Alexa in Education? Teacher Evaluation Checklist!

I feel burdened to be forward thinking on the subject of using voice speakers in education. With the title Director of Instructional Technology and Innovation, I spent most of this year focused on the instructional side of my role due to rolling out the learning management system, Canvas. It’s really the nature of the title to be a support to educators and something I am fairly good at doing. But my passion and drive lean more to the word “Innovation” in my title. I love to think about educational reform, to consider new ways to do things, to enhance the educational experience with experiences. For the past couple of months, I have actually had more time to focus on this side of my role. I’ve attended conferences, researched concepts, read and brainstormed. This is the part of me that delights in being an educator.

I had the honor of attending the Technology Symposium that showcased big thinking of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga College of  Engineering and Computer Science. The keynote speaker was Chris Cochran that lives in a small town in Idaho or South Dakota, but basically some nondescript place. His talk was inspiring and motivating. He talked about the importance of thinking innovatively and why it doesn’t matter where you live to do that. He said, “Never before had there been a time when education and technology have been more democratized...You have to have confidence in nonsense. Those ideas could change the world forever.” 

Take that statement and intersect it with my ongoing desire to see educators using voice speakers in the classroom in intentional ways and my brain is now in Digital Thinking mode. I stand firm in believing that voice speakers can truly help with the equity gap of access in a very low-cost way. I also believe that voice speakers create an opportunity for more fluid connectivity than ever before. There is no need to look down at a device to find an answer, no need for keystrokes. I find myself in a space of “what’s next and how can I be a part?” 

This week while wearing my “Instructional Technology” hat, I realized we needed to be more proactive about evaluating the digital tools that teachers want to use in the classroom. I adapted some resources created by Kathy Schrock (the mother of edtech) so that our lower school teachers could do some self-evaluation of potential tools before asking the IT department to install apps on the iPads. After doing this, I realized that’s what the voice first world needs!

As a rule, people that have the skill sets to create robust voice Alexa skills or Google actions are not also educators. Designing these skills and actions are being critiqued through the eye of the computer scientist to focus on the conversational design model but that doesn’t necessarily make it good for classroom design. So this week I created an evaluation form for voice skills/actions as well. 

With this first draft evaluation form, I believe it can help teachers look for truly intentional voice skills to integrate into their classroom but also it might help developers in creating skills that match the needs of learners in more robust ways. Creating good skills is more than just conversational design and intuitive slots. The importance of being age level appropriate in language and learning is centered around grade level essential questions and standards could take voice in the classroom past rout memorization. 

I find myself asking “what’s next? And how can I be instrumental in this journey that I am so passionate about?” Today, Chris Cochran inspired me to figure that question out. Anyone want to join my think tank? 

Redefining Podcasts for Students and Teachers

I don't listen to podcasts. I mean there are times I've even tried to be really intentional and make educational podcasts a priority but I came to the place where I realized that mode of learning just isn't my favorite. I would rather read a blog post, scroll through Twitter, watch a youtube video, or choose a book to learn new things. One reason I don't enjoy podcasts is that they seem to take so long! I'll be driving down the road listening and all of a sudden I realize I haven't really heard the last 10 minutes! I know for some people, podcasts are their "go to" because of ease of access and how you can listen while doing other things.

While at the Alexa Conference in January, I sat in on a panel discussion about podcasting and the VoiceFirst industry. The well-known podcasters were trying to navigate the space between the explosion of voice user interface and podcasting as they knew it. I remember sitting there listening and Steven Goldstein, CEO of Amplifi Media made this comment, "We have to stop trying to make our content fit into the voice realm and start rethinking what content should look like." BAZINGA! As an instructional technologist, I deal with this concept every day all day long. Teachers wanting a digital platform to work seamlessly for a mostly analog curriculum leads to frustration. Whenever new concepts enter the market, whether it be voice or a learning management system, we must step back and rethink our current models to see what this new platform brings that could make things better or at least different!

Having zero experience in creating podcasts or really even listening to them regularly, it became easier for me to reimagine podcasts using voice than some of the people sitting around me. I had no preconceived notions I was trying to apply. I liked the idea of creating a flash briefing using Alexa as a podcast for several reasons:

• It can't be more than 10 minutes. I realized that's my big beef with podcasts, how long they last often. Someone on the panel said that the average commute in the United States is 26 minutes. This platform seems to make the concept fit. 
• On-demand content by creating a flash briefing, listeners don't even need an intent word. They just enable the flash briefing and ask Alexa for their news or flash briefing daily.
• It seemed creator friendly. Even though I really had no knowledge of how podcasting works and the tools I would need, the process seemed easy to adapt to which means the potential for student creation exists.
• Potential for interactive entertainment/learning. I haven't figured out how to create interactivity with a flash briefing but voice user interface lends itself to this feature. This is on my radar. 
• Discoverability. The beauty of creating a flash briefing is that your skill has the potential for a global audience. Another thing that was an immediate plus for me was that if you name your skill something that reaches a broad audience, whenever someone searches for that in the regular Amazon store, you skill actually shows up as one of the options. 

I created my flash briefing skill "Voice in Education" last week with lots of fanfare. My plan is to create weekly updates that help educators integrate voice first technology into the classroom. This flash briefing podcast will include tips and thoughts on intentional use of a voice user interface for learning. While at this point my focus is mainly on Alexa, the opportunities are out there for all voice speakers. You can enable "Voice in Education" on your Alexa device and it becomes a flash briefing for you when you ask Alexa what your news or your flash briefing is. You don't even have to remember the name of the skill to invoke it! 

I already have purchased a better mic system and have been brainstorming potential weekly topics. I am excited to see how I can help other educators through my continuous learning on the subject. Follow the hashtag #voiceEDU and let's share ideas with each other for intentional utilization of this tool that's price point makes it a possible "must have" in future classrooms.