Mahara

"Mahara is an open source e-portfolio and social networking web application that provides users with tools to create and maintain a digital portfolio of their learning" (Wikipedia, 2007). Mahara offers many opportunities of educational communication between students and groups of students. The site allows for students to combine all of their work and educational relevant documents such as wikis, blogs, assessment materials, views and resumes all in the one area. Such a device allows students to store these materials, that may be found in various locations, and furthermore make available to other group work members, teachers, parents, peers and prospective employers.

"Mahara is a highly capable tool, but it will take a week of exploration to truly understand the capabilities of the software"(Aldred, 2010). I have found through exploration and use of the site that it is very beneficial to students participating in group work as groups can be created where all documents, views, ideas and communication can be stored and easily accessed. This is particularly beneficial to networking activities where means of communication are solely online. Maharas simplicity means it is very easy to use, moreover, the site is extremely safe and monitored. Any information uploaded onto the site may be shared with the general public or restricted to groups or individuals.

Mahara would be an excellent tool to use with high school students as they would be able to showcase their best pieces of work, assessment materials and resumes in the site for submission to assessment or to use for prospective employers. The underpinning job of Learning Managers is to engage students within their learning (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999) and cater for individual differences in learners (Felder & Solomon). This online application allows for those students who learn best with relevance to the real-world are able to see reason in such a task as they document life-long learning experiences. 'Digital natives' and students who learn best with the inclusion of ICT's (Prensky 2001)will also benefit from the use of this tool within classroom practices. Through designing an assessment tool that makes use of Mahara as a means of showcasing students work, opportunities are provided for gifted and talented students to participate in extension activities that further request these students to produce a greater number of materials displayed on the site. Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and students from various ethnic backgrounds along with students with disabilities (Queensland Governement, 2006) are catered for through the manipulation of assessment, Learning Managers will be able to manipulate the tasks which ask students to provide materials onto Mahara to ensure inclusive practices are achieved. Learning Managers are also able to attain engagement (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999) within tasks relating to Mahara through the incorporation of other tools studied throughout this course such as Voki Avatars, Piknic, PowerPoint, Flickr, ect (Aldred, 2010). Students are also able to form groups and participate in online communication with peers which allows for peer teaching and learning along with a sense of engagement through networking with one another (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999).

There are various benefits of using e-portfolio applications such as Mahara within educational contexts along with every-day uses. The major being the ability to produce and maintain a life-long portfolio of learning.

References
Aldred, S. (2010). Learning style and personality. Retrieved from CQUniversity, FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=44149

Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved from CQUniversity,
FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning, http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Wikipedia.(2007). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: Mahara. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahara

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon. MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001.

Felder, R., Solomon, A. Learning Styles And Strategies. Retrieved from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm