About

Photo of MikeHi, my name is Mike Wheaton and I'm seeking a web development position. Having graduated from NAIT's Computer Systems Technology program, I am now studying Informatics at Dalhousie University. I have years of experience with HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, several CMSes, and many other acronyms. More important, I'm enthusiastic and am continually learning more so that I can produce the highest quality web sites and applications. Please follow the links above to learn more, and email me if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

Career Objective

I aim to work in the fields of interaction design and user experience. I'm interested in how we work with computers and how these interactions might be made more natural and enjoyable. Computers are supposed to make our lives easier, yet far too often they confuse, annoy, and frustrate us as we are forced to adapt to the software instead of it to us. I want to improve this situation—one application at a time.

Personal Interests

I am an avid cyclist, both on and off-road. This summer I will be completing the Tour de Alberta and a charity ride on Vancouver Island. I enjoy running and am currently training for my first half-marathon in August. My other interests include reading and photography.

Education

I am currently enrolled in Dalhousie University's Bachelor of Informatics program. This builds on the knowledge I gained in NAIT's Computer Systems Technology program by adding additional programming and communication skills, as well as adding diverse subjects such as psychology, ergonomics, and project management.

  1. Dalhousie University September 2009 → Present Bachelor of Informatics Second Year Completed

    Informatics applies technology in human organizations to solve information problems. It covers a variety of computer science, project management, and communications topics. Community outreach projects and co-op work terms are required. I am primarily studying psychology in addition to the standard courses.

  2. NAIT August 2006 → May 2008 Computer Systems Technology Honours with Co-op

    This program covered a wide variety of topics including programming in Java and .NET, systems analysis, database design, project management, and computer networking. A full-semester, group software project was also completed.

Outside of formal education I have used books, articles, and video tutorials to learn a variety of topics including web standards, interaction design, marketing, graphic design, and content management systems.

Experience

I have experience with a variety of software and web development projects. Below you will find a summary of this experience, including both full-time positions as well as featured school and freelance projects.

  1. Compugen, Inc. June 2008 → August 2009 Technical Service Representative

    Working within the Alberta Department of Agriculture, I was responsible for deployment, configuration, and servicing of users' desktop and mobile systems. This required organization and strong communication and problem-solving skills.

  2. Metegrity, Inc. April 2007 → August 2007 Software Quality Assurance

    In this co-op position I performed test cases on a complex software product used in the petroleum industry. This required attention to detail, the development of testing methods and practises, and clear communication with developers of the problems discovered and potential solutions that could improve the software.

Volunteer Work

I volunteered as organizer of the Edmonton Web Design Meetup in 2009. This involved booking venues, communicating with members, and ensuring each event went smoothly. It was a great opportunity to meet others in Edmonton's web development community.

I also help with Dalhousie's Women in Technology Society and have volunteered for numerous cycling races and events.

Featured Projects In addition to the positions held above, I have completed a number of freelance, school, and personal projects. Links are included to projects that are publicly available and additional details on each project will be added shortly.

Skills

After many years of education, self-study, and work experience, I have developed a wide range of technology and personal skills. Listed below are those that I feel are most relevant to a web development position:

Software
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
  • Adobe Flash
  • Microsoft Visual Studio
  • Microsoft Office Suite
  • Apple iWork Suite
Languages
  • PHP
  • C#
  • Java
  • (X)HTML
  • CSS
  • Javascript (jQuery)
  • Python
Databases
  • MySQL (phpMyAdmin)
  • Microsoft SQL
Content Management
  • Drupal
  • Wordpress
  • concrete5
  • CakePHP
  • FrogCMS
  • SilverStripe
Miscellaneous
  • Google Analytics
  • Google Adwords
  • Google Apps for Business
  • cPanel
  • Web Host Manager
Communications
  • Business writing (recently completed a course in professional writing at Dalhousie)
  • Presentations, creation and delivery