brightcookie

Mahara - social networking in an educational environment

More and more secondary and tertiary educational institutions are benefiting from the use of software that focuses on the social aspect of education.

Other Social Networks, such as MySpace and Facebook, are widely available and have thus been used by many students on an informal basis. They provide a social platform as well as long-lasting, continuous storage of their work, pictures and other digital items.

However, there are some significant drawbacks. The biggest and most concerning one would have to be the problem of providing a safe online environment, especially if these programmes are used within an educational context. Every user has access to all Artefacts displayed in the individual portfolios.

Meet Mahara ...

Mahara is software that allows you to restrict the access you give for people viewing your portfolio, e.g. you may limit access to only certain items of the portfolio until participants have completed certain modules.

Compared to MySpace and Facebook, Mahara concentrates on the social features of learning and provides these features in a safe and controlled corporate environment.

In a controlled environment it provides additional features, such as:

  • File Repository
  • Blogging Tools
  • Resume Builder
  • Social Networking
  • Profile Information
  • Metadata

For more information on how Mahara could work for you, please contact us.