2011-Mahara Project

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Mahara ePortfolio Project

Contents

Introduction

This wiki page holds all of the information relating to the Regional Support Centre West Midlands, Mahara ePortfolio Project. Here you will find supporting notes, terms and conditions as well as useful links and information which may help you with your project.


Should you have any questions about any aspect of this project please contact Theresa Welch or Christa Appleton using the details below.


Project Scope and Overview

As part of this project JISC RSC West Midlands is providing:

  • Certified training (brokered to TDM, official Mahara partners),
  • A Mahara platform (hosted by us) and
  • Ongoing support concering the use of Mahara during the project.


In return participants are expected to:

  • Attend both full training days and complete homework in between in order to be eligible for the official Mahara certificate.
  • Make use of the training and work with a small group of students to make use of the Mahara platform for a minimum period of four weeks. Applying the training in practice is seen as an important and integral part of the project.
  • Keep and share a regular blog in your personal Mahara account (hosted by us) in order to provide feedback to the RSC about you project experiences, reflections and conclusions. We are also interested in comments on the entire pilot process.
  • Complete a simple evaluation after the project has ended.


Although privacy will be respected (and no names use without your explicit consent) we intend to use the evidence provided in your Mahara blog to draw conclusions and complete our project report. The report will be published on the RSC West Midlands Wiki2, our eportfolio community of Practice3, or included in LSIS Excellence Gateway e-case studies4. Pertinent evaluation information will be shared with other learning providers (locally and nationally) to help with piloting or evaluation of eportfolio platforms.

Project Support

For any queries relating to this project please contact Theresa Welch or Christa Appleton as below:


For queries about technical support:



Recommended Reading: Mahara 1.2 E-Portfolios: Beginner's Guide

Essential reading for the certificate training this book will develop your skills in the use of mahara. In summary it shows you how to to:

  • Create, customize, and maintain an impressive personal digital portfolio with a simple point-and-click interface
  • Set customized access to share your text files, images, and videos with your family, friends, and others
  • Create online learning communities and social networks through groups, blogs, and forums
  • A step-by-step approach that takes you through examples with ample screenshots and clear explanations


Book Details


Paperback: 264 pages

Publisher: Packt Publishing (9 Feb 2010)

ISBN-10: 1847199062

ISBN-13: 978-1847199065


Project Documentation


Key Dates

  • 2 Days Accredited Mahara Training: Wolverhampton Science Park, 3rd March 2011 and 10th March 2011
  • Project End: 27th May 2011 (4 week Mahara use to take place any time from training up to this date)
  • End of RSC Mahara Hosting: 31st July 2011

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Supporting Resources

The following documents supporting resources may be useful for helping you to think about embedding your use of e-portfolios.






  • E-Portfolios for Starters This short animation shows the benefits of owning and using an e-portfolio. I think its a nice introduction outling some of what an e-portfolio can do. It refers to a learner based in a university but the same could easily be applied to a work based learner.


  • E-Assessment Online Toolkit This new website is very informative and offers lots of useful tools and resources including templates and case studies. It should make a useful resource for those already using some form of e-assessment as well as anyone thinking of adopting e-assessment in the future.


  • E-Assessment: Guide to effective practice E-Assessment: Guide to effective practice covers the use of both e-testing and the use of e-portfolios for assessment. The four UK Qualifications regulators developed the guide in consultation with awarding bodies and providers in different parts of the UK. It is intended to help staff to understand the key issues involved in using e-portfolios, put in place appropriate systems and supporting processes and ensure that people have, or acquire, the requisite skills to manage and use the systems efficiently and effectively. It also includes a series of documents containing tables, checklists, process guides and other resources that may be copied and used by WBL providers.


Terms and Conditions

By taking part in this project, we agree to the following terms and conditions;


1. The Mahara platform hosted by JISC RSC WM is for your organisation only, to use for teaching and learning.

2. From the date of this agreement you will have access to the Mahara platform hosted by us until the end of the academic year 2011. All platforms will be closed as of July 31st 2011. Any data left on the servers will be deleted after this date.

3. Please be guarded about the storage of personal/learner data. It is the responsibility of the project participants to seek all permissions, and ensure sensitive data is NOT used during the project. RSC WM is NOT responsible for the loss of learner data during these pilots, although we will take every reasonable precaution to ensure data security.

4. All project participants are advised to ensure respective end user permissions have been sought to take part in proposed trials and pilot projects. This agreement is between RSC supported organisations, the pilot originator, and authorising manager.

5. These eportfolios should not be used for commercial or promotional purposes.

6. JISC RSC WM are providing hosting options only for the duration of this project, we will however offer our usual RSC technical support (9 am – 5pm weekdays), regarding systems configuration.

7. During the project JISC RSC West Midlands requests that particpants complete a regular (preferably weekly) blog summarising progress, thoughts and conclusions regarding Mahara and the project, to include a final summary on the outcome of their Mahara pilot . This blog will be shared with RSC project support (Theresa Welch and Christa Appleton)to help inform a final report on the impact of the project. Participants will also be expected to complete a short survey after the project has finsished.

8. JISC RSC West Midlands reserves the right to rescind access to any eportfolio platforms if any of the above conditions are not followed. Please return this agreement signed and dated by February 21st 2010, to begin your pilots.

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