The document outlines a session on Mahara eportfolios, providing guidance on creating personal and group portfolios, and emphasizing collaboration and multimedia integration. It includes various activities focused on reflecting on learning experiences and utilizing social networking within Mahara. Additionally, it highlights the sustainability of eportfolios for lifelong learning and their application in educational settings.

1. Learn Mahara
Monday 25th March 2013
College Development Network

2. Today's Session
•Introducing Mahara ePortfolios – what, who and why?
•Building your own Mahara ePortfolio
•Collaborating within the room
•Sharing your content
•The end? You and your ePortfolio don’t have to break up!

4. Create a Learner Profile
Create a learner (teacher) profile that contains the following
things: (Portfolio menu>Pages>Profile View)
•A two-column layout;
•A text box that begins 'I enjoy teaching most when...‘;
•A text box that summarises your current teaching role (subjects,
year levels etc.);
•A text box with some information about yourself
•A photo of something related to an interest of yours.

5. Blog (Journal) entry #1
•Go into your content area and add a new journal called
‘LearnMahara'. You will use this blog to reflect on what you
are learning about Mahara;
•Add a new journal entry answering the following question:
"How can you use journals with your Learners?"
•Now we need to add your journey to your profile. Go into your
Profile view and add a ‘Journal post block’. This will put a
single blog post onto your profile view.
Tip! You can have
more than 1 Journal

6. Definition
An ePortfolio provides an online environment which can be
used by students and staff to demonstrate their learning, skills
and development and record their achievements over time
to selected audience(s).
“ePortfolios are learners own stories of
what they know”

7. Use social networking tools
To familiarise yourself with the social networking side of Mahara,
complete the following activity:
•Search for and find a 'friend' in the room;
•Send a friend request;
•Request membership to ‘Monday is the Day to Learn.Mahara’;
Extended Activity: Create a group using your own example and
invite the room to be members.

8. Reflection
Discuss: How is an [e]portfolio different from a folder?
“Knowing about things……Knowing yourself”

9. The great paper airplane competition!
Facilitated Activity
Please work in groups to create an eportfolio showcasing your
attempt to create the perfect paper airplane.
Choose a name with your group and assign 1 member of the
group to be group administrator, this person will create the
group. This person shall be ‘teacher’.
Agree how you will organise your group portfolio’s file area,
having an organised file structure now, will make creating your
pages much easier.
Tip! Being a member of your
learners group lets you contribute,
feedback and interact as a peer.
Tip! Your OWN portfolio areas
are private unless you share.

10. The great paper airplane competition
contd…..
Your group portfolio must include the following things during
the construction of your paper airplane:
•A text box describing the steps required to construct the
perfect paper dart;
•At least three images, outlining the stages of development;
•An 'embedded media' video of the dart launch;
•A Youtube/Teachertube video related to paper darts;
•Share your group page with the room;
Email a secret URL to another member of the room
Extended Activity: Use the external content block to embed
media from another site. E.g. soundcloud, flickr

11. Blog entry #2
Go back to your LearnMahara Journal and add a new entry,
answering this question: "How can you use multimedia in e-
portfolios with Learners?"
“We do not learn from our experiences….
We learn from reflecting on our
experiences” - Dewey
Tip! You can customise your
Mahara site to rename terms you
are more comfortable with. E.g.
Change references to ‘Journal’ to
the more common ‘Blog’

12. Leaving feedback
You can leave feedback on pages and content within the pages.
This can be public or private. Go to a different groups page and
give them some feedback on their view…

13. Working with Templates
The process for setting up a template is:
1.Create a ‘page’ in your Portfolio menu>pages area that you
would like to act as the template, then once your page is
finished;
1.Allow copying by clicking into Portfolio menu>share and
clicking on the edit access icon (KEY) for sharing options.
You will tick the box to allow
sharing as shown.

14. Journal entry #3.
Write a new Journal entry answering this question: "What is one
thing you can do over the next two weeks with e-portfolios?"

15. Don’t leave me behind!
Something that we have spent our precious time on is
worthwhile, but only if there is a purpose for doing it…...
Mahara ePortfolio’s are sustainable, they can be joined to the hip
of learners throughout their whole journey. Leaving College and
taking their ePortfolio to Uni, or to potential employees for a post
in their career they have chosen and as they continue to learn,
their ePortfolio can securely keep the ‘digital diary’.
Joint Class Activity
Using the memory stick issued to you, the room will work through
the process together of exporting your ePortfolio and with this
you can install Mahara on your pc at home or work and continue
using. Absolutely no time spent is wasted.

16. Summarise our day
Open Discussion
What have we learned about using Mahara ePortfolio as an
effective addition to our learning and teaching tools?
Activity and Open Discussion
Throw ideas about the room of how you could introduce the use
of ePortfolios in your own institution and strategies you would
use to engage staff and learners.
Forth Valley College have successfully embedded the use of a
rebranded Mahara within their teaching departments, service
departments and as a platform to deliver information to learners
before they start college, and after.
Any questions are now welcome 

17. References and Recognition
Thank you to Dawn Corley for sharing the wonderful quotes
Thank you to the Mahara team for providing a powerful
tool to the open source community and for all their
continued support…
Thank you to everyone who contributes to Mahara.org
And, of course
The inspirational learners who motivate
us to keep providing them with the best
technologies to help them shine 