Hi everyone, my name is Kevin Oliver, Associate Professor of Digital Learning & Teaching at NC State, and one of the co-instructors for the Writing and Technology course. I was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and moved around to Ohio and Texas following my Dad's academic career until I was 7, when we settled in Knoxville, Tennessee. My Dad spent 35 years on the faculty at Tennessee's Vet School, and was one of the founding faculty members of UT's new Vet School in 1976. I attended UT for undergrad of course (advertising), then UNC-Chapel Hill for a master's degree (ed media/instructional design), then Georgia for a doctorate (instructional technology). I'm a southern immigrant, but the mid-south is certainly home after 39 years.
2014 will make my fifth trip to England in the past four years, including one pre-course planning trip, three times co-teaching the course in Surrey, and one international conference in London with a side trip to the beautiful Peak and Lake Districts north of Manchester. I have been teaching at NC State for ten years, but have only recently collaborated with colleagues on this course, investigating ways to inspire writing through cultural immersion, and use technology to merge collected media and written works into multimodal artifacts. I am excited to see the creative new products from our 2014 cohort!
2014 will make my fifth trip to England in the past four years, including one pre-course planning trip, three times co-teaching the course in Surrey, and one international conference in London with a side trip to the beautiful Peak and Lake Districts north of Manchester. I have been teaching at NC State for ten years, but have only recently collaborated with colleagues on this course, investigating ways to inspire writing through cultural immersion, and use technology to merge collected media and written works into multimodal artifacts. I am excited to see the creative new products from our 2014 cohort!
Assignment 4: Where I'm From Poem
Assignment 6: Lego Story
Assignment 9: Formula Poems in Glogster
Assignment 10: Comical Conversation
Assignment 12: Annotated Map
View Kevin's London Map in a larger map
Assignment 13: Cultural Memes
The following memes introduce some "lessons" I've learned about English culture. The first conveys the expectation that you will pay the "optional" gift aid when entering various attractions. You can ask to have it removed, but the cashiers will give you the stank eye. The second and third reflect an impression I've developed from observing many English children running amok, and my English friend telling me it's a "spare the rod" society. The fourth and fifth convey some social norms I've identified in pubs.
These memes are not "cultural reflections" per se, they are just for fun to help explain the concept of memes:
Assignment 14: Acrostic Post Cards Home
Cars jammed on narrow half-lane streets
Annoying salesmen pushing punt rides on the Cam River
Milieu of international tourists connected by a common sidewalk
Bustling market stalls of wares and food
Really old buildings rising from meticulously maintained green lawns
Invaluable treasures at the Fitzwilliam Museum
Driving punters pushing riders down the Cam River
Gated colleges where only privilege dare enter
Educated populace impacting the world
Annoying salesmen pushing punt rides on the Cam River
Milieu of international tourists connected by a common sidewalk
Bustling market stalls of wares and food
Really old buildings rising from meticulously maintained green lawns
Invaluable treasures at the Fitzwilliam Museum
Driving punters pushing riders down the Cam River
Gated colleges where only privilege dare enter
Educated populace impacting the world
Large wheel carrying riders into the grey sky
Ovals filled with red double-decker buses, barely stopping
Numb feet pounding concrete, cobblestone, and brick
Dead poets and writers under Westminster Cathedral
Opal jewels at the Tower of London
Nightlife buzzing with suits and the young on a Friday night
Ovals filled with red double-decker buses, barely stopping
Numb feet pounding concrete, cobblestone, and brick
Dead poets and writers under Westminster Cathedral
Opal jewels at the Tower of London
Nightlife buzzing with suits and the young on a Friday night