Computer literacy

The Internet offers great potential for the effective and widespread dissemination of knowledge and for the integration of technological advances.

[7] The term "computer literacy" is usually attributed to Arthur Luehrmann, a physicist at Dartmouth College who was a colleague of Kemeny and Kurtz who introduced the BASIC programming language in 1964.

At an April 1972 American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) conference, Luehrmann gave a talk titled "Should the computer teach the student, or vice-versa?"

[10] Computer science and education researchers Seymour Papert, Cynthia Solomon, and Daniel McCracken advocated for programming as a rich and beneficial activity for young and old learners.

In the 1970s and 1980s, creative technical writers including Bob Albrecht, David Ahl, Mitchell Waite, Peter Norton, and Dan Gookin created books and materials that taught computer programming to non-specialists and self-taught learners.

[12] The ZX Spectrum, released in 1982, helped to popularize home computing, coding, and gaming in Britain and Europe.

[27] The Raspberry Pi Foundation promotes the teaching of elementary computer science in UK schools and in developing countries.

[32] The touch user interface of a tablet computer is more accessible to the under-developed motor skills of young children.

[34] This typically includes Internet browsing and the use of applications, familiarizing the young student with a basic level of computer proficiency.

[33] A concern raised within this topic of discussion is that primary and secondary education teachers are often not equipped with the skills to teach basic computer literacy.

[35][36] Non-profit organizations such as Per Scholas attempt to reduce the divide by offering free and low-cost computers to children and their families in under-served communities in South Bronx, New York, Miami, FL, and in Columbus, OH.