About Me

I'm a teacher, a learner, and a problem-solver.

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Work Experience

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I currently work part-time as a Teacher of Digital Technologies. I help kids understand some of the basic ideas behind writing code using Scratch (block-coding), and also teach them about robots as IPO (input-process-output) systems, using Lego EV3 Mindstorms as an example for prototyping robots for specific tasks.

Throughout my teaching career I have also worked as a Teacher of High School Mathematics, and as a Teacher of Intermediate (middle-school) Sciences (including Chemistry, Physics, Earth Sciences, and Biology).

Prior to beginning my teaching career I worked in hospitality and retail positions, doing tasks such as serving customers, training new-hires, stocktake and ordering, cleaning, food and drink preparation (espresso coffees, fast-foods, and delicatessen foods), merchandising, and operating a variety of POS systems and cash-registers.

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Where I'm From

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I am a Kiwi, and I grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). As an adult I moved to Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) with my partner and pets.

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Study & Learning Experience

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At present I study part-time using Codecademy to learn skills required to be a Full-Stack Engineer. I began in July of 2022, and so far I have learnt to use HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Git. I have also begun a course about electricity and electronics, which I have put on hold while I complete this Codecademy Course

I have completed a short online course about block-coding using Scratch when I began my position as a Teacher of Digital Technologies.

Before teaching, I completed my Bachelor's Degree in Science (B.Sc.) at Massey University, followed by a Graduate Diploma in Teaching - Primary (Grad.Dip.Teac-Primary) which was offered at the same campus.

At high-school, my priorities and abilities centered around Maths and Visual Arts, but I completed Levels 1, 2, and 3 of NCEA in a variety of other subjects as well.

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Other Hobbies

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Gardening is my most recent and flourishing passion. I began with an interest in growing my own vegetables and herbs, and have since become obsessed with a variety of foliage and flowering plants and the ecological impacts they have on local environments and wildlife.

I learnt to knit when my Grandma's arthritis progressed to the point that she was no longer able to. I wanted to help others with knitting in the same way that she did - by knitting for babies and donating to hopsitals and other people that could make use of the items. I have learned the skill, but I am still not fast or confident enough to produce the quality or quantity of garments that I would need to.

Crochet is a long-term hobby that I began in my teens. I have created a myriad of items, including soft-toys, blankets, cloths, baskets, and baby-clothing.

As I mentioned earlier, I thoroughly enjoyed visual arts at high-school. Namely drawing with pencil and painting with acrylics. Post high-school, I even designed a few tattoos (mainly just for myself though).

Projects

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Robotics & Coding Club Site

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Aim: To build a club group page that is responsive to screen sizes.

Tools/Resources used: Codecademy, VS Code (HTML, CSS), Chrome DevTools, Google Fonts, Unsplash, HSL Color Picker, GitHub, GitHub Pages

Date completed: 27th October 2022.

What I did: I created a club site for an extension group that I run at my job. I don't actually use it, but it was a convenient group to use for this project as I had images and examples of work from that group to include on the page. Codecademy provided the project prompt. I used VS Code to create HTML and CSS files, inlcuding media queries to make a responsive webpage, and checked/fixed bugs using Chrome DevTools. I used resources from Google Fonts and Unsplash. The code is stored on GitHub and the outcome is hosted by GitHub Pages.

Screenshot of the Robotics and Coding Club Site page.

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Stitchies Mock Brand Site

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Aim: To build a webpage for a company; real or imagined, using flexbox.

Tools/Resources used: Codecademy, VS Code (HTML, CSS), Chrome DevTools, Google Fonts, Canva, Namelix, Unsplash, HSL Color Picker, GitHub, GitHub Pages

Date completed: 20th October 2022.

What I did: I created a page for an imagined brand/company called "Stitchies". It was based on one of my hobbies: stitchcrafts (such as knitting and crocheting). Codecademy provided the project prompt. I used VS Code to create HTML and CSS files, using flexbox styling to create a responsive webpage, and checked/fixed bugs using Chrome DevTools. I used Google Fonts to select and source my fonts, Canva to create the logos and some other images, Namelix to help me choose a company name, Unsplash to find relevant images, and HSL Color Picker to choose a color palette that I liked. The code is stored on GitHub and the outcome is hosted by GitHub Pages.

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Fotomatic Mock Company Page

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Aim: To bug-fix a responsive mock company page based on a given design specs sheet and supporting example page.

Tools/Resources used: Codecademy, VS Code (HTML, CSS), Chrome DevTools, GitHub, GitHub Pages

Date completed: 5th October 2022.

What I did: I inspected elements that didn't work or look as required using Chrome DevTools, and edited the code in order to fix the bugs using VS Code. Codecademy provided the project prompt and original "faulty" code this project was based on. My version of the "fixed" code is stored on GitHub, and the outcome is hosted by GitHub Pages.

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Tea Cozy Mock Business Page

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Aim: To create a webpage for a fictional "tea shop" using the provided resources and a design spec.

Tools/Resources used: Codecademy, VS Code (HTML, CSS), GitHub, GitHub Pages

Date completed: 23rd September 2022.

What I did: I used HTML and given resources to create the page content on VS Code, then used CSS to style the content to the required specifications, often using flexbox to enhance page flexibility during view window resizing. Codecademy provided the project prompt and some of the resources. My code for this project is stored on GitHub and the outcome is hosted on GitHub Pages.

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Mock Style Guide Page

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Aim: To build a webpage that is a visual design reference for other webpages using HTML and CSS.

Tools/Resources used: Codecademy, VS Code (HTML, CSS), Google Fonts, HSL Color Picker, GitHub, GitHub Pages

Date completed: 9th September 2022.

What I did: I created a "website design system", which was essentially just a catalogue of fonts, colours, and other styles that could be used for styling specific elements on other webpages. Codecademy provided the project prompt. I used VS Code to create the HTML and CSS. I used Google Fonts and HSL Color Picker to select fonts and colours respectively. My code for this project is stored on GitHub, and the outcome is hosted on GitHub pages.

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HTML Tables Cheat Sheet Page

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Aim: To create a "cheat sheet" reference webpage about one of a variety of given topics, using my own notes.

Tools/Resources used: Codecademy, VS Code (HTML, CSS), GitHub, GitHub Pages

Date completed: 25th August 2022.

What I did: So far, I have completed only the HTML Tables cheat sheet page (I wanted to actually complete one for each given topic, but probably won't anymore). Codecademy provided the project prompt. I used VS Code to create a local page initailly, and later on stored the code on GitHub and publish the page on GitHub Pages.

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Skills