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Mahara Project

Portfolios for learning and more brought to you by the Mahara team at Catalyst IT. Host Kristina Hoeppner talks with portfolio practitioners, researchers, learning designers, students, and others about their portfolio story.

  1. 2d ago

    Molebogeng Thage: How portfolios support digital resilience at high school and beyond

    Portfolio work can start at the school level and foster digital resilience through supporting students' technological adaptability, self-directed learning and metacognition, and critical digital engagement, says Molebogeng Esther Thage, MEd. She and Amokelo Given Maweya, MEd, developed a conceptual model to draw these connections and illustrate why portfolios are important in teaching and learning and why students benefit from reflecting on their learning. Molebogeng is a teacher and a departmental head at a high school in the Tshwane West District, in the Gauteng Province in South Africa. Currently, she is also pursuing her PhD in Educational Foundation at The Tshwane University of Technology. Together with Amokelo, she wrote the chapter 'Digital resilience in the 21st century: The role of ePortfolios in fostering adaptive and technological competencies'. Resources Modise, M.-E., & Vaughan, N. (Eds.). (2025). Digital resilience of ePortfolios during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for the future. Open Education AlbertaSAERA ConferenceData Driven Districts (DDD)ePortfolios South Africa YouTube channelRelated episodes Mpho-Entle Modise & Norm Vaughan: The portfolio as enabler of changeAntje Koenen: Engage with your students as partners through a portfolioSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios. Production information Production: Catalyst IT Host: Kristina Hoeppner Artwork: Evonne Cheung Music: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

  2. Jul 14

    Heather Pate & Rebecca Scriven: The age of portfolios is now

    Dr Heather Pate is a Lecturer in the Academic Practice Team, and Rebecca Scriven, SFHEA, is the Digital Learning Lead, both in the Centre for Learning and Teaching at Edith Cowan University (ECU). They are instrumental in supporting the curriculum shift to a programmatic approach to learning that centrally features portfolios. In this episode, they talk about how portfolios were used at ECU in the past and why the shift to programmatic learning is imperative. They also touch on the absolute need for the support from the whole institution, in particular the leadership to bring everybody along. Resources ePortfolios Australia community of practiceEportfolio Forum 2026, 23-24 September 2026 in Sydney and onlinePate, H., & Scriven, R. (2025, November 12). Finding the sweet spot: Portfolios, programmatic learning, and student belonging [Presentation]. Eportfolio Forum, Launceston. Recording.Beck, E., Scriven, R., & Coleman, K. (2026, June 2). Differences in opinion: Portfolio definitions, practices and approaches [Webinar]. 2026 Eportfolio Webinar Series, Online.Dollinger, M., Dawson, P., Ford, A., Liu, D., & Rekhari, S. (2026, June 4). Assuring online degrees in the age of gen AI [Panel conversation]. TEQSA Talks, Online. Recording to be published on the TEQSA Talks page.TEQSA Generative AI knowledge hubColeman, K. (2017). An a/r/tist in wonderland Exploring identity, creativity and digital portfolios as a/r/tographer [PhD Thesis, University of Melbourne].ECU Newsroom. (2026, June 15). Programmatic learning delivers early results.Related episodes Kate Mitchell: Deliberate and programmatic designMark Glynn: Take a programmatic approach to assessment with portfoliosSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios. Production information Production: Catalyst IT Host: Kristina Hoeppner Artwork: Evonne Cheung Music: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

  3. Jun 30

    C. Reynolds, D. Oesch-Minor, H.L. Chen: Looking back at AAEEBL 2026

    Prof Dr Candyce Reynolds (Boise State University), Prof Dr Debbie Oesch-Minor (Indiana University Indianapolis), and Dr Helen L. Chen (Stanford University) were on the organising teams of the AAEEBL Annual Meeting and / or AAEEBL Symposium, held in June 2026. In this episode, we look back at these two events, what we are taking away from them, and share what some of the plans are for the Association for Authentic, Experiential, and Evidence-Based Learning in the coming months. Resources AAEEBL Annual Meeting and Symposium 2026 websiteAAEEBL Symposium 2026 recordingsAAEEBL Annual Meeting 2026 recordingIntegrative Learning Portfolio Lab at Stanford UniversityePortfolio Studio at Indiana University IndianapolisTaxonomy of Reflective Inquiry (TORI)International Journal of ePortfolio (IJeP)AAEEBL ePortfolio Review (AePR)Modise, M.-E., & Vaughan, N. (Eds.). (2025). Digital resilience of ePortfolios during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons for the future. Mount Royal University Library.Yancey, K. (2023). The value of purposeful design: A case study of an ePortfolio reflective prompt. Across the Disciplines, 20(3/4), 31-49.Riff - Reflection partnerAAEEBL Digital Ethics in ePortfolios Task Force application; deadline: 15 September 2026AAEEBL newsletterUpcoming events Follow AAEEBL events to receive notifications about upcoming eventsAAEEBL Shark Tank, August 2026; pitch submission deadline: 31 July 2026Eportfolio Forum in Sydney, Australia, and online, 23-24 September 2026FLANZ conference 'He Tāngata' in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand, 7-9 October 2026Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, IN, USA, 18-20 October 2026Related episodes Candyce Reynolds & Sonja Taylor: Hashtags, social media, and portfoliosDebbie Oesch-Minor and Salsabil Qaddoura: Foster student ownership and empowerment through a portfolioHelen L. Chen: Reflect through conversation to tell your storySubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios. Production information Production: Catalyst IT Host: Kristina Hoeppner Artwork: Evonne Cheung Music: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

  4. Jun 16

    Doris Tam & Evonne Cheung: Behind the scenes of Mahara 26.04

    Developer Doris Tam, BE, and Senior Visual Designer Evonne Cheung, BDes, from Catalyst IT talk about the redesign of Mahara that went live at the end of April 2026. The redesign marks a milestone in the almost 20-year history of the Mahara project. It overhauled the look and feel of Mahara entirely, aligning it to modern principles of design-led and responsive web design. This makes it easier for portfolio creators to use and interact with. Learn about some of the thinking and the process that went into this release as we pull back the curtain from the software development lifecycle that is typically hidden. Resources Open Source AcademySummer of TechMahara UX review 2024: WireframesMahara 26.04 highlightsMahara demo siteSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios. Production information Production: Catalyst IT Host: Kristina Hoeppner Artwork: Evonne Cheung Music: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

  5. Jun 2

    Tour de tip: 31 encouraging tips for portfolio authors

    Host Kristina Hoeppner looks back at the advice that the learning designers, faculty, and students from the past year have for learners who create portfolios. Their advice can be put into five different categories: Authenticity and identityEmbracing creativity and riskPurpose and audienceReflection and growthOwnership and prideInterviews in alphabetical order: Amy Cicchino and Brandi Gilbert: Portfolios as high-impact practicesAmy Cicchino, McKenna Slaughter, Nghi Chau: Students support students in creating portfoliosAntje Koenen: Engage with your students as partners through a portfolioChristina Mayes: Portfolio support through peer mentorsCordula Schwiderski, Hannah Brodel, Martina Osterrieder, Martin Sticht: Planning and decision making guide for portfoliosDavid Hicks: The portfolio tells the story of growthDebbie Oesch-Minor and Salsabil Qaddoura: Foster student ownership and empowerment through a portfolioJack Rice: The portfolio as the space for growth in between stimulus and responseJaye Ryan: Showcase yourself through your portfolioLindsay Richardson: Portfolios in large courses with a side of AIMarie 'Bernie' Fisher: Reflecting on portfolio practiceMegan Mize: Ramping up to support 18,000 students with portfoliosMike Altieri: Use reflection bot Riff for deeper and more meaningful portfolio reflectionMpho-Entle Modise and Norm Vaughan: The portfolio as enabler of changePablo Avila: Portfolios at scale at LaGuardia Community CollegeRob Lowney: Create collaborative portfolios to surface group learningSoropepeli Ramacake: Know, grow, and show through your portfolioSue Schibeci: Portfolios in work-integrated learning experiencesTessa Forshaw and Rich Braden: Unleash your innovation and creativity with a portfolioVickel Narayan: Portfolios in the age of AI: A rethink to the approach?Yvonne Moore and James Pearce: Skills portfolios encourage continued reflectionSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios. Production information Production: Catalyst IT Host: Kristina Hoeppner Artwork: Evonne Cheung Music: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

  6. May 19

    Rob Lowney: Create collaborative portfolios to surface group learning

    Dr Rob Lowney, SCMALT, SFHEA, SFSEDA, is a Senior Learning Technologist in the Teaching and Enhancement Unit at Dublin City University in Ireland. He's been working with digital technologies for many years and supports students and staff at DCU in their work with them. Rob is also active in the Mahara and Moodle communities because DCU contributes knowledge and features that benefit everyone. Rob talks about the use of group portfolios at DCU as the university has been sponsoring an update to Mahara and the Mahara assignment submission plugin for Moodle to streamline the submission of group portfolios and administer the managing of groups for submission purposes. He also discusses how students and staff are supported on their portfolio journey at DCU. Resources MoodleMunchDCU's reflective practice guide and resourcesDCU's transversal skills frameworkDCU portfolio help, including student examplesLowney, R. (2025, June 10). Enhancing engagement with group portfolio submissions. Mahara Hui Online, Online.Scully, D., O’Leary, M., & Brown, M. (2018). The learning portfolio in higher education—A game of snakes and ladders. Dublin City University, Centre for Assessment Research, Policy & Practice in Education (CARPE) and National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL).Donaldson, L. (Ed.). (2018). Eportfolio based assessment—Inspiring exploration and supporting evaluation for practitioners. Dublin City University, National Institute for Digital Learning, Dublin City University.Donaldson, L. (Ed.). (2021). Exemplars of DCU best practice with eportfolio based assessment. Dublin City University, National Institute for Digital Learning.Upcoming events EdTech Conference, 3-4 June 2026AAEEBL Annual Meeting, 10-12 June 2026AAEEBL Symposium, 16-17 June 2026Catalyst Moodle Community Day, 16 June 2026Upcoming Mahara eventsRelated DCU episodes Lisa Donaldson: From 0 to 6,000 in six weeksOrna Farrell: Supporting learners and lecturers alike in their portfolio journeyMark Brady: Journal regularly for profound insightSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios. Production information Production: Catalyst IT Host: Kristina Hoeppner Artwork: Evonne Cheung Music: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

    Rob Lowney: Create collaborative portfolios to surface group learning

  7. May 5

    Special: Network with community members

    Take out your planner or open your digital calendar and get ready to enter the upcoming events that give you the opportunity to chat with other portfolio practitioners because you don't want to miss any of them. There's a mix of Mahara focused events and wider portfolio community events and a mix of free and paid-for events. Here they are in chronological order: May 2026 6, 7, and 12 May: Unveiling Mahara 26.04: A fresh look and exciting new features13 May: Mahara Ask Me Anything May 202614 May: Mahara Hui Schweiz19 May: Mahara 26.04: Ein neues Erscheinungsbild und aufregende neue Funktionen20 May: Building digital resilience through ePortfolios: Lessons for the future26 May: PARE - Plan, Act, Reflect, and ePortfolioJune 2026 10-12 June: AAEEBL Annual Meeting16-17 June: AAEEBL Symposium18 June: Mahara Ask Me Anything June 2026September 2026 23-24 September: Eportfolio Forum - subscribe to updates for more information Resources Podcast episode 'Mpho-Entle Modise & Norm Vaughan: The portfolio as enabler of change'Mahara 26.04 highlightsSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios. Production information Production: Catalyst IT Host: Kristina Hoeppner Artwork: Evonne Cheung Music: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

    Special: Network with community members

  8. Apr 21

    Pablo Avila: Portfolios at scale at LaGuardia Community College

    Pablo Avila, MA, is the Associate Director of The Center for Teaching and Learning at LaGuardia Community College (City University of New York). He's been creating portfolios and supporting students and faculty with their own and the strategic implementation of portfolios at LaGuardia since 2008. In this episode, Pablo talks about his own portfolio journey, how it influenced his work with portfolios, and how students and faculty at LaGuardia are supported in their portfolio work. References Pablo's websiteePortfolios at LaGuardiaHIPs in the StatesAAC&U list of high-impact practicesAAEEBLEynon, B., & Gambino, L. M. (2017). High-impact ePortfolio practice: A catalyst for student, faculty, and institutional learning. Routledge.Eynon, B., & Gambino, L. M. (2018). Catalyst in action. Routledge.Taxonomy of Reflective InquiryAAC&U VALUE rubricsRiffAAEEBL webinar series on artificial intelligenceAAEEBL Annual Meeting and Symposium 2026 Related episodesAmy Cicchino & Brandi Gilbert: Portfolios as high-impact practicesLeticia Britos Cavagnaro: Make learning visibleSubscribe to the monthly newsletter about Mahara and portfolios. Production information Production: Catalyst IT Host: Kristina Hoeppner Artwork: Evonne Cheung Music: The Mahara tune by Josh Woodward

    Pablo Avila: Portfolios at scale at LaGuardia Community College
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About

Portfolios for learning and more brought to you by the Mahara team at Catalyst IT. Host Kristina Hoeppner talks with portfolio practitioners, researchers, learning designers, students, and others about their portfolio story.

Information

  • Creator
    Mahara Project
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Catalyst IT Limited
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    Create. Share. Engage.