Concluding Comments
As I hope the previous sections demonstrate, there are different ways to approach the integration of Web writing, community service, and writing instruction at the freshman level. From this range of assignments and student work, I think that we can draw one fairly certain conclusion: that Web writing assignments should be shaped and assessed in the context of local circumstances and course goals. Questions of context are often minimized in discussions of how computer technology should be used in the classroom. But clearly, teachers working in different institutional settings with different groups of students and different technical resources develop quite distinct—and clever—ways to use the Web and community service to enhance their students' learning.

There are other types of Web writing assignments that might be more appropriate in other classroom and institutional contexts. For instance, asking students to create a personal homepage might be a suitable assignment for a course that focuses on personal writing; asking students to maintain a weblog for the duration of the course is another way to use the Web as a space for students' personal or research-based writing.

& Questions
I have used an admittedly broad definition of "community service" here, particularly in discussing my own course project in the previous section. Is it too much of a dilution of community service-learning principles to say that creating a website for a local organization or community group constitutes a kind of community service?

Many Web writing assignments are collaborative enterprises; given the amount of time and the range of skills involved in creating a website, it makes sense that students should work in groups on these projects. What problems arise that are specific to collaborative Web writing? I'm thinking in particular of the impact that an uneven distribution of computer skills among our students might create. If one student in the group takes on the role of computer expert, what role do the other students play? Do they benefit equally from the Web writing assignment?

Assessment is a crucial issue for Web writing assignments. How do we grade students' websites? Do we focus only on the writing in the site, or do we include in our evaluation such factors as design, navigation, page layout, graphics, and aesthetic considerations? If we are assessing students on these factors, how do we teach such matters in a writing class?

Web writing assignments, in and of themselves, do not necessarily enhance students' critical computer literacy. That is, such assignments may teach students how to write for the Web without necessarily teaching them about the impact of the Web and of computer technology more generally on our society. How do we design Web writing assignments that teach students to take a critical approach to the Web at the same time as they contribute content to the Web?