Computer Science, K-12

Alexa Blueprints

UPDATE 1/11/2021: Here is a list of great Alexa skills for kids from Commonsense Media!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I want to share a few things I learned at ISTE 2020 last week. One of the sessions I “attended” virtually was about Artificial Intelligence, presented by Hall Davidson. Among the great resources he shared, Davidson mentioned that you can customize some of the Amazon Alexa responses using “Skill Blueprints.” I know that many classrooms can’t have an Alexa due to district and privacy issues, but if you do have one – or have one at home – this site should definitely be of interest to you. Using the Alexa Blueprints, you can customize stories, games, celebrations, and even taking turns. In addition, there are 5 different “Learning and Knowledge” templates. Davidson mentioned that he had worked with schools where the students had filled out the templates, giving them a bit of education on some of the uses of Artificial Intelligence.

For some other AI resources, don’t forget this new site from Code.org, which includes a video on the ethics of AI. (And, a friendly reminder that it’s Hour of Code week right now!) My post on “Machine Learning for Kids” also has some great links, and some fun Scratch projects for this topic.

Photo by Fabian Hurnaus on Pexels.com

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