An ePortfolio is a collection of digital files, images, videos that showcase competencies, skills, application of knowledge and learning journey. The use of ePortfolios in various industries, disciplines and processes is increasing world-wide, and is in some cases the 'norm' for job applications or for displaying educational learnings. There are three main areas where ePortfolios are widely used.
The lists below also include links to examples of different types of presentation and usage:
LEARNING AND TEACHING - ePortfolios provide a deeper level of understanding due to regular reflection of growth. This can include:
JOB APPLICATIONS - ePortfolios provides a more comprehensive image of the applicant than a written application alone and can include:
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE - An ePortfolio can showcase and evidence continued professional growth and development, which is often required by registering bodies as part of annual registration. This can include:
This video demonstrates and explains how an ePortfolio can be used in a professional capacity.
Mahara basically has 3 parts.
The stuff which you place in your filing cabinet can be graphics, your writing, PDF files, and videos. You can also keep a journal, work history and personal information. When you grab some relevant files out of the filing cabinet and throw them onto the table you can move them around to create a pleasing presentation and save them as a page. The cool thing is even though they are now on that page, they are also still in the filing cabinet waiting to be used again if required!
You can put a collection of pages together to create a book. But even after all this work...no-one except you can see it! So the final step is showing your work to the right people. You can create a semi-private link so only the people with the link can find your page or collection OR you can publish into a more public venue.
For a quick look at how to login to Mahara ePortfolios, watch this video.
Research activity
Access your ePortfolio and spend some time reading the home page (called the dashboard in Mahara) and familiarising yourself with all the tabs. You can either access Mahara via the methods demonstrated above, or click here.
Adding a page in Mahara
To see a range of different options around adding images and files to Mahara, please click here to navigate to the instructions housed with Mahara. You may be prompted to log into Mahara to access these.
Embedding a Kaltura video
In many ways a journal is like a diary EXCEPT that it is written after the fact. It isn't used for planning so much as for reflecting on what happened. There are some exceptions. Some researchers will write down what they intend to do in their next experiment and then later reflect on the results and how they wish to proceed in the future. Like a diary, a journal will have a number of entries based on different days or activities. The title of each journal entry could be the date, the experiment number or the assessment number.
Journals provide the opportunity to reflect on your experiences whilst studying. This is especially the case when undertaking work placements.
Journal entries can be kept private, or they can be shared with individuals or groups for assessment, peer review or as evidence of professional growth. To share them with others, you need to present them.
To learn how to set up your Mahara journal, check out this video:
Have a go at setting up a JOURNAL within Mahara for your ongoing professional practice. This will be useful for:
Once you have the basics of Mahara worked out, it's time to start enhancing your pages and collections. You may be wishing to become more proficient, add some personalisation, or you may have received some feedback about ways to enhance the "viewability" of your page.
To see a range of different options around sharing Mahara pages and submitting within Moodle, please click here to navigate to the instructions housed with Mahara. You may be prompted to log into Mahara to access these.
* Please note - This submission process will only work for Mahara pages and collections created in your STUDENT ACCOUNT, as you will be logging into Moodle as a student. If you create your Mahara pages or collections in your STAFF ACCOUNT, you will need to create and paste in a secret URL in the text submission part of the Moodle assessment submission. Instructions on doing this are in the link above.
It is advisable for participants to log-in to Mahara now and familiarise yourself with the elements covered in this Unit. There are also additional supports on the Study Help tab at the top of your Moodle page. You will need to be competent in the following functions: