Computer literacy entails more than sitting a student in front of a computer.  It entails more than turning the machine on and viewing Facebook or checking email…or even, typing a word document.

I agree with Stuart A. Selber in “Reimagining Computer Literacy”  that computer literacy involves functional, critical, and rhetorical elements. 

Most students in Comp 1001  know how to turn the computer on and login when they enter the class.  They have some functionality skills.  There still exist though those students who do not even know how to email their professor a link to YouTube.  Some do not know how to embed an image into an email or even to save the image first as a jpg before attaching it.  

This leads me to question as to whether in the critical thinking realm, do they know how to judge a valid website?  They need to be taught to “analyz[e] the currency, authority, and reliability of Website content” (20).  

Rhetorically is where they may need the most assistance in learning.   They need to understand “asynchronous discussions” and how to “generat[e] visual images that represent data relationships accurately and convincingly” (20).

I only list those elements because as a comp 1001 instructor, I would like to follow this pedagogy next semester in my comp class.  I still feel strongly the importance of them writing a successful academic essay.  This writing assignment can revolve around any of the preceding elements.  Finally, I can integrate the two ideologies seamlessly.

Furthermore, as a graphic designer, I am intrigued with the prospect of designing an interface that would best accommodate a composition student….