Hello. My name is Thom Gillespie. I write for a magazine called

[Alan Kay]

Thom --

One of the necessary parts of "literacy" is fluency. So it's not 
enough to read a little, or do math a little or program a little. 
There are important thresholds that have to be crossed. As with the 
older thresholds of reading and writing, most children haven't 
crossed the ones that would allow them to be literate.

The other consideration is that one can get fluent in lots of things 
that don't confer much benefit: television watching, videogames, pop 
culture, etc.

Taking both of these together, nothing really interesting has 
happened yet, but the technological parts of the new literacy are 
pretty close to being what is needed.

Cheers,

Alan

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At 11:22 PM -0500 2/24/02, Thom Kevin Gillespie wrote:
>Technos. I've been following Squeak for a few months.
>
>I'm working on a column for Technos magazine which I'm calling 'new
>literacy.' I'm wondering if the tools available for kids to express ideas
>today include not just traditional writing tools but tools such as word
>processors, html, Flash, Director, Blender, Boxer-like tools, Squeak, and
>all sorts of non-linear editing tools such as Premier, FinalCut and
>AfterEffects, has literacy changed? If literacy has changed has education
>kept up? Considering that kids are different depending upon their skills
>how do you educate a literate population today?
>
>I realize you all are busy but I'd appreciate your thoughts on these
>matters and I think others would also appreciate your thoughts? I'll be
>asking these questions of others for the magazine.
>
>If you are too busy I also understand.
>
>Sincerely,  Thom Gillespie
>
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