This article examines the intersection of age and ICT (information and communication technology) competency and critiques the "digital natives versus digital immigrants" argument proposed by Prensky (2001aPrensky ( , 2001b. Quantitative analysis was applied to a statistical data set collected in the context of a study with over 2,000 pre-service teachers conducted at the University of British Columbia, Canada, between 2001 and 2004. Findings from this study show that there was not a statistically significant difference with respect to ICT competence among different age groups for either pre-program or post-program surveys. Classroom observations since 2003 in different educational settings in Canada and the United States support this finding. This study implies that the digital divide thought to exist between "native" and "immigrant" users may be misleading, distracting education researchers from more careful consideration of the diversity of ICT users and the nuances of their ICT competencies.

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We believed we had overwhelming evidence that to know a child better is to love it more.

is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia. Her primary research areas are the design, blending and transfer of learning across physical, simulated and virtual environments. In particular, she is interested in designing and repurposing technologies for use in educational contexts. Her previous and ongoing research has focused on the implementation of educational technology innovations in teacher education and the integration of technological knowledge with pedagogical and content knowledge. Stephen Petrina is a professor (. He is a cultural historian with current projects on Meducation and Twentieth Century Learning in addition to long-term histories of technotheology and culture, media and technology. Stephen's expertise necessarily includes the philosophy of technology and the philosophy of research, as opposed to methodology. Francis Feng is a course author and instructor for ETEC 531 Curriculum Issues in Cultural and Media Studies. With a background in electronic engineering and computing studies, Franc has expertise in programming, computer hardware design, microprocessor design, webdesign, workplace training, business systems, consulting, multimedia, product evaluation, systems support and digital curating. Current research interests include science-technology-studies, meta-cognition, e-portfolios, assessment, chaos/complexity/systems theory, cultural studies, environmental ethics, globalization, philosophy, hermeneutics, phenomenology and the sociology of knowledge. He has recently authored chapters in (Post) modern science (education): propositions and alternative paths and Unfolding body and mind: exploring possibility through education, and published in Educational Insights. Abstract3D virtual worlds are promising for immersive learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Unlike English as a Second Language (ESL), EFL typically takes place in the learners' home countries, and the potential of the language is limited by geography. Although learning contexts where English is spoken is important, in most EFL courses at the college level, EFL is taught by acquiring vocabularies, grammar and pragmatic features without contextual immersion. In this study, an immersive English learning environment in a 3D virtual world, OpenSimulator, was developed with two key learning artifacts, chatbot and time machine. A single-factor, independent measures design was used to examines learners' presence under four learning conditions: virtual learning environment without digital learning artifacts (VE), virtual learning environment with chatbot (VEC), virtual learning environment with time machine (VETM) and virtual learning environment with chatbot and time machine (VECTM). Three research questions emerging from the four learning conditions form the backbone of this study: (1) Does chatbot increase language learners' presence in the immersive virtual English learning environment? (2) Does time machine increase language learners' presence in the immers...