Websiteandsound has been my code playground since I first started programming web applications in 1999.
I was still a travel agent back then. Sensing the impending demise of travel agencies after airlines discontinued commissions to encourage travelers to purchase online directly, I approached my boss with an idea to help us both weather the changing market: Buy me a computer, and I’ll build you a website.
It was a good window of opportunity for a self-taught programmer with a burning curiosity to make a promising entrance into the field. Everything was new and exciting – my work spanned backend programming with Perl, Cold Fusion and PHP, front-end HTML/Javascript/CSS, and often extended into animations and game programming with Flash and Shockwave. I designed UIs in Photoshop and Illustrator. I even ventured into 3D modeling and animation with Lightwave and Maya. This was all applied in the context of one of the earliest Learning Management Systems, Read, Click & Learn, which applied Adaptive Learning techniques to accomodate different types of learners with a cross-discipline teaching model.
The Dot Com bust shifted the focus to practical programming for the business world. I worked at agencies, building solutions for government agencies and small/medium businesses. I learned whatever was needed for a particular project: Java, C#.NET, MS SQL, MySQL. I built WordPress themes and extensions. I authored instruction videos for VTC for PHP and Javascript.
I ultimately came back to Ed Tech, joining Mosaic Learning where my work provided training to electrical engineers, and Lexia Learning, where my work on the backend services team helped over 7 million students learn English.
I continue my work towards education as part of the Data Lab team at Encoura, helping higher learning institutions enroll more students.
My work on Websiteandsound now explores the connections I am discovering as someone who is both a software engineer and a musician. My interest is to help enable and accelerate learning by associating patterns common to music and software engineering, which, I believe, has the potential to reveal creative new approaches to problem-solving and innovation.