Personal Thanks. I thank all people who have made a difference in advancing my character, knowledge, skills, motivation and resources.

Some of the people I would like to thank are my wonderful and loving family (Baba, Mama, Zubin, Zaioodee and Ni'ni'), my wonderful and loving extended family (including Khala Hisham, Ama Ilham, Hasan, Omer, Omar, Ali, Amu Ahmed, Amu Jamal, and Omer Kabchee),

My friends: Farhan Mashraqi, , Kuan-Chung Chen, Imran, Ebad, Khalil, Hanafi, Cameron, Matt, Lovett, Hunter, Josh T, Josh W, Olivier, Stan, Christiam, Chandy, Koki, Kiril, Bill, Matt J

My Teachers: Scott Smith, Dr. Lloyd Rieber, Dr. Ikeson Choi, Dr. Thomas Reeves, Hatem, Imam Hisham, Mrs. DeCu, and everyone that I have learned from in my short 24 years on this earth.

Thank you all very much for being a positive influence in my life :)

Without all these good people and the blessings and mercy of Allah, I would have not been what I am today. I hope to continue to work and learn from these people, and others, for the sake of helping all the creatures on this earth live a peaceful and prosperous life.

I would also like to send my love and peace to all the good people of America, Iraq, and the world.

Identity. My identity is a Muslim American Iraqi Instructional, Information, & Media Technology Student

I was born in 1981 in Kerukuk, Iraq. I was raised in Kerkuk and have not been back there since 1992, the year in which my immediate family and I moved to Virginia, USA. My heart still yearns for the town and people of Kerkuk. I hope to go back there one day to fill the gaps in my memory of my first neighborhood and childhood.

We lived in Herndon, Virginia with my aunt and her family for two years until we moved to Gainesville, GA in 1994. After completing my high school (1999) at Gainesville High School, I attended North Georgia College & State University (NGCSU) in Dahlonega, GA. While pursuing my degree in Computer Information Systems (CIS) in NGCSU, I worked as a student technician, assisted faculty development in the use of Technology, and built websites for various departments and programs in the university. In December 2004, I graduated from NGCSU and continued to work at my intership job at a small web design company Designerz in Dawsonville, GA and then worked at Mar-Jac Poulty in Gainesville, GA until I began my masters program.

In January 2005, I started my masters degree at the University of Georgia Instructional Technology program. Studying at the University of Georgia was one of the best things that could have happened to me, it was a great time and opportunity for me to be immersed in learning and be goal-oriented for the sake of advancing my skills and knowledge in technology, design and learning theory (instructional technology).

In August 2006, I started working at Cingular Wireless as a Curriculum Designer with the Learning Services department. This position allowed me to practically use and improve all the knowledge and skills I gained during my studies at UGA and much more. It has been almost a year since I started with Cingular (now AT&T). I have learned a lot about how people learn, how to assemble and deliver training, as well as a lot of project management techniques. I plan to continue learning and developing my instructional design and project management skills with AT&T until I feel it is time for me to move to better things.

I feel very fortunate of all the opportunities I have had in my lifetime, especially doing my graduate studies at UGA. Being around my professors and students in the College of Education information and instructional technology departments has been a very motivating and healthy environment of advancing and sharing my skills and knowledge. My future educational goals deal with learning about the area of computer-based tools and learning environments that are adapted or developed to function as partners with learners in order to engage and facilitate critical thinking and higher-order learning. I plan to continue my studies in higher education and hope to be an expert in an area of instructional technology for the purpose of the betterment of education and learning in our societies.

Contemplation. To know more about a person I have heard that there are five big questions that every person always ponders about and aims to answer for themselves in their lifetime, so I will share my answers to these five questions below.

Question 1: Where did this world come from? (ontology)
This world was created by one divine supreme being called "Allah"

Question 2: How do we know anything? What is knowledge and how is knowledge obtained? (epistiomology)
We, humans, know things through imprinted language (writing and reading). We are designed so that we are ready to know certain things at certain ages. Knowledge is in two forms: intuitive (things we just know) and discursive (things we must learn through reason).

Question 3: Who am I?
I am a servant of Allah, I am an in time and in place biological creature that depends on Allah for my being. I depend on food and exertion of food to survive.

Question 4: What is my purpose in life? Whay am I here?
I was created on earth to cultivate it (the opposite of corrupting the earth). I was put on earth to benefit all creatures living in it by setting up just systems. I am here as one of a continuous link of mankind, I have a responsbility to sustain of what those before us have built for us and responsible for building and advancing knowledge to those who come after us. I have an obligation to take care of my soul, be upright and up for the challenge of service to the betterment of society. What mostly concerns me is peace for all people and creatures on earth.

Question 5: Where am I going? What is this all leading to?
I am a temportal creature and I am going to die. I am returning to Allah.

Hobbies & Favorites. Below is a list of the few things I enjoy doing in my time out of reading, writing, designing, and working.

Sports: Mountain Hiking, Waterfall Sliding, Soccer, Basketball, Football, Baseball, Badminton, Raquet Ball, Tennis, Table Tennis, and much more

Teams: Georgia Bulldogs, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, San Fran 49ers, Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, Iraqi National Team, USA National Team, Italian National Team, Atlanta Thrashers, and much more

Quotes: "Push for what is better", "If you have nothing good to say, shut your mouth!", "Love for your brother, what you love for yourself", "All men are equal", "The best men are the best in piety", "You can recognize truth by its beauty and simplicity. When you get it right, it is obvious that it is right.", and much more

Books: How to Get Ideas by Jack Foster, Project Management for Trainers by Lou Russell, eLearning by Rosenberg, eBook Emerging Perspectives on Teaching, Learning & Technology, Instructional Product Evaluation by Reeves, Dick, Carey, & Carey Instructional Design, Writing Training Material that Work, lots of ASTD books, and much more

Websites: Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, ESPN, Campus Technology, Wired News, Inside Higher Ed, ZDNet, Slashdot.org, digg, CNN Education, HigherEdJobs.com, the ONION, and much more