Questions below were taken from the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative which has selected e-portfolios as a “key theme” this year. In each case below, the words Web logs were originally portfolio or e-portfolio. I did some quick switching and am wondering if answers to these questions might help to lay the groundwork for implementing Web log practices. Might be worth some time to work through. I have emphasized some that I find particularly intruiging.

1. What are the teaching & learning issues associated with Web logs?

• How can Web logs be effective in generating, recording, and assessing learning?

• What are the pedagogical benefits?
• What should the content standards be for Web logs?
• How can Web logs contribute to both formative and summative assessment?
  
• How can Web log programs be guided by what we know about how students learn?
• How do we document and assess the impact of Web logs on student learning?

2. What are the higher education system issues associated with Web logs?

• What set of potential purposes are there for Web logs? What characteristics are appropriate for each purpose?

• What are the key challenges faced by higher education in moving from the paper record keeping systems to those that include Web logs?
• What are the short and long-term policy implications of Web logs (security, privacy and access, long-term legal implications, definition of official record, need for institutional gatekeepers, FIRPA)?
• What are the implications of a potential shift from institutionally-based to lifelong learner-based records?
• In what ways do institutional Web logs contribute to an institution’s development and record its mission and outcomes?

3. What are the institutional planning, implementation and programmatic issues associated with Web logs?

• How can campuses define the learning outcomes necessary before institutionalizing Web logs?

• What are the institutional policy implications (e.g., intellectual property issues associated with content)?
• What are the support and long-term maintenance implications (financial models, storage and archiving, lifelong Web logs)?
• How can we use our understanding of prior efforts to avoid some of the pitfalls?
• How can institutions of higher education collaborate with each other and with government and industry to address Web log challenges?

4. What are the technical issues associated with Web logs?

• How can existing technologies be used to design effective Web logs?
  
• How can Web logs be integrated into existing enterprise systems (SIS)?
• What are the standards and technical specification issues?

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Looks like Tim has is getting his school set up with MT Web logs. Just seems like this is a natural application for elementary schools where younger kids get a chance to publish and parents get a chance to follow along with what’s up in the classroom. Note too that XML and RSS are featured prominently on most pages, and with this handy little tool, parents could get feeds right into their Outlook In boxes.

There’s no doubt that the potential for increasing communication between parents and schools and teachers is huge with content syndication and Web logs. Some might argue that may not be such a great thing, but I think the more visibility we can create, the more parents will appreciate the process. Too many of the problems arise because there isn’t enough opportunity for parents to stay involoved on some level.
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