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
"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)