First of all, the idea of using markup to separate content from presentation is why XML was designed, so it’s not a new idea (unless I’ve misunderstood the idea behind the post). We use RSS to distribute content that can be displayed in any number of ways depending on the platform we use to view it. How is this different from what Hammersley is suggesting?

I also wonder about the phrase, “Having to learn to write in markup isn’t an imposition”. I’m pretty comfortable using markup, whether it’s HTML or some kind of wiki-based format, so I can imagine learning yet another system of rules. However, I think I can say quite confidently that there are very few students and academics who will (at least in my limited experience). Following on from the idea of using markup to create some sort of PLE / portfolio, doesn’t that limit what the PLE can be to what the designers of the markup language end up creating?

Finally, the idea of “transferring writing and editing to the cloud” as a form of archiving and distribution seems like it’s already been done. Does Hammersley mean something like Google Docs, or WordPress?

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that I don’t read anything in the article that seems new in any way when compared to tools that already exist. But as I said, maybe I missed the point.

Thanks again for a thought-provoking post.