In episode 136 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Levi Belnap, Chief Strategy Officer of Merlyn Mind. Finally there is a voice assistant on the market specifically for educational purposes! Think of it as "shortcuts" for teachers. Have Merlyn start your presentation, begin your game in Kahoot, or many other things that act as timesavers in the classroom. Merlyn is representing BIG at FETC 2022. Make sure you check out this voice assistant product built just for an educational environment that is the ...
Jan 23, 2022•8 min•Season 3Ep. 136
In episode 135 Julie Daniel Davis suggests ways to enhance classroom learning and communicate with students by using Amazon devices. Where do you start: Buy a device and enable Amazon Kids to protect students from unwanted information. Rename the wake word. Set up some classroom efficiencies for yourself. Check out the Education & Reference category of Skills inside the Alexa App. Create your own skills that personalize learning for YOUR classroom using Amazon Blueprints. Follow the hashtag ...
Aug 22, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 135
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.
Aug 16, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 134
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...
Aug 08, 2021•7 min•Season 3Ep. 133
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.
Aug 01, 2021•8 min•Season 3Ep. 132
Last week, Amazon hosted its third annual online Alexa Live Developer Conference where 50 new features were introduced that would allow developers and device makers "to build ambient experiences and drive growth with Alexa." In this episode, Julie Daniel Davis takes a deeper look at these features that are currently listed on Jeff Blankenburg's Alexa Skills Kit Blog post. Julie looks at how some of the new features might make a difference for learning and educational purposes....
Jul 25, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 131
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!
Jul 18, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 180
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?
Jul 11, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 129
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 Ale...
Jul 04, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 128
In episode 127, Julie Daniel Davis interviews Jamey Heit, Co-Founder and CEO of Ecree, Inc. Ecree is an online writing tutor that strives to give students feedback on their writing when they need it. "Unlimited, real-time writing feedback gives you instant support to complete an assignment, improve a grade, or prepare for a big exam." Ecree is part of the AWS EdStart program and recently created an Alexa voice app to enhance its online presence and to give users another way to interact with thei...
Jun 27, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 127
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.
Jun 20, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 126
In episode 125, Julie Daniel Davis discusses the Amazon Echo Show 5 for kids . She discusses its features and how it can add a multi-model approach to your voice assistants. In a time when adolescents want to be connected and parents want to slow the inevitable process of constant connectivity of their children, this device, much like the concept of a smartwatch for kids becomes a good stepping stone for children to have access but in a way that parents have control. Listen to my thoughts on get...
Jun 13, 2021•8 min•Season 3Ep. 125
This is my third interview with Irina Fine and she is someone I could talk voice with for hours! A former educator turned voice application creator, she and I see the value of voice for learning in much the same way. In episode 124 Irina tells the listeners about Bamboo Learning' s new voice app available on Alexa-enabled devices that is a one-stop-shop for learning- a treasure chest of math, English, reading, language arts, listening opportunities (and so much more)! Bamboo Learning's goal has ...
Jun 06, 2021•11 min•Season 3Ep. 124
In episode 123, Julie Daniel Davis dreams big about the future of educational technology. After having Susan Bearden as a guest for episode 121 , it is clear that the future of educational technology should include interoperability between platforms. How does voice play into this future? Hear the dreaming in episode 123!
May 30, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 123
It's the end of the school year and many educators are looking for fillers for some non-expected downtime. This is the perfect time to pilot the use of an Amazon Alexa in the classroom. Buy some buzzers that pair with your echo device and your students have the ability to play competitive games. Download the Alexa app, click on "Skills & Games", check out "Education & Reference" or "Games and Trivia" and find a fit for your students....
May 23, 2021•5 min•Season 3Ep. 122
As the voice industry continuously chats about the future of voice technology and a need for interoperability among devices, Julie Daniel Davis interviews educational technology guru, Susan Bearden, serves as Director of Digital Programs for InnovateEDU , and is currently involved with Project Unicorn . Project Unicorn is an effort to improve data interoperability within K-12 education. Why does education need interoperability? Listen to episode 121 to find out!...
May 16, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 121
This special Mother's Day episode 120 has Julie Daniel Davis interviewing Lauren Johnson, founder of the Alexa is a Human campaign. Lauren is a mother of a 9-year-old daughter named Alexa who wants others to understand the issues of having Alexa as a wake word for the Amazon Echo devices. Listen to this mother's heart and balanced passion for this problem. Want to know what you can do to help? Listen in! Also, consider listening to Lauren's recently created podcast, Wake Up: The Truth About Alex...
May 09, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 120
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...
May 02, 2021•8 min•Season 3Ep. 119
In episode 118 Julie Daniel Davis welcomes guest Lance Huang who serves as the Educational Lead at Agora . Agora is "The Real-Time Engagement Platform for meaningful human connections . People engage longer when they see, hear, and interact with each other. With Agora, you can embed vivid voice and video in any application, on any device, anywhere." For the last year, Julie has been saying the future of educational technology will include voice interfaces. Agora is such a platform. Companies wil...
Apr 25, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 118
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.
Apr 18, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 117
In episode 116 Julie Daniel Davis will talk about why her spidey senses are tingling! Listen to why she believes the educational technology world just might be ready for voice interface...FINALLY! Also in this episode an opportunity for listeners to take part in Project Voice Worldwide is mentioned. What's next for the intersection of education and voice? Hang in there educators! Relish in the fact that you are in the first 2.5% of innovators that use this emerging technology. This will put you ...
Apr 11, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 116
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
Apr 04, 2021•8 min•Season 3Ep. 115
In Episode 114 Julie Daniel Davis goes over the Amazon Alexa app and makes suggestions on how to prevent as little data as possible from being shared with Amazon for your classroom device. She makes suggestions such as starting with a "clean" Amazon account, not creating voice profiles, toggling off many options that might feel like good choices but the main concern is protecting not only the voiceprint of students but the data associated with their biometric voiceprint.
Mar 28, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 114
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,...
Mar 21, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 113
In episode 112 of Voice in Education, Julie Daniel Davis talks about the progressiveness of the French government in seeing the value of voice assistants for health and education. It's obvious this country can see that voice is an important paradigm for the future because CNIL (the French Data Protection Authority) published a white paper in December 2020 that discusses the importance of privacy and voice devices. Julie talks about the bid that went out by the French Education Ministry for a voi...
Mar 14, 2021•6 min•Season 3Ep. 112
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. Ap...
Mar 07, 2021•6 min•Season 3Ep. 111
In episode 110 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Monique Howard, founder, and CEO of Smarticles . Monique shares about the various voice technology apps the company has created "to support the SocioEmotional Well-being and Conversation Skills of kids by engaging them in activities that strengthen how they manage their feelings and communicate with others." As a mother of a child on the spectrum, Monique saw a need and her skills and passion have led her to create opportunities to support children ev...
Feb 28, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 110
One of the major things holding people back from robustly using and creating voice app technology is the concept of PRIVACY. Listen to episode 109 where Julie Daniel Davis discusses the concept of adopting a privacy rubric built along the lines of Privacyspy.org ( https://privacyspy.org/ ). If you want people to understand and use your products and services, be transparent about what is happening to the data!
Feb 21, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 109
In episode 108, Julie Daniel Davis interviews Shane Cox, CEO of Peeq and maker of the original throwable microphone known as the Q-ball. Shane discusses the value of voice in the classroom and how his company is responding to the pandemic with their product. Listen to what is on the horizon for the Q-ball device! Here is a chance for our listeners to take part in their current giveaway promotion to receive a Qball for their own use! https://gleam.io/XUGrY/drop-the-winter-blues-giveaway ....
Feb 14, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 108
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!
Feb 07, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 107
