Alexa? What is 2 + 3?

I made it home safely from the technology conference.  My flight for the last stage ended up being delayed 2 hours but I got in on the only plane of the day.

I am glad I went to the technology conference because the last keynote speaker turned me onto something I didn't know about.

Did you know that people have written lesson plans for all topics using the Alexa?  I didn't until he shared it with us. I'll start with normal uses and save the lesson plans for another day.

To begin with,  Alexa can be used to set a timer for those activities run for a specific length.  Instead of physically setting a timer, you can ask Alexa to do it and you can focus on other things.

Instead of keeping multiple pairs of dice in the classroom, you can ask Alexa to roll the dice for any activity requiring the use of dice.  Students can keep track of the response and then analyze the data to see if the numbers ended up meeting the 1/6 probability.  The dice results can also be used to create math problems for students to complete.

In addition, Alexa can do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  For students who struggle with math fluency,  they can use Alexa to check their work after completing a worksheet.You can also use the Alexa to find data such as temperatures in another place such as the daily high and low in London.  Students can take the data, organize it into charts, or even compare it with historical data to see if it follows past trends.

Amazon has skills which others have written for math.  Many of the skills already written and free to download to your Alexa.  Some are easy fact type skills and others are more complex but there are also skills to help factor quadratics, learn more about the Pythagorean theorem and the Fibonacci theorem.


You can also go to Alexa Skill Builder which allows you to go and create your own Alexa program.  They have the basics done, all you do is fill in the blanks and then publish it.  For me, the quiz one under education is perfect because it allows you to create short questions, provide an answer, add in a small fact.

You can also create a flash briefing which can be used by students to catch up on what they missed when they are out sick.  You can also create flash cards so students can practice their multiplication and division problems.  Work on the AC method so students learn the possibilities when factoring trinomials.

For students who need music, Alexa can be used to play nice background music gently in the background.

I'll be revisiting this topic another day, once I've caught up on my sleep.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.