How Alexa Can Help Advance Education Through Technology

When Alexa first hit the scene in November 2014, it cemented itself into a must-have for most families worldwide. A virtual voice assistant offered by Amazon, the Alexa is a permanent fixture with more than a few hundred million located in homes, cars, and phones alike. Furthermore, the features Alexa offers seem to continue to grow by the day. 

There are very few devices created that has ever sold to the quantity that Alexa has. It has so many uses that it is being overlooked on just what it can do for education. 

A Virtual Encyclopedia
How many times have you been stuck trying to find an answer to something that you probably learned in the past while you were a kid? When helping students with their work, whether you are a parent or educator, sometimes you may need assistance with not just the problematic facts to remember but the basics, too. With Alexa, you can ask it the question, and it will have the answer in seconds. 

• How many ounces in a cup?
• Who were the first five presidents?
• What is the population around the globe?
• Who had the number-one hit song in 1956? 
• What started the Revolutionary War?

These are all things that an encyclopedia could inform you of, perhaps the correct textbook, too, but an Alexa will do it in a fraction of the time, and you never have to leave your chair. 

Moreover, if math isn’t entirely your strong point, Alexa can go one step further and become an audible calculator. You could virtually figure out your taxes for the year with the help of Alexa. Just don’t let the kids do their math homework through it. Instead, they can use it to help check over their answers!

And we are just getting started!

Sync Your School Schedule and Calendar with Alexa
As an educator, having an Alexa in the classroom reminds students of what assignments, tests, and projects are approaching daily would be something that could be beneficial to all. For some reason, some children will listen to Alexa much better than their parents or teacher!

You may spend hours putting together your Google calendar every month, but do you find yourself not checking it as often as you could? How many times have you missed events that you placed in the calendar but failed to notice? With Alexa, it will make sure you don’t miss anything that is written in your calendar. You can program it to read out the calendar events at the beginning of every day or as needed. 

Reminders and Alarms
We all live busy lives, whether we are educators or students. Life is hectic and to have Alexa there to remind us of things by setting alarms is priceless. It can let you know when to wake up when to go to bed, when to do your homework when your class novel needs to be finished by… Alexa can essentially act as your assistant, reminding you of what needs to happen throughout the day. Even if you are the most forgetful of people, Alexa can help you change for the better. 

Study Partner
Alexa can help students with any subject matter. They can act as the best study partner available by providing constant questions about the topic. Through Alexa, you can access the millions of quizzes, study sets, and random questions provided by Quizlet. Tell Alexa what you would like to study, and get ready to learn. 

Novel Reading
If you have ever had to read a novel as a student and struggled because your reading fluency is not up to that level yet, then you know how frustrating it can be. Now, with Alexa, you can have Alexa read the novel aloud. Whether at home or in the classroom, book reading through Alexa places all students on the same fluency level. For a teacher, having the luxury of having Alexa help struggling readers is an advantage. 

Use Even More Tech for Tutoring
If your student would likely benefit more from human touch, iAchieve offers tutoring, both in-person or remotely, on all subject matters. It does not matter the grade level or age of the child; we have you covered! 

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