New technology can provide powerful new tools for enriching the lives of poor people and communities in unprecedented ways. At least that was the view of the G8 Digital Opportunities Task Force in 2001. A view that is upheld and further explored in the pages of this book.

With an estimated 850 million illiterate people in the world today, this book explores how new information and communication technology (ICT) supports basic literacy and the information skills crucial for economic and social development.

New Technologies for Literacy Adult Education, published as a contribution towards the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012), analyses two interconnected approaches to using ICT to support adult literacy and basic education. The first views ICT primarily as a set of instructional tools to help people acquire the skills associated with traditional notions of literacy. The second treats the relationship between literacy, technology and development in a more integral way.

The authors also consider the implications and options for policy makers in the use – and necessity – of expanded roles for new technologies in literacy development.

Daniel A. Wagner is Professor of Education and Director of the International Literacy Institute, co-founded by UNESCO and the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Director of the National Center on Adult Literacy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Robert B. Kozma is Emeritus Director, Principal Scientist and Fulbright Senior Specialist at the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International.