Education

Below is a list of several of the courses I took at Florida State University. Also, below are some of my self-taught skills. The courses are organized into three categories. These categories organize the courses into groups in which each group is based on a particular skill set. For example, I learned most of my knowledge regarding usability from Usability Information Systems and as such, it falls under the Usability & Design category.


Coursework


Self-Taught Skills


HTML, XHTML, and CSS

HTML and CSS is one of the main skills I taught myself. Although I have taken many courses that have helped me along away, I learned a lot on my own before ever taking those courses. I learned this skill mostly from trial and error. I began learning it just for fun as a hobby to make simple websites. I read online tutorials, took code snippets and figured out how to change stuff to fit my needs. It eventually became something I thoroughly enjoyed.


Computer Hardware

I learned this skill so that I could build a computer myself. My brother was knowledgeable in this field and helped me, but I also learned from reading online. I also read the manuals that came with the hardware I purchased. This skill has taught me the hardware side of the computers. This has helped me with my troubleshooting skills. This has taught me that sometimes it is not always the software that causes problems. I have learned to how mount motherboards, processors, and other hardware. I have learned how to properly wire the computer and get it working. This skill is important as I think it gives me the understanding that there is a hardware side to this business too and that it is not all about software.


Re-installing Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

I learned these skills mostly for recreation (Windows because I had to). I learned a lot of this from my brother, but I learned how to install Mac OS X and Linux by just digging in and messing around until it worked and then looking online for any help. This has taught me a lot about OS and software installations, as well as a lot about troubleshooting and trial and error. I have learned to install drivers for well over a dozen systems, all on a variety of hardware. This has taught me a lot about the software side of computers. In collaboration with the skills I have picked up on hardware, I can build and reinstall an entire computer getting it ready for anyone to use.


Photoshop

In my experience with websites, I have had to create custom graphics and edit images. This led me to learn Photoshop. I taught myself how to use selection tools, pencil tools and other techniques to edit images and prepare them for the web. Over the years I have learned to not only edit, but to create images using Photoshop. I have begun using Photoshop to help me design wireframes for the new sites I develop. This has proved very useful as before I would just go into development of a new site somewhat blind. By designing a wireframe, I give my website design some focus and vision. I feel these skills will be very useful if I decide to go into web design.

Samples