The concept of media literacy, like that of literacy itself, has long proved contentious (Luke, 1989). The hugely significant skills of reading and writing have been augmented by the also-significant skill of ‘reading’ audiovisual material from the midtwentieth century onwards. Today, as we witness a further major shift in information and communication technology (ICT), a new form of literacy is emerging, uneasily termed computer literacy or internet literacy. This new form of literacy, if its is indeed ‘new’, and if it is appropriately labeled ‘literacy’, lies at the heart of a series of lively debates
intersecting the academy, the policy community, and the public.
