Mahara is an open source ePortfolio system that allows you to build dynamic and engaging portfolios in no time. Use Mahara when applying for jobs, creating portfolios for certification and accreditation, to support teaching and learning, for classroom projects, to create your own social network, and much more. This book will show you the many different ways in which you can use and exploit the various components of Mahara.
The Mahara 1.4 Cookbook will introduce you to features you may not have explored, and show you how to use them in ways you probably had not considered. The book also provides guidance in the use of GIMP, Picasa, Audacity, MS Word, and other programs that can be used to create artifacts. It will provide you with techniques for creating everything from dynamic and engaging web pages to complete projects, interactive groups, educational templates, showcase portfolios, and professional resume packages.
By exploring the recipes in this book, you will learn how to use each of the various blocks and content areas including the Resume sections, Journals, and Plans. You will learn how to archive a portfolio and set access levels. We will build an art gallery and a newspaper, use groups for collaboration and assessment, and use the Collections feature to build complex layered portfolios. You will also find recipes for building templates for standards-based report cards, college applications, and teacher certification. The book is packed with ideas from the simple to the extremely advanced, but each idea is supported with step-by-step instructions that will make all of them seem easy.
Chapter 1, Mahara for the Visual Arts, explores the use of Mahara for reflecting on process, and demonstrates various methods for showcasing work. Techniques for customizing image displays and protecting access to images are also covered.
Chapter 2, Literature and Writing, focuses on the uses of Mahara for language acquisition and for showcasing various forms of writing. Recipes include the use of various types of journals, the creation of a small poetry book, and the use of reflections in learning a second language. The chapter also includes a short tutorial on using GIMP for creating illustrations.
Chapter 3, The Professional Portfolio, provides ideas and templates for building resumes, resume packages, and portfolios for Promotion and Tenure. The recipes range from a very basic resume page, to a highly complex portfolio containing collections within collections.
Chapter 4, Working with Groups, takes an in-depth look at Groups, one of Mahara's most powerful features. Recipes include the building of a newspaper with student columnists, web pages that feature student work, and techniques for building templates.
Chapter 5, The Primary Education Portfolio, is comprehensive and packed full of ideas; all readers will benefit from the varied and creative uses of Mahara in this chapter. An example of these is the international project recipe that explains the technique for adding a banner to a Mahara page. Other examples are the use of plans for book reports, and the use of Secret URLs for setting access levels.
Chapter 6, The Social Portfolio, is simply a fun chapter that explores how to "pimp" your Profile page. Add a slideshow, write on a wall, add a counter so you can see how many visitors you get, or add a Twitter feed. Regardless of what else you choose to share, everyone in your Mahara instance can see your profile page. Learn how to make it much more reflective of who you are.
Chapter 7, The College Application Portfolio, talks about building a college entrance art portfolio, and the Common Application and its various supplements. Recipes follow the standard application procedures. The chapter also includes the use of code for creating tables in Mahara. This code is available for download from the Packt website. With modification, the code could be used for additional purposes in the ePortfolio process.
Chapter 8, Certification and Accreditation Portfolio for Higher Education, examines the various ways Mahara can be used by Colleges and Universities for the ePortfolios they use to meet certification and accreditation requirements. Since accreditation standards vary across disciplines and regions, the ECIS International Teacher portfolio is used to provide ideas for the development of other similar portfolios.
This book uses Mahara out of the box that is, without plugins. Some of the chapters, however, do use additional freeware as well as open source programs and applications. These include Audacity, GIMP, KompoZer, and Picasa.
Anyone interested in using an ePortfolio or in helping others build one teachers, professors, students, guidance counselors, advisors, mentors, career counselors, and individuals interested in building an online resume and/or portfolio.
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Note
Tips and tricks appear like this.
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