OPML in the Classroom

RSS, XML, Blogs, Wikis, Moodle, social bookmarking and now OPML. Actually opml has been around since the 1960s. Dave Winer and a community of developers are working on a neat new tool for blogging. The OPML Editor has some really neat ideas. I have been thinking about how it might work in my classroom. The part that I like the most so far, is the way it enables the sharing of links and other resources. One use I am thinking about is when students create a concept map using Inspiration, they could upload the document's opml to a "chapter 3, section 1" folder. This would help in the creation of a student e-portfolio. We currently host folders on our server for students to save their work, but this does not work from their home. With OPML and a student blog, students could access their folders 24-7. This is good and bad. Students like to store things like mp3s and rock star photos, and stuff that is not relevant to atomic structure or quadratic equations. Social software has a few issues as it relates to classroom use. There are also some advantages too. Thus, it is the role of the educator to enlighten the learner as to the valid uses of the technology in the school environment.