2018 was a wild year for me. I had a kid, moved into a new, more technical role at work, and while I haven’t quite yet finished grad school, I’m now close enough that I feel the senioritis kicking in! All that is to say I’m looking forward to what I can achieve in 2019 as I finish school and continue my journey into dad-hood, but it’s the still-new job – Technology Solutions Architect at the University of Portland – that’s the subject of this post.
Moving from the world of edtech, which involved supporting, training, and consulting with faculty on technology tools, to now building, deploying, and administering those tools has been a major transition. As I think about what I know, and what I don’t know, I’ve been reflecting on what helped me to be successful in previous roles and what I can bring to my new one. Something that has stuck out is that I’ve made a habit of teaching, tutoring, writing and making video content that engages with my field. This serves multiple purposes:
- I firmly believe that teaching something, whether that’s by presenting on a topic or creating a how-to guide is one of the best ways to build and retain a deep understanding.
- It helps me to show what I know and documents my growth in my new field.
- Hopefully my content can help others who are in or aspire to learn more about the type of work I’m doing. I’m still in Higher Ed, after all!
So, enter this blog. I’m calling the WordPress category for these posts “Patch Notes” – it’s my way to reflect on and document my professional growth. Possible topics include:
Moodle, WordPress, Linux, databases, cloud computing, open source, education technology, higher ed, Office 365, and more.