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Topics I'm following

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These blocks are filled with content once you start using Mahara and create pages, receive messages from other users, have access to others' portfolio pages and use the forums for discussions. You can customize these blocks to your liking by editing your dashboard. Click the *Edit dashboard* button |edit_dashboard| directly on your dashboard or go to *Portfolio* in the navigation menu, click the *Edit* button |edit| next to the dashboard page and change the *blocks* like you would change them on any page in Mahara.

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Refer to the :ref:`page editor <page_editor>` for more information on adding and removing blocks from a page.

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The site administrator can change the default blocks on the dashboard page for new users in *Administration → Configure site → Pages*.

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Introduction

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Welcome to the *Mahara user manual*. This user manual is designed to provide documentation for people who use Mahara on a day-to-day basis. It covers the functionalities of Mahara to provide you with information about what you see on the screen.

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Without further ado, let's begin!

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What is Mahara?

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If you're wondering what Mahara 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.

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At the simplest level, Mahara is two things: an `ePortfolio <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eportfolio>`_ and a `social networking <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network>`_ 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 `Bebo <http://bebo.com/>`_, `Facebook <http://facebook.com/>`_ or `MySpace <http://www.myspace.com/>`_. Basically, they give a way for people to interact with their friends and create their own online communities.