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 purpo...
Jan 31, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 106
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.
Jan 24, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 104
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
Jan 17, 2021•7 min•Season 2Ep. 104
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 hea...
Jan 10, 2021•8 min•Season 2Ep. 103
In episode 102 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Caitlin Gutekunst of the design studio Creativity, Incorporated . Caitlin discusses the work Creativity, Inc has done for children in the voice technology realm. This company has creates fun interactive experiences for kids. The company produces voice apps for themselves and with companies like Disney Music, Mattel Uno, and NetFlix's Stranger Things. Recently they created the first plush toy that is voice-enabled. Caitlin is excited about how voice ca...
Jan 03, 2021•10 min•Season 2Ep. 102
In episode 101 Julie Daniel Davis unpacks how using a voice assistant in the classroom can actually support all 7 of the ISTE Standards for Students in meaningful ways. Do you desire your students to be ready for the technological world before them? Help them by introducing them to the ISTE standards through the use of voice. You will be preparing them for their future by tapping into these concepts: Empowered Learners Digital Citizens Knowledge Constructor Innovative Designer Computational Thin...
Dec 27, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 101
In episode 100 Julie Daniel Davis celebrates this monumental number of episodes by interviewing Sandra Noa of Levooba . Why Sandra? What better way to celebrate the journey of the Voice in Education podcast than by having an educator that is creating for voice be a part of the show?! Sandra shares that educators are finding value in using Levooba to support classroom learning. What better time to consider a no-touch, work from home option to support learning?...
Dec 20, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 100
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!
Dec 13, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 99
In episode 98 Julie Daniel Davis discusses the importance of needing to trust artificial intelligence in the future. This includes teaching students how to recognize machine learning in their lives and how to be proactive users of it. AI4k12.org is a great resource for educators on this subject. Julie also talks about the ethics of AI and how that impacts users of voice experiences. Julie challenges third party voice developers to have well-written privacy policies stating exactly what they coll...
Dec 06, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 98
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.
Nov 29, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 97
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!...
Nov 22, 2020•8 min•Season 2Ep. 95
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.
Nov 22, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 96
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!
Nov 08, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 94
In episode 93 educators can learn about Botmock , a platform that gives all levels of voice enthusiasts a way to rapid prototype and design conversational experiences across multiple channels for both voice & text. Brielle Nickoloff shares the latest free level of access to Botmock, how she thinks it can add value to education, and SPOILER ALERT: she says there are generous plans for educators that want to dive past the free options. Do you want to introduce your students to conversational d...
Nov 01, 2020•6 min•Season 2Ep. 93
In episode 92 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Audrey O'Clair. Audrey is an Education Specialist working for Soundtrap by Spotify . In her role, she helps educators integrate the Soundtrap platform for transcription, creation of music, podcast, storytelling into the classroom setting. Since the 2020 COVID pandemic Soundtrap has seen an increase in the use of its platform for educational purposes. Teachers are finding Soundtrap to be a great way for students to share their learning, thoughts, and cr...
Oct 25, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 92
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...
Oct 18, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 91
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 ...
Oct 11, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 90
In episode 89 Julie Daniel Davis interviews a special education educator working on his PhD at University of Illinois in Chicago. Chris Emerling, is a passionate educator that sees the value of voice technology to meet the needs of special education students. Twitter handle: @CREmerling Website (In the works): www.VoiceInSpEd.com
Oct 04, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 89
Ricardo Murer is an IT and Digital Innovation professional and entrepreneur, graduated in Computer Science and with a Master in Communication and Arts. With over twenty years of experience, he has worked in the education, healthcare and telecom segments. In the academic area, he was taught undergraduate, MBA and graduate courses at ESPM and FIAP universities. Currently, he is CEO & founder of Voxall, an Edtech focused on technologies and voice experiences for education. With schools closed d...
Sep 27, 2020•8 min•Season 2Ep. 88
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 mar...
Sep 20, 2020•7 min•Season 2Ep. 87
In episode 86 Julie Daniel Davis talks about the recent additions to the Amazon Alexa Voice Interoperability Initiative network and what interoperability might mean to education forward.
Sep 13, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 86
In episode 85 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Emma Rogers, CEO and co-founder of U.K. based Little Bridge. Little Bridge is a platform to aid children ages 6-12 learn the english language. Little Bridge has been a web-based solution to english learning for a while but most recently the company won the Judges' choice award from the Amazon Alexa EdTech Skills Challenge EMEA 2020. Learn more about the plans of Little Bridge and voice in this episode. To learn more about Little Bridge, check out their...
Sep 06, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 85
In episode 84 Julie Daniel Davis talks about what makes a good skill/action/capsule for educational purposes. While preparing to teach a course this semester, Julie read the book Mobile Learning- A handbook for Developers, Educators, and Learners (2015, McQuiggan, Kosturko, McQuiggan, Sabourin) that talked about the needs of a good app for education. In this episode Julie transfers much of those app goals to the voice space and shares it in this episode with the audience. This episode might be s...
Aug 30, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 84
In episode 83 Julie Daniel Davis interviews the CEO of Paranoid, Thomas Stachura. Paranoid is a device that can be added to your voice speakers to add peace of mind regarding privacy. Listen to Thomas explain how the device works, it's price point, and his thoughts on its impact on student privacy. You can learn more at https://paranoid.com/ .
Aug 23, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 83
In episode 82 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Bruce LeWolt of Blast Learning . "Blast is a cutting-edge education platform that uses Alexa or Google Assistant as an intelligent personal study assistant, resulting in a state-of-the-art study method that is not just effective but makes learning enjoyable." Blast Learning was named as one of the six best education applications in the recent Alexa EdTech Challenge.
Aug 16, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 82
In episode 81 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Isaac Davenport of Toys2Life. Isaac got his PhD in electrical engineering in 1998. He has worked on dozens of product development programs, run small companies, and worked as a hardware, firmware, and software design engineer and technical management consultant for large companies. He is currently heading up the start-up company, Toys2Life, making dolls and action figures talk to one another on a kid's bedroom floor using BLE radios and an AI dialog en...
Aug 09, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 81
In episode 80 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Dr. Aparna Ramanathan who is well known for the Alexa Skill called "Ask My Class." You will hear how their company adapted to pandemic times by creating "Ask My Kid." How do you adjust your product to remote learning when it is designed for classroom use? Aparna shares how they adapted to better meet needs. To learn more about "Ask My Kid" go to https://askmykid.com/ . This episode is sponsored by our friends at SoapBox Labs , a company devoted to chil...
Aug 02, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 80
In episode 79 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Rob Moores of Ambiently. Ambiently is an England-based start-up voice company that has created the Alexa skill Redemption Earth. This skill teaches important STEM/Science information about climate change. Redemption Earth was chosen as a finalist Amazon Alexa EdTech Skills Challenge EMEA 2020 . To find out more about Redemption Earth, go to https://www.redemption.earth/ . This episode is sponsored by my friends at Soapbox Labs ....
Jul 26, 2020•9 min•Season 2Ep. 79
In episode 78 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Kristin Daum, Daniel Mittendorf, and Sandra Noa of Levooba. Based out of Germany, Levooba has been named one of the finalists in the EMEA Edtech Skills Challenge. LEVOOBA is short for “Learn. Voice. Battle." "LEVOOBA is an innovative, unique and one-of-its-kind Skill for Amazons Alexa Smart Voice Assistant that offers a competitive voice learning experience for kids of all ages. Use Alexa screen-free time to learn for school or even challenge your clas...
Jul 19, 2020•10 min•Season 2Ep. 78
In episode 77 Julie Daniel Davis interviews Jon Stine of the Open Voice Network. "The Open Voice Network (OVN) is dedicated to making voice assistance worthy of user trust—especially for a future of voice assistance that will be multi-platform, multi-device, multi-modal, and multi-use." ( https://openvoicenetwork.org/ ). Julie serves on the educational steering committee of OVN and encourages any educator interested in using voice assistants in the classroom to join the movement....
Jul 12, 2020•11 min•Season 2Ep. 77
