User Manuals

  • QMplus Hub is based on open source software called 'Mahara'. The version we are using is v18.04. You can read the generic online user guide to Mahara on the Mahara wiki: (please note that screenshots will not always look the same as we have a Queen Mary custom theme, some functionality may also not have been enabled)

Local support for QMplus Hub

If our userguides, screencasts or online course do not meet your needs or answer your questions about QMplus Hub then there are other options:

QMplus Hub face-to-face support for staff

  • Come along to our drop-in sessions run twice weekly at Mile End and once a week at Whitechapel during peak periods - find out more >>
  • If you'd like to talk with one of our learning technologists about how you could use QMplus Hub in your teaching then make an appointment via our online scheduler. - find out more >>>
  • We run classroom training sessions in aspects of QMplus Hub regularly so check on our booking system for the next session
  • ..or if there are at least 5 or more of you who are interested we can tailor a session to meet your needs..find out more >>>

QMplus Hub technical support for staff & Students

  • You can phone the IT helpdesk on extension 8888 with technical questions
  • Drop-in to the IT helpdesk on the third floor of the Queen's building at Mile End
  • Log a ticket on the IT helpdesk
  • Talk to the E-learning support officer in your school. (check this list to see if you have one)

 

Effective Practice with E-Portfolios

1.1 What is QMplus Hub?

If you’re wondering what QMplus Hub or an ePortfolio is, why you might want one and what it can do for you, then read on – you’re about to find out.

At the simplest level, QMplus Hub is two things: an ePortfolio and a social networking system combined. An ePortfolio is a system in which students can record “evidence of lifelong learning” – such as essays, artwork or other such things they produce that can be stored digitally. Such things are known as artefacts in Mahara. Social networking systems need little introduction – think Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Basically, they give a way for people to interact with their friends and create their own online communities.

But QMplus Hub is much more than just a place to store files. QMplus Hub also includes blogging, a résumé builder, and close integration with QMplus itself.

The software that powers QMplus Hub is called 'Mahara'. Mahara is open source software that was developed in New Zealand. Mahara is the Maori word : To think

1.2 The QMplus Hub framework

With QMplus Hub, you control which items and what information within your portfolio other users see. Such items and information are termed artefacts. To facilitate this access control, all artefacts you wish to show to other users need to be arranged into one area. In QMplus Hub this compilation of selected artefacts is called a ‘page’. You can have as many pages as you like, each with a different number of artefacts, intended purpose and audience. Your audience, or the people you wish to give access to your page, can be added as individuals or as a member of a group. It can even be made publicly available.

For example you could create:

  • a page for your friends and family that includes holiday photos and a personal journal
  • a page for your tutor, which includes assessments and your reflective learning journal
  • a page to showcase your best pieces of work and your résumé for potential employers
  • ...

A single page or a collection of pages can make up your portfolio. Unless artefacts are placed in a page, they are not visible to anybody but you. You can use files that you uploaded or journal entries you wrote in as many pages as you wish. You only need one copy of your artefact.

Imagine you collected all your artefacts in a shoe box. Whenever you have a new artefact, you add it to the shoe box. When you are ready to create your portfolio, you take a look at the artefacts in your shoe box and choose those that you want to make available on a portfolio page. You can arrange the artefacts on that page to your liking.

How an ePortfolio works

Video User Guides

Browse our growing archive of video user guides:

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Useful links about using E-portfolios