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=Attention Special Specialists: We've made one round in our Case Study postings and I think we did good! I believe our next step is to discuss the elements of our story and see if we need more. Can we have a study group chat on Tuesday, 8/10/10 right after the Wimba session (around 9 p.m.)?= =Thanks, Vanessa=

Vanessa, I am fine with that. As you know, my Skype name is martin.j.kaczmarek Talk with you after the wimba. marty kaz

=All, this is Marty kaz. Welcome Amber, Jenna, Sharonda, Vanessa, and Lucia. I look forward to working with you all again.= I believe myself to be quite tech savvy for a person of 50 years old. The military has taught me many technological skills and many training skills which, put together, have led to my iterest in instructional technology. I am about to retire from the Air Force and hope to use these skills in either the public school system or government sector. My classes in this Master's program have helped me make tremendous gains in my computer technology skills as well as my pedagogical skills. These, combined with my general interest/passion for counseling and training our youth should suit me well in future endeavors.
 * Marty kaz technology bio**

My technology experience is mostly acquired in the Military and UMUC courses.
 * From Lucia**

My first classes covered from basic computer education to write HTML code. I am savvy when it comes to Microsoft software since I am always using it as Staff Officer. I can fix common computer problems such as hardware, upload software, connections, set up a VTC, Share Point, and properly use ADOBE Connect.

UMUC courses had increased my knowledge in diverse software utilized in education. Some of this type of software and websites include, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, wikis, blogs, and much other software that add a positive experience to my pedagogical skills.

I have so much to learn, so I will continue seeking education since technology constantly changes. Soon, I will be able to implement all those learned skills in the education system.

=Vanessa's Technology Skills= My technology skills are mostly in the area of using PowerPoint and created computer-based training. I'm pretty adept at using the entire Microsoft Office Suite, and Outlook and Instant Messenger are like second nature to me. Also, I've become the "go-to" person for SharePoint and I marvel and how it can help teams collaborate and be more productive. I haven't used a lot of the social networking tools, but have certainly learned a lot about them in our UMUC classes.

=**Amber's Skills**=

I remember when I started my undergraduate degree in 1995. Back then all I had was a Brother word processor, which was a step up from the type-writer I used in high school. My roommate must have thought I was from the dark ages being that she had a brand new Apple Computer. It wasn't that I did not know how to use a computer; it was just that the only computer usage I could afford was something free at the library, and even then they charged 10 cents for every piece of paper you printed off.

I quit college in the summer of 97 and decided to become a Marine. At that time the Marine Corps was just starting to open many different jobs to women that were not previously available, but even so, the mentality of the men was to "train the women to work in the office". I acquired many computer skills as an ammunition accounting clerk from on the job training or just tinkering around on the computer; nothing I learned back then was from formal training. I am just now learning things from formal training such as building web sites or the use of interactive white boards; I mean we have them at work but no one uses them. In fact I have never seen a person use interactive boards in person, but I am glad to be learning SMART notebook now so that in 6 years when I retire and move to the education sector that I will not be "totally lost in the sauce".

=Sharonda's Skills= I minored in Information Technology in college so most of my technical experience began there. In undergrad, I took courses in Java, Database Management, and Application Development. In addition to that, I have also taken various courses to prepare me to function as a Certified Information System Auditor. The test that I was required to pass included areas such as IT Governance, Change Management, the System Development Life Cycle, Disaster Recovery, and the Protection of Information Assets. I am currently an IT Auditor and although, I could not perform all the duties of an IT personnel, I do have a good medium to high level knowledge of most IT processes. I hope to gain more experience as I continue to grow in my career. I’m also pretty proficient in Microsoft Office and have experience using tools such as ACL and am, in my current master’s program, learning to use tools used in Education, such as the SmartBoard application and various website-making sites online.

=Jenna's Tech Skills=

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Fifteen years ago, while in college, I worked at a store called Software Etc. I started learning about various software programs and computer components. Back then a 1GB hard drive for a computer cost almost $1000. That is when my parents bought me my first PC and I started to familiarize myself with the World Wide Web via AOL... Got Mail? Wow, was it slow !!!!!!!! Throughout college I used the internet, email and MS Works to write papers, but that was about the extent of it. In the late 90's my husband (then boyfriend) started downloading music (about an hour for a 3mb song) and we used photo editing software and delving into the ever growing internet. When I started teaching, I was part of the school's technology committee. Since the school did not have a technology specialist, the committee's job was to assist teachers with any technology problems or questions. There was no training for this role, so for me it was a lot of trial and error. I learned a lot in this role as I had to deal with a lot of software application and email problems. In my years as a teacher, I became more and more comfortable with MS applications and using the internet as a teaching tool. After teaching, I was a manager at an educational retail store. It was then that I used the company's proprietary applications and realizing the value of MS Excel. Excel is an invaluable tool for business. I currently work for an IT company. I have taken training courses in all MS applications and an A+ Hardware Certification course. I receive weekly training in the features and capabilities of new technologies such as Virtualization, Hardware Deduplication, Cloud Computing, Email Archiving and other hardware and software programs from countless vendor. This graduate program accounts for a great deal of my knowledge of website design and has encouraged me to learn a lot about new educational technologies.======