There is no one universal definition of the term "computer literacy," which, in fact, is used so generally that people often preface references to microcomputers in education with their own definitions of computer literacy. The term is organized semantically in a variety of ways, and central to this semantic organization is a problem of deciding how to integrate "knowledge of,""knowledge about," and "knowledge through" the computer into the conceptual organization of knowledge in general. Efforts to introduce the microcomputer into the curriculum are encouraging careful discussions of just exactly what computer literacy is, can be, or should be. Until recently, "literacy" referred to the ability to read and write and to being well-educated or knowledgeable. The meaning of"well-educated" may have altered, however, to encompass knowledge of computers. It is held that any rhetorical confusion resulting from attempts to deal with this phenomenon is natural, insightful, and necessary to maintain the dialogue that will develop our understanding of the microcomputer's impact on knowledge and education. A chart illustrates the distribution of references to computer literacy in educational literature, and a 20-item reference list is included. (LMM)