Project Proposal

April 28, 2007

I entered into the MSSP program in 1999. My focus has always been knowledge and experience and my skill set; I never actually focused on finishing the program until now. It’s TIME! It’s past time. I need to complete what is now the Information Technology Specialist AAS so I can move on to my Bachelors in Technology.

The independent Project, something which should have been abundantly easy for me to complete, seems to have been the most difficult. I learn new applications all the time. I am very proficient in my publishing skills – both desktop and large scale. Even thought I haven’t done any ‘web design’ in a couple of years, I know how important the proper usage of CSS and application of W3C Standards are and am fully confident in being able to explain those concepts to others. I have mastered the use of Adobe Illustrator for Illustrations, although I would like very much to expand into commercial art someday. I can still build my computer if and when I need to and fix it when I have to. I still follow some of the techie message boards, though I’m more likely to read Blogs now though an aggregator. I’ve experienced wonderful opportunities while interning at Third Sector Technologies which led to me working full time at CDE as an Instructional Designer which led to my current position as the CDE Outreach Designer. Tutoring other students was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Assisting other instructors and substitute teaching sometimes was a thrill I can barely describe. I even had the opportunity to teach, and although I was awful at it, I would still like to try again sometime. It was surely an experience I would not have gotten elsewhere!

So one would think that with all these topics to choose from, putting together a project to fulfill a requirement would be a piece of cake. I wanted to do something more. I wanted to present something that showed what I brought from every corner of what I’ve experienced while at TVC, the people who have influenced me along the way, and show some of the valuable skills I learned from them.

I will write a story. Not a story to amuse, but one to inspire. A book, if you will, about all of the things I gained from the ITS program that go so far above and beyond just taking classes that met requirements. The life skills as well as the technical skills and the lessons that come from doing more than is required just to satisfy your own hunger to be proficient. I will address the downfalls and failures as well.

A short book of 6-8 Chapters where I will exhibit the design skills and publishing expertise that I now use every day in my work to create courses for other students to learn from, tell of how fulfilling that is to pass on and give back. Also addressing the fears and reservations one may have when starting college as an adult after being out of the ‘school scene’ for so long, and how the TVC environment fosters adult learning and almost immediately puts all of those anxieties to rest. This should be something anyone could find useful or at least a testimony to the ITS program as a whole.

S. “Rosie” Rosenberger