Computers are necessary to the future of literacy in the United States, but they are not determinative. Instead the determining factor will be human values and political will, and so it is necessary to build the future on democratic ideology. Four premises underlie plans for a feasible and desirable future: (1) education must serve an increasingly diverse student population; (2) a new pedagogy is needed with authentic tasks that involve the teacher as learner and the student as doer; (3) the "New Majority" needs to increase coherence and intellectual engagement in urban, commuter settings; and (4) the "New Literacy" requires new coalitions and partnerships. At Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, a project which lends computers to students to take home extends the class beyond the classroom by including faculty, administrators, students, and computing services personnel, as well as experts from other universities, in the resulting discussions. To effect future goals it is practical and reasonable to ask for help from the government, vendors, the students, and the community. (Two notes are included; 23 references are attached.) (PRA)