ePortfolio

To collect, reflect on and share your achievements and development online, in a space you control.

An ePortfolio is a collection of electronic evidence that is compiled and managed by the user. In a primary/secondary environment the student would save/manage documents/presentations created during the school year. The ePortfolio should be cumulative and previous years evidence should be archived. Different levels of access need to be allocated, for example: access for the student, teacher, parent and wider community.

ePortfolios is a complex every changing environment as the Web 2.0 tools evolve: ideally an ePortfolio should be seamlessly attached to a Learning Management System such as Moodle or KnowledgeNet.



Mahara is open source software meaning that it is essentially free. However your school needs the expertise to install the software on your school server and manage the Mahara application. It obviously needs to be constantly backuped as a school cannot afford to have a years portfolio lost to a server failure or virus. Another solution is to use a firm such as Catalyst to host your version of Mahara. ( a cost involved)
New Zealands contribution to the ePortfolio environment is Mahara.
Mahara is a maori term " to think, thinking, thought"



Mahara Examples
Plymouth University: Spanish Classes: http://www.plymouth.edu/online/learningtechnologies/mahara.html
To showcase Knowledge and achievments: http://cterfile.ed.uiuc.edu/mahara/view/view.php?id=327

Create your own Demo account: here http://demo.mahara.org/register.php

Things to do in your Demo Account: :)
Or if you are a visual learner: click here :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qV921kg2NM&NR=1

1. Update your profile
2. Upload some files (word docs, powerpoint, images, videos)
3. Create your resume
4. Publish a blog entry
5. Create a view to share
6. Network with others on the demo site
7. Explore the other features

Youtube Videos on Mahara


Click on the Mahara link

1. Create your own Mahara demo account
2. Explore the features available
3. Upload a small document of evidence
4. Try the reflective journal
5. Explore the networking features

---

• Other Web 2.0 Solutions

Some schools are starting to use Google Appsfor creating ePortfolios for students. Schools can apply and get a school version of Google Apps.

Here schools are using Google Apps to create portfolios for students using Google Sites.

Gmail is used for electronic communication

1. Google Calendar is used for timetabling/scheduling and sharing of calendars
2. Google sites is used by the students for creating links to their portfolio evidence
3. Google Apps is used for the creation and storage of documents, presentations and spreadsheets.
4. Google Apps is used as a collaborative working environment for the students and teachers.
5. Hosted applications saves the school money in IT infrastructure and deployment
6. Seamless intergration between Google applications and communications
7. Schools can focus on teaching/learning rather than IT network resources
8. Virus protection and backups provided
9. Google is constantly updating and revising the web 2.0 tools
10. ePortfolio can be accessed easily from both school and home
11. Google Talk: instant messaging, audio and video conferencing

*