Mahara

Mahara is a program within which you can: profile yourself; build a portfolio; provide links to external feeds; describe your skills, experience, qualifications and dreams; create friendships/social networks, and; share various types of files. There is a small annual fee for connection but Mahara is relatively easy to use with a login password, tab menu system, browse file upload and URL based weblinks. There is also a privacy feature so that individual site owners (or group managers) have control over the material other users may access.

The program offers two major opportunities to enhance learning in the education industry: motivation and collaboration. According to "The Need to Belong: Rediscovering Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs" (Kunc, 1992), students are more motivated to learn if their low and mid level needs are met, including feeling a sense of belonging, . Mahara has social-networking facilities and the opportunity to document your strengths and goals. If all of its features are embraced the program may offer students the opportunity not only to feel that they belong, but that they can get their higher level needs fulfilled, such as obtaining the respect of others.

There is a 'group' feature in Mahara that allows various file types such as spreadsheets, powerpoints and other electronic information to be easily shared. According to "Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning" (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999), collaboration assists motivation through verbalising problems and different people's perspectives. Mahara offers the opportunity to share student's work in a forum common to the class, which:

...provides an incentive for them to do the best possible work, since they know that their work will be viewed by their classmates...