<s>
Mahara	B-Application
is	O
a	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
web-based	O
electronic	O
portfolio	O
(	O
eportfolio	O
)	O
management	O
system	O
written	O
in	O
PHP	B-Application
and	O
distributed	O
under	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mahara	B-Application
began	O
in	O
2006	O
as	O
a	O
collaboration	O
between	O
Massey	O
University	O
,	O
Auckland	O
University	O
of	O
Technology	O
,	O
the	O
Open	O
Polytechnic	O
of	O
New	O
Zealand	O
and	O
Victoria	O
University	O
of	O
Wellington	O
,	O
funded	O
by	O
the	O
New	O
Zealand	O
Tertiary	O
Education	O
Commission	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mahara	B-Application
was	O
initially	O
developed	O
by	O
Catalyst	O
IT	O
Limited	O
,	O
a	O
New	O
Zealand	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
company	O
,	O
and	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
April	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
Mahara	B-Application
has	O
since	O
expanded	O
to	O
include	O
a	O
community	O
of	O
contributors	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
New	O
Zealand	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Education	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
open-source	B-Application
electronic	O
portfolio	O
platform	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
student	O
learning	O
and	O
personal	O
learning	O
environment	O
goals	O
of	O
educational	O
institutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mahara	B-Application
allows	O
students	O
to	O
select	O
their	O
own	O
work	O
and	O
prepare	O
an	O
online	O
portfolio	O
,	O
to	O
both	O
share	O
in	O
a	O
university	O
classroom	O
context	O
and	O
show	O
to	O
future	O
employers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mahara	B-Application
supports	O
translation	O
into	O
different	O
languages	O
using	O
language	O
packs	O
,	O
and	O
contributions	O
of	O
complete	O
or	O
near-complete	O
coverage	O
have	O
been	O
provided	O
for	O
Japanese	O
,	O
Basque	O
,	O
French	O
,	O
Māori	O
,	O
Slovenian	O
,	O
German	O
,	O
Czech	O
,	O
and	O
Danish	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
