I inadvertently stumbled on a voice investigation, connecting G Suite to voice tools and emails, to our smart speaker and Google Assistant. That was followed by “Not sold on voice,” and now Voice for education.
There are plenty of education “Skills” and partners developing content for smart speakers. Times tables checks, geography, history and science facts, news in different “slow” languages, spelling games, word of the day, word play….
However, whilst I do expect to see voice in education, I see “Skills” being used first for administration, maybe in the front office or in support of various roles.
- “Alexa: Tutor note.”
- Alexa: “Tutor name please.”
- “Mr Still.”
- “Tutees initial. Tutor message please.”
- “RL. – Dentist appointment changed. RL report to reception at 1:30pm.”
- Alexa: “Your message RL. Dentist appointment changed. RL report to reception at 1:30pm.”
- Email sent: Full name and message to both parent / carer and tutor.
Then for teaching administration – a smart speaker at the back of the class in the sight line of the teacher. Sharing (two-way) “safe” data held within the MIS through command that staff would usually need to log on to access, timetables, tutor group achievement points tally for example.
This is merely a thinking-out-loud post and I know privacy and security need a full and significant investigation and consultation.
Tuesday Period 2
- Already knowing Tuesday 9:56 am is 6 minutes into period 2, the smart speaker displays blue notification ring. Register not submitted / received.
- Tuesday 10:06 am Alexa – “Sorry to interrupt the class Mr Still. Your Year 9 – period 2 – English register has not yet been received.
- Already knowing Wednesday period 4 is Year 11 GCSE English
- “Alexa: Markbook – update.”
- Alexa: “How can I update the Year 11 – period 4 – English markbook Mr Still?”
- “All homework handed-in. All students – Achievement point – “Commitment.”
- Email sent: Full name and message to both parent / carer and tutor.
- Parent – “Alexa: School day summary: [FIRSTNAME LASTNAME]”
- Alexa: “RL was punctual to all 6 lessons. 8 Achievements, 1 Gold referral. No Conduct points.”
- Parent – “Alexa: Homework summary: [FIRSTNAME LASTNAME]”
- Alexa: “”RL – Set today: Geography – Mr Rogers. Business Studies – Mr Bezos. English – Mr Still due tomorrow. Maths – Mrs Fren due Friday.
Then for teaching, with the foresight that more than more speaker in a classroom present a challenge. After search and answer, there is still plenty of opportunity. Fact checks, calculations, “What’s 20% of 80?” Dictionary: What does “gregarious” mean? Basic translations: How do I say “Nice to meet you” in French? Unit conversions: How many kilometers in a mile?
Don’t think you need a smart speaker or mobile to access these features or Skills. Amazon Alexa is available cross platforms on Windows, Google and iOS.