ABSTRACT
Increasingly, definitions of literacy have moved outwards from the classroom context to embrace the context of students themselves. There are two areas of computer-related literacy which need examination. One relates to what may reasonably be called ‘computer texts’ — those which are read on a computer screen. The second relates to the texts which have been produced using a computer, which can include books but which also includes database printouts, bank statements and ‘junk’ mail. It would seem reasonable to accept the principle that what is displayed on a computer screen is text and that the capacity to read that text is part of the literacy with which English teachers must be concerned. Indeed, one of the main purposes in urging a reconsideration by teachers of their definition of literacy is in order to encourage them to build upon the experiences youngsters have had with a whole range of texts.
