Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
driven by disciplines such as education, humanities, and natural sciences. These
disciplines involvement in Web portfolio initiatives within curriculum are a
factor in the Web portfolio evolving in professional and academic settings.
The Web Portfolio's Place
in the Information Society
Frank Webster describes the scholarly debate that surrounds the notion of an
information society. He explains that information society theorists contend that
“technological innovation produces social change” (Webster, 2002, p. 264).
On the other side of the debate, of which Webster is a staunch proponent,
scholars charge that no information society exists and that information and
technology are simply following a path of continuity with historical change.
Webster states this point as: “scholars who, while happy to concede that
information has taken on a special significance in the modern era insists that the
central feature of the present in its continuities with the past” (2002, p. 6).
More importantly, Webster (2002, p. 6) makes the distinction that many
scholars occupy various points along the continuum of both constructs.
Webster explains that there exist five definitions of an information society. The
definitions are driven by the thought that quantitative changes in information are
evoking qualitative changes in society, thus contributing the notion of an
information society: technological, economic, occupational, spatial, and cul-
tural (Webster, 2002, p.9). I believe that Web portfolios fit into these
information society definitions as an instrument that will specifically change
occupational information activity. I feel the increasing trend towards Web
portfolios have societal implications that will impact the technology applica-
tions, economic distribution, occupational scenarios, spatial arrangements, and
cultural manifestations that represent acknowledgments that things are chang-
ing historically, but at the same time, society is building exclusive relationships
that are going beyond technological advances and post industrialist contribu-
tions. The information society is a place that people want to be. They want be
“in” on technologies adaptation of their lives. It may not be simply an upper
income person getting the latest cell phone, PDA, or laptop computer to use in
their $50,000 Jaguar; maybe it's a lower income person getting the latest DVD
player and navigation system for their $2,000 Chevy Geo. Or, a young person
who makes poverty level wages buying a $400 iPod. These examples are not
to be misunderstood; having the right technology will be an important part of
