DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Name:
Michael McCarthy
Philosophy Statement:

I am an IT professional with a master’s of science in information degree from the University of Michigan - School of Information. In my role as an intern for the University, I developed educational technologies that empowered both users and IT professionals. The technologies I developed were both user-facing, e.g. a community website, and business-facing, e.g. a database that keeps track of communities and helps to define community boundaries. My current specialty is understanding users’ needs and setting the development direction for technological applications that help improve the learning experiences of students. I also specialize in automation and optimization via database application design.

 

During my internship, I developed technology education programs that seek to close the digital divide among residents in the University community and identified the needs of the community while developing online content based on that assessment. I also analyzed residents’ behaviors on the social network site Facebook in order to understand user needs and wants for an online community.

I performed my work through a combination of methodologies, both theoretical and practical from the social sciences – surveying, interviewing, statistical analyses, network analyses – and computer science, specifically software development and web design. These methods require a deep understanding of a range of skills, from experimental design to server-side scripting languages. I am more than confident in my abilities to both fuse technical skills and social understanding to help create applications and guide larger projects in the right direction.

 

In July of 2013, I will start work as an IT Analyst for Cisco Systems in San Jose, California. Please explore my portfolio and resume to preview the skills and knowledge I bring to my work.

Image and Description of Image:

Just another day in the office. The great thing about my work is I have a standing workstation. It's all around a healther choice than sitting all day and I leave work feeling a bit more refreshed and energized.

Student Email Address:
mikemcc@umich.edu
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.