York and in Miami, Florida.
. Computers are used in schools for many applications such as writing papers or searching the Internet
for information. Computer skills are also a subject being specifically taught in many schools, especially from adolescence onward - when the ability to make abstractions forms.
One problematic element of many (though not all) "computer literacy" or computer education programs is that they may resort too heavily on rote memorization
. Students may be taught, for example, how to perform several common functions (e.g.: Open a file, Save a file, Quit the program) in very specific ways, using one specific version of one specific program. When a graduate of such a program encounters a competing program, or even a different version of the same program, they may be confused or even frightened by the differences from what they learned. This is one reason why major computer and software firms such as Apple Computer
and Microsoft
consider the education
al market important: The often time-limited computer education provided in schools most often lends itself to rote memorization, creating a sort of vendor lock-in
effect whereby graduates are afraid to switch to competing computer systems.
Graduates of computer education programs based around rote memorization may be heard asking things such as "just tell me where to click", and may need to rely upon paper notes for some computing tasks. (Example: A note on the monitor reading "Hit 'enter' after power up.") Many such users may need tremendous amounts of "hand-holding" even after years or decades of daily computer use. (This can be especially frustrating for experienced computer users, who are accustomed to figuring out computers largely on their own.) The primary factor preventing such functionally computer illiterate users from self-educating may simply be fear (of losing data through doing the "wrong thing") or lack of motivation; in any case, more technically oriented friends and relatives often find themselves pressed into service as "free tech support" for such users.
In addition to classes, there are many How-to books that cover various aspects of computer training, such as the popular 'For Dummies' series. There are also many websites that devote themselves to this task, such as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet. Such tutorials often aim at gradually boosting readers' confidence, while teaching them how to troubleshoot computers, fix security issues, set up networks, and use software.
computer operating system, UberStudent
, asserts that one of its main goals for its users is their achievement of computer fluency.
A higher order of computer literacy involves a user being able to adapt and learn new procedures through various means while using a computer.
It might be considered that the understanding of copyright and fair use is part of computer literacy. That is, a web author might be deprived of agency by not having knowledge of basic copyright and basic fair use. In the US, in order for an item to be copyrighted, it has to be original and fixed. If that is true, then copyright protection is automatic. Therefore, much of the content on the web is copyright protected.
Knowledge of fair use then becomes a crucial part of computer literacy, as to use under fair use is to use without copyright infringement. Fair use in the US is defined in section 107 of Title 17 of the copyright act. Four factors are relevant: basically, the purpose of the use, the amount used, the nature of the copyrighted work, and the impact of the use on the potential market of the copyright holder.
Therefore, in order to compose in digital networks, and in a fashion that is literate, one needs basic understanding of copyright and fair use.
and elaborate pictographic interfaces to try to achieve a high level of usability. Most of the time people use computers, they do not realize that they are doing so. (Examples: ATMs, car navigation systems, mobile phone
s, microwave oven
s...)
One of the major goals in computer engineering
is the construction of a natural language interface, possibly with speech recognition
, body language recognition and automatic visualisation. This would eliminate the need for computer literacy in everyday work and life in areas where such machines are available. An example of a futuristic Natural Language Interface can be found throughout the Star Trek
series, where characters simply tell the computer what they want using ordinary English
.
Developed country
A developed country is a country that has a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue...
.
The precise definition of "computer literacy" can vary from group to group. Generally, literate
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
(in the realm of book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s) connotes one who can read any arbitrary book in their native language[s], looking up new words as they are exposed to them. Likewise, an experienced computer professional may consider the ability to self-teach (i.e. to learn arbitrary new programs or tasks as they are encountered) to be central to computer literacy. In common discourse, however, "computer literate" often connotes little more than the ability to use several very specific applications
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
(usually Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
, Microsoft Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
, and Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
) for certain very well-defined simple tasks, largely by rote
Rote learning
Rote learning is a learning technique which focuses on memorization. The major practice involved in rote learning is learning by repetition by which students commit information to memory in a highly structured way. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the...
. (This is analogous to a child claiming that they "can read" because they have rote-memorized several small children's books. Real problems can arise when such a "computer literate" person encounters a new program for the first time, and large degrees of "hand-holding" will likely be required.) Being "literate" and "functional" are generally taken to mean the same thing.
Computer skills
Computer skills refer to the ability to use the software and hardwareHardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
of a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
. Being "computer functional" is usually what is meant by one with computer skills; computer literacy is only really evident in advanced computer skills.
They include:
Basic computer skills
- Knowing how to switch on the computer
- Being able to use a mouseMouse (computing)In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons...
to interact with elements on the screen - Being able to use the computer keyboardComputer keyboardIn computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
- Being able to shut down the computer properly after use
Intermediate skills
- Functional knowledge of word processingWord processorA word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
. - How to use e-mailE-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
- How to use the InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
- Installing software
- Navigating a computer's filesystem.
Advanced skills include
- Programming
- Use of a computer for scientific research
- Fixing software conflicts
- Repairing computer hardwareComputer hardwarePersonal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...
Social implications
The level of computer literacy one must achieve to gain an advantage over others depends both on the society one is in and one's place in the social hierarchy. Prior to the development of the first computers in the 1930s, the word computer referred to a person who could count, calculate, compute. The year of 2010, a mere 50 years later from its first personal/common business use, we see the term "computer literacy" change deeply in meaning. We have on one hand the exponential speedExponential growth
Exponential growth occurs when the growth rate of a mathematical function is proportional to the function's current value...
that technology has grown and is growing and on the other hand we have the practical use of the personal computer in our everyday life. Computers are not just the boxes that took up large amounts of space with an even bigger monitor. Now we have hand devices and cell phones to assist us, in most post-1995 model year cars, at least 10 processors can be found controlling major components of our vehicles.
Taking most common points into consideration from former forms of literacy topics, the subject requires a formal breakdown of the core components. To evaluate or maintain a consistently gradual rise in practical application and social productivity from any technology we have to understand how computers benefit humanity as a whole. Starting from the local sense.
The fear of some educators today is that computer training in schools will serve only to train data-entry clerks of the next generation, low level workers of the knowledge economy
Knowledge economy
The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies to...
. On the other hand, some hope that enhanced computer literacy will enable a new generation of cultural producers to make meanings and circulate those in the public sphere. The wildfire of cultural production associated with sites such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
seems to support this notion.
Different countries have different needs for computer literate people due to their society standards and level of technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. The world's digital divide
Digital divide
The Digital Divide refers to inequalities between individuals, households, business, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies and Internet connectivity and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information...
is now an uneven one with knowledge nodes such as India disrupting old North/South dichotomies of knowledge and power.
Computer literacy in the first world
Computer literacy is considered to be a very important skill to possess while in developed countries. Employers want their workers to have basic computer skills because their company becomes ever more dependent on computers. Many companies try to use computers to help run their company faster and cheaper.Computers are just as common as pen and paper for writing, especially among youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
. There seems to be an inversely proportional relationship between computer literacy and compositional literacy among first world computer users. For many applications - especially communicating - computers are preferred over pen, paper, and typewriters because of their ability to duplicate and retain information and ease of editing.
As personal computers become common-place and they become more powerful, the concept of computer literacy is moving beyond basic functionality to more powerful applications under the heading of multimedia literacy.
It is frequently assumed that as computers and Internet access are common-place in the first world, everyone in those countries must have equal and ready access to this technology, and to skills in how to effectively use it. There is, however, a significant digital divide
Digital divide
The Digital Divide refers to inequalities between individuals, households, business, and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels in access to information and communication technologies and Internet connectivity and in the knowledge and skills needed to effectively use the information...
in even the most technologically advanced and enabled countries, with digital haves and have-nots.
The Digital Inclusion Forum, a consortium set up through joint participation from the Wireless Internet Institute, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Intel, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and Ohio’s One Community, is just one organization developed to address this. Their organizational mission in this is to provide a “comprehensive resource center to inform, educate and share best practices among state and local government leaders, industry and institutional stakeholders on identifying and implementing sustainable market solutions to bridge the digital divide in North America.”
A variety of private sector nonprofits and foundations also contribute to this, in addressing the needs of underserved communities. Per scholas
Per scholas
Per Scholas is a United States registered 501 nonprofit organization based in Bronx, New York. Per Scholas was founded in 1995 by a consortium of leading foundations and corporations to build and distribute computers at a significant discount to schools serving low-income neighborhoods...
, for example runs programs offering free and low cost computers to children and their families in underserved communities in the South Bronx
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
, New York and in Miami, Florida.
Computer education
Where computers are widespread, they are also a part of educationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. Computers are used in schools for many applications such as writing papers or searching the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
for information. Computer skills are also a subject being specifically taught in many schools, especially from adolescence onward - when the ability to make abstractions forms.
One problematic element of many (though not all) "computer literacy" or computer education programs is that they may resort too heavily on rote memorization
Memorization
Memorization is the process of committing something to memory. The act of memorization is often a deliberate mental process undertaken in order to store in memory for later recall items such as experiences, names, appointments, addresses, telephone numbers, lists, stories, poems, pictures, maps,...
. Students may be taught, for example, how to perform several common functions (e.g.: Open a file, Save a file, Quit the program) in very specific ways, using one specific version of one specific program. When a graduate of such a program encounters a competing program, or even a different version of the same program, they may be confused or even frightened by the differences from what they learned. This is one reason why major computer and software firms such as Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
consider the education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
al market important: The often time-limited computer education provided in schools most often lends itself to rote memorization, creating a sort of vendor lock-in
Vendor lock-in
In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products and services, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs...
effect whereby graduates are afraid to switch to competing computer systems.
Graduates of computer education programs based around rote memorization may be heard asking things such as "just tell me where to click", and may need to rely upon paper notes for some computing tasks. (Example: A note on the monitor reading "Hit 'enter' after power up.") Many such users may need tremendous amounts of "hand-holding" even after years or decades of daily computer use. (This can be especially frustrating for experienced computer users, who are accustomed to figuring out computers largely on their own.) The primary factor preventing such functionally computer illiterate users from self-educating may simply be fear (of losing data through doing the "wrong thing") or lack of motivation; in any case, more technically oriented friends and relatives often find themselves pressed into service as "free tech support" for such users.
In addition to classes, there are many How-to books that cover various aspects of computer training, such as the popular 'For Dummies' series. There are also many websites that devote themselves to this task, such as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Internet. Such tutorials often aim at gradually boosting readers' confidence, while teaching them how to troubleshoot computers, fix security issues, set up networks, and use software.
Computer Fluency
Computer fluency goes beyond computer literacy and has been argued to be an important goal of not only a computer education but a liberal arts education. The term probably originated in an important 1999 work, Being Fluent with Information Technology by the Committee on Information Technology Literacy of the U.S. National Research Council. In it the authors noted that computer curricula at educational institutions largely focused on software-bound skills, e.g., "which button to click" in a given piece of software to do a given task. Because the authors felt that such a computer literacy curriculum, which focused on skills, was insufficient for the demands of future knowledge workers, they argued that the ideal curriculum would equip students with computer fluency, which they defined as a "robust understanding of what is needed to use information technology effectively across a range of applications" (14). In addition to possessing the essential skills of software usage, computer-fluent individuals can apply information technology in novel situations, as well as understand the consequences of doing so. The authors observe, "These capabilities transcend particular software and hardware applications" (17). Equally essential to computer fluency is the mastering of fundamental computer concepts, such as the difference between absolute and relative cell references in an electronic spreadsheet program. The LinuxLinux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
computer operating system, UberStudent
UberStudent
UberStudent is a free and opensource computer operating system and collection of programs for higher education and college-bound secondary students, their teachers and schools, and researchers, knowledge workers, and lifelong learners....
, asserts that one of its main goals for its users is their achievement of computer fluency.
Aspects of computer literacy
Aspects of computer literacy include:- what is a computer
- what are its limitations
- what is a program (not necessarily how to program)
- what is an algorithm
- what is computable
- what a computer cannot do
- why computers cannot produce random numbers
- some seemingly simple problems are not
- concurrency and issues with shared data
- all computers have the same computing ability with differences in memory capacity and speed
- performance depends on more than CPU clock speed
- understanding the concept of stored data
- what are the real causes of "computer errors"
- the implications of incorrect (buggy) programs
- the implications of using a program incorrectly (garbage in, garbage out)
- issues rising from distributed computing
- computer security
- trojan horse (computing)Trojan horse (computing)A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is software that appears to perform a desirable function for the user prior to run or install, but steals information or harms the system. The term is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology.-Malware:A destructive program that masquerades as a benign...
, computer virusComputer virusA computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
, email spoofing, URL spoofing, phishingPhishingPhishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...
, etc ... - what to do when a security certificate is questioned
- password creation (how to avoid bad ones)
- social implications/aspects of computing
- NetiquetteNetiquetteNetiquette is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums. These rules were described in IETF RFC 1855. However, like many Internet phenomena, the concept and its application remain in a state of flux, and vary...
(or at least E-mail Etiquette) - identifying urban legendUrban legendAn urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s (and not forwarding them) - critical assessment of internet sources
- criminal access to financial databases
- keyboarding, mousing (using input devices)
- plugging in and turning the computer on
- using/understanding user-interface elements (e.g., windows, menus, icons, buttons, etc.)
- Composing, editing and printing documents
- the ability to communicate with others using computers through electronic mail (emailEmailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
) or instant messagingInstant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
services - managing and editing pictures (from cell phones, digital cameraDigital cameraA digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
s or even scanScanScan may refer to:Acronyms:*Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry , a psychiatric diagnostic tool developed by WHO*Shared Check Authorization Network , a database of bad check writers and collection agency for bad checks...
s) - Opening files and recognizing different file types
- Multimedia literacy, including, but not limited to:
- making movies
- making sound files
- interactivity
- creating web pages
A higher order of computer literacy involves a user being able to adapt and learn new procedures through various means while using a computer.
Copyright and fair use laws
Copyright and fair use laws constitute a mammoth part of computer literacies.It might be considered that the understanding of copyright and fair use is part of computer literacy. That is, a web author might be deprived of agency by not having knowledge of basic copyright and basic fair use. In the US, in order for an item to be copyrighted, it has to be original and fixed. If that is true, then copyright protection is automatic. Therefore, much of the content on the web is copyright protected.
Knowledge of fair use then becomes a crucial part of computer literacy, as to use under fair use is to use without copyright infringement. Fair use in the US is defined in section 107 of Title 17 of the copyright act. Four factors are relevant: basically, the purpose of the use, the amount used, the nature of the copyrighted work, and the impact of the use on the potential market of the copyright holder.
Therefore, in order to compose in digital networks, and in a fashion that is literate, one needs basic understanding of copyright and fair use.
Future
The ever-growing processing power of modern computers is used to present the user with an interface that requires minimal computer skills to operate. Modern software often utilizes buttons, iconsComputer icon
A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...
and elaborate pictographic interfaces to try to achieve a high level of usability. Most of the time people use computers, they do not realize that they are doing so. (Examples: ATMs, car navigation systems, mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s, microwave oven
Microwave oven
A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
s...)
One of the major goals in computer engineering
Computer engineering
Computer engineering, also called computer systems engineering, is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science required to develop computer systems. Computer engineers usually have training in electronic engineering, software design, and...
is the construction of a natural language interface, possibly with speech recognition
Speech recognition
Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
, body language recognition and automatic visualisation. This would eliminate the need for computer literacy in everyday work and life in areas where such machines are available. An example of a futuristic Natural Language Interface can be found throughout the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
series, where characters simply tell the computer what they want using ordinary English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
See also
- electracyElectracyElectracy describes the kind of “literacy” or skill and facility necessary to exploit the full communicative potential of new electronic media such as multimedia, hypermedia, social software, and virtual worlds...
- Digital literacyDigital literacyDigital literacy is the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using digital technology. It involves a working knowledge of current high-technology, and an understanding of how it can be used. Further, digital literacy involves a consciousness of the...
- European Computer Driving LicenceEuropean Computer Driving LicenceThe European Computer Driving Licence , also known as International Computer Driving Licence , is a computer literacy certification programme provided by ECDL Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation....
- TAGIBookTAGIBookThe TAGIBook initiative, based in Jordan, aims to introduce an affordable basic computer for every Arab citizen, in an effort to increase the level of computer literacy in the Arab region, bridge the digital divide between the Arab countries and the developed world, and build sufficient ICT skills...
- New literaciesNew literaciesNew literacies generally refers to new forms of literacy made possible by digital technology developments, although new literacies do not necessarily have to involve use of digital technologies to be recognized as such...
- Get Safe OnlineGet Safe OnlineGet Safe Online is a United Kingdom-based campaign and national initiative to teach citizens about basic computer security and internet privacy...