Gateway Education and Welfare Society (Regd.),  Reg. No. DIC/DRA/1218 of 2002

Importance of Computer Literacy

Computer Literacy is the knowledge and ability to use computers and technology efficiently. 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 knows how computers work and operate. As of 2005, having basic computer skills is a significant asset in the developed countries.

The precise definition of "computer literacy" can very from group to group. Generally, literate (in the realm of books) 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 - tech (i.e. to learn arbitrary new programs or tasks as they are encountered) to be central to computer literacy. In common discourse, however," computer literacy" 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" 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.

The pervasiveness of computers continues to grow at an outstanding rate. Computers always change; they become smaller, faster and more powerful. These changes have motivated the modern society to become comfortable with basic computer - related skills.

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 b1950s, the word computer referred to a person who could count, calculate, compute. 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  so called knowledge  industries. 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.

Computer Literacy is considered to be a very important  skill to possess while in the first world. 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. 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 literacy.

Of course, arguments about computers being common - place in the first world has equal access to the latest forms of technology. however, there is a pronounced digital divide that separates both physical access to technology and the ability to use that technology effectively. Where computers are widespread, they are also a part of education. Computers are used in schools for many applications such as writing papers or searching the Internet information. Computer skills are also a subject being specifically taught in many schools, especially from adolescence onward - when the ability to make  abstractions forms.
 

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