Ten Reasons Why

James Farmer proposes weblog learning management system. I think he’s using the term “learning management” loosely. His architecture appears to be a series of interlinked logs [note: link to a PDF file].
He says this is “more functional than the current crop of LMSs I’ve encountered,” but I don’t see any assessment tools, any learner tracking, any synchronous communication options, any back-office integration capabilities, any support for content packaging formats, any integration points for third-party tools, any mechanisms for securing copyrighted content to adhere to fair use requirements, etc etc etc.
Having worked in this field from both “sides” (i.e., managing a university’s academic technology department and working for a commercial instructional technology vendor), I am respectful of people who bootstrap their own solutions. I fondly remember cobbling together a toolkit for online learning in ‘96 consisting of HTML templates, good ol’ HyperNews, and CGI scripts for web chat and multiple-choice quizzes.
And I’m a proponent of weblogs in education. However, no matter how wonderful weblogs are, I don’t expect they will become a panacea to meet all needs, any more than any other technology would be.

Greg Education, Weblogs