Thursday, August 10, 2017

Identify where smart speaker technology can be used in K-12 schools. Please provide three brief projects with a description for each subject of how this technology can be used: English, history, science, languages, art, administration.

I believe by "smart speaker" this question is asking about devices like Amazon's Alexa and the Google Home. These speakers are speakers that are connected to a wifi network and are voice-activated. I also think that this question assumes that a school has intentionally decided to implement their usage in the classroom and has found a way to smooth over all parental worry and concerns about privacy.
What is not clear in the question is whether or not the smart speaker has to be used by students for student work or if the speaker is mainly a teacher tool. Anecdotally, I do have a Google Home in my classroom, and I use it all the time to make quick percentage grading calculations. Instead of turning to my calculator, I simply ask the speaker what percent a particular fraction is. I teach science, so I also frequently use the speaker to convert US standard measurements into the metric equivalent. This is one usage of the speaker that students would find useful; however, logistically, it would prove to be difficult. Thirty-two students can't all ask a single speaker different questions at the same time, and having multiple speakers would also be difficult because the speakers are always listening to anybody that says the key phrase.
The speakers could be used for administrative purposes. Each speaker could be named and identified and then placed in specific classrooms. A message can be spoken into one particular speaker and sent to another particular speaker. That message can be immediately delivered, or it can wait for a prompt from a person who says something along the lines of "read my notifications/messages."
The smart speakers could also possibly be used for effective classroom management techniques. It is a simple thing to tell the speaker to set a timer. A teacher could give students an anticipatory set and tell students that they have five minutes to work on it. The teacher then says, "Alexa, set timer for five minutes." The teacher can then move throughout the classroom checking on students without worrying about watching the clock. Other applications could involve possible spelling help or even providing foreign language help by only responding to questions spoken in a particular language and giving the response in that language as well.
https://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?cid=25920011&item=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.edweek.org%2Fv1%2Fblog%2F63%2Findex.html%3Fuuid%3D76760

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the theme of the chapter Lead?

Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...