Samantha+Gash

I think that there will always be digital natives and digital immigrants. There will always be new technology coming out and many people will not be able to keep up with it. I think that at some point in the distant future there will be less and less to create because everything will already be out in the world, but then there is the whole question of who will have access to this new technology. Will it be so expensive that only a handful of people will be able to afford it? Will it be a public technology or will companies hold onto it for personal use? Creation of new technology may one day cease, but some people will just not be able to afford it. The digital natives, the ones who have first dibs on all the new technology, will be able to use the technology with ease, but the digital immigrants, the ones who have never had access to it, will still view it as a foreign technology. I know from personal experience that not all schools are created equal and the technology that one school has, may not be available in other schools. I have seen schools with laptops for nearly every student and SmartBoards in every classroom, but I have also seen one computer classrooms with chalkboards. The students in the first scenario mentioned are digital natives because they have grown up with the luxury of having laptops and SmartBoards in every classroom, but the students in the second scenario mentioned will be digital immigrants because they have never had access to those materials. If technology exists as it does now, with only certain people having access to it, then there will always be digital natives and digital immigrants.

I have to say that I disagree with some of your views, mainly your statement about there being a point when no new technologies can/will be created. The human mind and race are incredibly good at imagining and speculating. I believe there will always be room for improvement of old technologies as well as the creation of new technologies because new technology was once only a dream or speculation, the driving force for new technology. Addressing your question/concern about the expenses required to acquire new technologies; when a new technology is first produced it is usually very expensive. However, if the technology is good enough and has enough demand then this technology will become cheaper over time. The more units produced the cheaper it will be for companies to produce them, this concept is know as economies of scale. Initially only the rich will be able to afford the technology not the digitally savvy but over time the price of this technology will come down, some examples; laptops, flat screen tvs, cell phones and even refrigerators. -Adam Daniels