Voice in Education

In episode 135 Julie Daniel Davis suggests ways to enhance classroom learning and communicate with students by using Amazon devices. Where do you start:

1. Buy a device and enable Amazon Kids to protect students from unwanted information.
2. Rename the wake word.
3. Set up some classroom efficiencies for yourself.
4. Check out the Education & Reference category of Skills inside the Alexa App.
5. Create your own skills that personalize learning for YOUR classroom using Amazon Blueprints. 
6. Follow the hashtag #VoiceEDU, listen to this podcast, and reach out to juliedavisedu@gmail.com if you have questions.

In episode 134 Julie Daniel Davis talks about Apple's new Child Protection Updates that are built into the iOS Version 15.0 update. The update will allow Apple to scan all devices using iCloud to store photos to detect potential child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Julie discusses the pros and cons of this as it pertains to the privacy of users. 

As the 2021-2022 school year approaches, Julie Daniel Davis offers a prayer for the k-12 educator. 

I pray you find the patience for the children that challenge you. May you be able to see their unique gifts and find the blessing in each student in your care.

I pray you will be committed to the tasks at hand and have the courage to be an advocate for all students, pushing them to do their best.

I pray you have wisdom in teaching each child so that they will grow to be the person God designed them to be. There were not placed in your care by chance. How will you use this year to help mold them into a purposeful person. How will you spark the love of learning in each child? May you have glimpses of achievement and joy in each student’s learning to give you endurance for the school year.

I pray that you will know exactly why each child is in your classroom and be able to use your gifts to help them. I pray you will show grace and mercy when it’s needed and tough love when it’s required.

I pray that you will not only be the giver of knowledge but a safe spot of nurturing and care that is consistent in the lives of your students.

I pray your classroom will be a sanctuary for your students. Whether it’s too hot, too cold, too loud, or too crowded- May it always be a place of comfort and acceptance.

I pray that you will innovate- whether it be with technology or not, I pray you will be passionate about meeting the needs of your students and doing all you can to meet those needs.

I pray that you will find your work/home balance quickly this school year… knowing you are more than a teacher and you have a personal life that needs care as well.

I pray you won’t feel you are defined by the test scores of your students. I pray your administration and district leaders see you for all the things that are part of teaching. I also pray that your data supports the fact that you are a well-equipped teacher.

I pray you learn with your students and from your students in order to model lifelong learning. I pray you aren’t afraid to say “I don’t know” and “let’s learn it together. I pray your vanity will not prevent you from being approachable.

I pray you and your coworkers build each other up and share the load. I pray that you find yourself within a group that doesn’t linger in negativity about their job but truly enjoys the community they are a part of. I pray for transparency in school meetings so that you can truly discern the message. I pray you will be the glass half full in the meetings.

And if you find yourself steeped in overwhelmedness and unhappiness, I pray someone will come alongside you, to mentor you and to help you with your burden so that you feel you can accomplish your role for this year.

I pray you see that “aha” moment in a child every single day. The moment where you have led them to the learning and it clicked. I pray you never get tired or bored of those moments.

I pray for the safety and health of you and your students this year so that you can focus on the task of schooling and nurturing.

I pray that you will give every day your best shot. And when a lesson fails or you aren’t on your A-game I pray you learn from it, correct, and grow forward for your students but also for yourself.

I pray that on the days you feel tired, sick, or discouraged you will remember why you chose this important profession and gird yourself up in that knowledge.

I pray that you have good relationships with the parents of your students, that you can work side by side to help their children flourish in your classroom.

I pray that you find yourself making a difference in the lives of the students you teach. I pray you find fulfillment in your role and purpose in your teaching. I pray that this school year is one that will bless your socks off.

In episode 132, Julie Daniel Davis chats about the things she has learned from guests and research over the last 3 years of hosting the Voice in Education podcast. From interviewing developers, corporate reps, and educators, Julie shares her learning with you, the listener. 

In episode 130 Julie Daniel Davis discusses how children react to voice technology, how much they are interacting with voice technology, and what the future of children interacting with voice technology will look like. Voice is here! How will the industry continue to meet this growing group of children! 

Who is in charge of student privacy- the schools or the tech companies? Who can be trusted? Who is ultimately responsible? Why is it so confusing? What's holding voice technology back from the classroom? Student Privacy Laws. How can Voice-enabled edtech companies move forward legally? How can we get laws adjusted to meet the needs of current technology? What's next? Will education get left behind? 

In episode 128, Julie Daniel Davis talks about the newly released Alexa Voice Profiles for Kids and how it works with Reading Sidekick. This is a step towards personalized learning for children that helps reduce the friction between the interface and the ultimate goal. The Alexa Voice Profiles for Kids work exclusively with the purchase of Amazon Kids +, where parents can set up parameters for up to 4 kids voice profiles. This is the first step towards personalized learning for children with Alexa, what's next and what should we be concerned about? 

Ambient computing can best be explained as accessing a computer in a way that causes less friction in our lives but brings us the benefit of efficiency and information. In this episode, Julie Daniel Davis talks about how the future will include more ambient computing in our lives and how that has the potential to impact education if student privacy laws adjust to these capabilities. 

In Episode 119, Julie Daniel Davis discusses the concern she has over the quirkiness of voice assistants. With any technology, there is a tipping point in the mind of the user that makes them decide if the benefits outweigh the quirks. Amazon Alexa debut in November 2014, and some of the quirks we see feel like they should have been solved in the 6+ years it has been on the market. If we want users to adopt the device for more than just a novelty, the value add has to be apparent. The usefulness has to outweigh the tech issues and I am not sure we are there for most users. Another topic of this podcast is the major shift Apple has made to help users protect their privacy by making all apps ask for permission to track user's digital activity across other apps and websites. The hope is this solid move by tech giant Apple will cause other tech companies (including voice technologies) to follow suit.

In Episode 117 Julie Daniel Davis talks not only about the benefit the Project Voice conference had on her personally but also how exciting it was to hear from both mainstream and new players in the space of voice technology. In this episode, Julie focuses on the need for the k-12 curriculum to not only include how AI works (STEM) but to lead students in learning how to think critically about the function of AI in society and the ethical considerations surrounding its use. 

In episode 115 Julie thinks about the future of technology in terms of:

• Personalization
• Participation
• Pedagogy driven
• Pre-emptive
• Predictive
• Portable
• Pandemic-wise

with a side of concern:

• Privacy
• Persistent date 

In episode 113 Julie Daniel Davis looks at some of the current research and how it is supporting the use of voice assistants for learning. 

Lovato, S. B. (2019). Young Children and Voice Search: What We Know From Human-Computer Interaction Research. Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00008/full

Sengupta, S., Garg, R. (2019). Impact of Voice-based Interaction on Learning Practices and Behavior of Children. Ceur. http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2327/IUI19WS-IUIoT-6.pdf

Garg, R., Sengupta, S. (2020). Conversational Technologies for In-home Learning: Using Co-Design to Understand Children's and Parents' Perspectives. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338634071_Conversational_Technologies_for_In-home_Learning_Using_Co-Design_to_Understand_Children's_and_Parents'_Perspectives

Schoelger, P., Ebner, M., Ebner, M. (2020). The Use of Alexa for Mass Education. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342888682_The_Use_of_Alexa_for_Mass_Education

Metalta, O., Oldfield, A., Ahmed, T., Vefeas, A., Miglani, S. (2019). Voice User Interfaces in Schools: Co-designing for Inclusion With Visually-Impaired and Sighted Pupils. http://www.ousmet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Voice_User_Interfaces_in_Schools.pdf

Garg, R. (2020) He Is Just Like Me": A Study of the Long-Term Use of Smart Speakers by Parents and Children. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339688118_He_Is_Just_Like_Me_A_Study_of_the_Long-Term_Use_of_Smart_Speakers_by_Parents_and_Children

In episode 111 Julie Daniel Davis recognizes just a few of the brilliant women in the voice industry that have become influencers in the realm of education and voice applications. It's Women's History Month and these women are pioneers in voice technology. Shout out to:

Monique Howard, Smarticles

Irina Fine, Bamboo Learning

Kristin Daum, Levooba

Sandra Noa, Levooba

Caitlin Gutekunst, Creativity, Inc.

Dr. Patricia Scanlon, Soapbox Labs

Ilarna Nche, Adassa Innovations

Jenny Mero, Appy Sloth

Dr. Aparna Ramanathan, Ask My Class

Sarah Andrew Wilson, Matchbox.io

Rebecca Dwenger, Hamilton County ESC

In episode 107 Julie Daniel Davis goes over some super quick ways educators can use the Amazon Alexa devices in the classroom to create efficiencies. She talks about routines, timers, calendar linking, flash briefings, lists, and notes. She gives you ideas on how these things can support your feedback approach to student learning and also support social-emotional well being. Listen to these quick ideas that can have a large impact!

In episode 106 Julie Daniel Davis discusses the changes she is seeing in the voice assistant industry and the fears she has on how they will impact education in a negative way and move past the current possibilities of a voice-only device without truly even taking advantage of the potential before moving on to multi-model, touch, etc. In this episode, Julie challenges the voice community to look for ways to use voice technology to enhance learning that doesn't already exist for educational purposes. Innovative education is needed in today's world. Now is the time to rethink education, voice technology has the possibility to support learning in school and at home in unique ways that have never existed. Let's think beyond what we know and dream about what could be! The future is NOW!

In episode 105 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Jeff Blankenburg, Principal Evangelist with Amazon Alexa. Jeff talks about what he does in the voice industry and then we chat about what we see currently in using voice for learning and he shares what he sees in the future of using voice for educational purposes. 

In episode 104 Julie Daniel Davis interviews special education educator, Cindy Evans. Cindy shares how she uses Alexa in the classroom to meet the needs of her niche of students with exceptional needs. Listen to how Alexa supports IEPs of students and benefits them in the learning process. To contact Cindy, email her at CEvans@marinschools.org

In episode 103 Julie Daniel Davis is a bit of a "Negative Nellie." She shares her concerns and disenchantment with the current status of voice technology. Perhaps it's because it is the beginning of a new year where last year felt much the same in the voice industry but she's concerned that voice is fizzling out before even beginning to be accepted in the educational community. Listen to her not so positive thoughts in this episode. Warning: ramblings do occur because it is straight from the heart. 

In episode 99 of The Voice in Education podcast Julie Daniel Davis interviews Jenny Mero of Appy Sloth. Jenny is an Alexa Champion, Bixby Premier Developer, and the creator of Freeze Dance voice app that teaches students STEM information while getting them moving. The voice app is a take on the traditional concept of Freeze Dance but embeds learning into the concept! In a day in age where children need to move to refocus, Freeze Dance can be a great way to do just that! 

In episode 97 Julie Daniel Davis interviews the Chief Content Officer of Matchbox.io, Sarah Andrew Wilson. Sarah calls on her former experience in education and performing arts to help make superb voice skills. In this episode, she talks about what it takes to make a good voice experience for children. 

In episode 95 Julie Daniel Davis talks about current happenings in the voice assistant space that could have a positive impact on education. A discussion about voice profiles and her willingness to let that happen in the classroom in the future (SHOCK), Google's adoption of their own processing chip, and how Google Assistant's interactive canvas API can lead to more learning with touch and voice education and storytelling apps. Be in the know! Listen to what is on the voice in education horizon!

In Episode 96 Julie Daniel Davis speaks with Alex Podchaski who serves as Director of Educational & Information Technology at North Broward Preparatory School. Alex, a Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL), also serves on the Open Voice Network Education Steering Committee. Listen to his thoughts on what it will take for voice assistants to be mainstreamed into classrooms. 

In episode 94 Julie Daniel Davis celebrates the 6th birthday of the Amazon Alexa device that happened on November 6th. In this episode, Julie talks about the growth she has seen in the device over the last 6 years and dreams forward into what she hopes to see in the future. Happy birthday, Alexa! We are so glad you are part of our lives! Cheers! 

In episode 91 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Bradley Metrock. Bradley is the CEO of Score Publishing and the creator of "This Week In Voice VIP," the daily letter to the voice & AI tech communities. Bradley is the reason Julie is involved in the voice industry. Going all the way back to the 2018 Alexa Conference where Bradley invited Julie to be a part of what felt like a very grassroots event. Having his eye on this emerging tech and its possibilities, Bradley serves as a knowledgeable guest. In this episode, Bradley shares his thoughts on the future of voice and education, what's slowing it down, and who to watch. 

In this episode, Julie Daniel Davis is feeling a bit nostalgic but also looking to the future! Blame it on her first grandchild being born this week. She talks about the past of educational voice technology, the present (with a look at previous episodes with guests striving to meet student needs with voice assistants or voice technology platforms), and finally the future and why the classroom world is becoming more ready for voice technology due to noise cancellation abilities in platforms like Zoom. 

In episode 87 Julie Daniel Davis talks a bit of negativity in regards to voice and education. When one considers the the product adoption model, educators are still in the early innovator phase of adoption due to various road blocks of using voice assistants in an educational setting. The question becomes "Are early innovative educators that have chosen voice actually too early at this point?" Many educators have given up due to the lack of change and adjustment since the first Alexa hit the market in 2014. It has been 6 years since voice assistants have hit the market, and the abilities for educational purposes haven't really changed that much for teachers. Voice is an opportunity for transformational technology adoption for education instead of just supporting "educational as usual." What could be next needs to happen now.