Intro to the interface
Mahara is a multi-purpose platform that can perform many tasks, and therefore can be quite tricky to navigate the first time round. It's worth remembering that you can always find your way back to the starting screen (Dashboard) by selecting the Cranfield Mahara logo.
There are three main areas: Create (where you store all your digital assets), Share (where you display your work and choose who has access to it), and Engage (where you can create private or public spaces for online discussion and collaboration). Manage is the area for exporting your portfolios before your complete your studies so you can take them with you.
You access all these areas via the Hamburger Menu in the top-right of your screen:
Dashboard:
Think of your Dashboard as your control panel. Here you can access pretty much any part of your ePortfolio in one click, plus you can see what's been going on on any pages you are interested in.
- Find out more about the Dashboard in the Mahara Wiki >
Create:
Think of the Create area as your storage cupboard. You house your artefacts and data in there for use elsewhere. Here you can create your portfolios (Pages, or groups of Pages called Collections), update your CV information, record thoughts and reflections in journals, store files, create plans, and record CPD activities.
Everything you place in your Create area is private by default. It will only be visible when you share it via the Share area.
- Find out more about the Create area in the Mahara manual >
Share:
The Share area is used to present your artefacts that are stored in your Create area. This is where you can choose what access you'd like to give your Pages/Collections and see what has been shared with you by other Mahara users.
- Find out more about the Share area in the Mahara manual >
Engage:
The Engage area is where you can access study groups that have been set-up for you as part of your module. You also have the power to create your own study or special interest group that could be closed or open for new members.
- Find out more about the Engage area in the Mahara manual >
Manage:
The Manage area is whereto can upload an existing portfolio e.g. that you created at a previous institution or download your portfolios from Cranfield Mahara. Take your portfolio with you wherever you go.
- Find out more about the Manage area in the Mahara manual >