TTT: Please
describe your work at UW Oshkosh.
AJ: I'm the Instructional
Technology Developer. I help instructors integrate technology into their
teaching and learning, primarily online materials. What that means on
a day-to-day basis is that I: conduct training seminars, answer technical
support questions, assist with the design on online assignments or other
materials, make office calls to help out instructors, and more!
I'm also on the Senate of
Academic Staff and was elected President Elect this year. Through the
Senate, I'm involved in a lot more on campus such as the Handbook Review
Committee (a project I loved!) and the compensation committee, plus
regular Senate business.
TTT: What
do you enjoy most about your job?
AJ: Helping
people understand computers. When I was a kid, my family was frequently
frustrated by computer manuals that made no sense, weren't organized,
or just didn't have what we needed. I thought it would be fun to write
manuals when I got older (better ones, of course!). Last year, I remembered
this old childhood dream. Amazing how through many twists and turns,
I'm essentially doing that now. I don't write the manuals, but I am
helping people understand their computers better--sort of a verbal manual
at times.
TTT: What's
the most memorable thing that has happened to you at this job?
AJ: The last two springs, I was lucky enough to get funding to attend
the CATS (Community of Academic Technology Staff) Conference in California.
CATS is primarily made up of people from the California State University
campuses, but also includes others from around the country. Besides
getting to visit California for the first time in my life, the connections
with people with my job in other parts of the country has been invaluable.
It's also been helpful to realize we all deal with the same issues.
On some, they are ahead of us. But on others, Wisconsin is leading.
It's nice to know that sometimes because there's often the feeling that
the Coasts are always ahead of the rest of the country.
And Wisconsin does
have happier cows!
TTT: What
do you enjoy doing in your free time? Any hobbies, recent trips or hidden
talents you'd care to tell our readers about?
AJ: This summer, my husband, Eric, and I adopted a Boxer puppy,
Jedi
(http://www.boxerworld.com/cgi-bin/photo/index.pl?cat=500&user=10506&thumb=1).
He's taking up a lot of our time these days! My
hobbies include reading (sci fi, fantasy, and cyberpunk are my favorites),
journaling, making books, and dyeing paper. For some examples of the
last three, check out my website (http://idea.uwosh.edu/annmarie).