Olivia Liddell - Arabic Teacher Turned Curriculum Developer at AWS (#46)

Published: April 4, 2020, 7 p.m.

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Welcome to another episode of Develomentor. Today's guest is Olivia Liddell.

Olivia Liddell is a Technical Curriculum Developer at Amazon Web Services. Over the course of her career, she has created innovative teaching and technical training solutions for learners from diverse backgrounds and skill levels.

A Certified Ethical Hacker, Olivia frequently speaks on topics such as social engineering and security awareness. In her spare time, she enjoys distance running, studying linguistic anthropology, and developing web applications for Arabic language learners.

Click Here \\u2013> For more information about tech careers


Episode Summary

\\u201cIf I gave kids a worksheet and said \\u2018do this\\u2019 they would feel bored. After playing this computer game, not only were they saying \\u2018Ms. Liddell, I want to learn more about this\\u2019, but they were also competing with each other. They said \\u2018Arabic was fun!\\u2019\\u201c

\\u2014Olivia Liddell


In this episode we\\u2019ll cover:

  1. What is social engineering?
  2. Mischievous activities Olivia did to get her family kicked off AOL
  3. What is the day to day of a curriculum developer at Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  4. How sharing your ideas on Twitter will help you speak at conferences


Key Milestones

[2:19 ] \\u2013 In college, Olivia studied anthropology and middle eastern studies. After taking on jobs assisting higher education, Olivia decided to become a teacher through The Academy of Urban School Leadership. This was a big move for her.\\xa0
[4:49] \\u2013 Olivia taught Arabic in middle schools. She had to work hard to engage her students, After some time, she started to incorporate her love for technology into teaching.\\xa0

[7:05] \\u2013 There weren\\u2019t many language computer games out there. Yet there were plenty of games for math and science. This is when Olivia decided to take a shot at creating content and developing games.\\xa0
[10:30] \\u2013 Olivia recalls talking to a mentor who inspired her to develop educational games.

[14:30]- Olivia started writing content and games on AOL. She also recalls first encountering the \\u2018view source\\u2019 button and how it changed her life!
[17:27] \\u2013 Olivia talks about how she keeps up with new technology. She has cultivated an inspiring twitter feed. She often prefers learning in tidbits as opposed to taking formal online classes.\\xa0

[19:24] \\u2013 How did Olivia get into speaking at conferences? Listen to one of her speeches here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roFiSHyUmCk
[21:50] \\u2013 Practical tips to improve your communication skills: Think about literally where is this person coming from? What was their morning like?\\xa0


You can find more resources in the show notes
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Follow Olivia Liddell
Twitter: @OliRavi
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/olivialiddell/
Website: https://www.olivialiddell.com/

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