Digital Natives or Digital Savages?

There's been so much written lately about the notion that out children have somehow evolved into a different species. Most notable in this view is Marc Prensky, with his Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants essay.

I'm not convinced. It's a nice idea - one that makes us want to believe that the Brave New World is here, but experience in the classroom and attendance at recent talk-fests have me thinking otherwise.

Kids are good at using technology. Is this new? It's (generally) in a kid's nature to pick things up easily, but that's what the young of our species are programmed to do. They've been like that for millenia. But extending this self-evident fact to suggest we're dealing with some sort of sub-species. Oh, please...

Martin Owen's little discussion paper first raised my doubts about worshipping at the church of holy Web2.

More to come on this...