Back to school is way better with Alexa’s help
Kids always need a helping hand with their homework. But now that many students are doing more of their schoolwork remotely, parents need to take an even bigger role in their education.
Fortunately, there are a lot of ways Alexa can take some of the back-to-school load off!
When You Need A Helping Hand With The Schoolwork…
A lot of school is still memorization and studying—and Alexa has the patience (and the time) to help your kid master her multiplication tables or the facts for the next geography quiz.
#1. Master Math Problems
Elementary school kids need to spend a lot of time drilling basic math facts, but fortunately, Alexa can manage all the quizzing for you. Just say “Alexa, open Amazon Math” to get started.
If you get an answer wrong, Alexa gives you another shot at getting it right. Alexa gives plenty of encouragement (including a fun Woo-hoo when you’re finished and an offer to keep playing).
Pro Tip
Have multiple grade-school kids? Just say “Alexa, change grade level” and tell Alexa the new grade level when prompted.
#2. Become A Geography Whiz
Test your knowledge of American geography with Alexa’s quiz on state capitals.
Start the game by saying “Alexa, open the state capital game,” and you’ll be quizzed on five states to see which ones you remember.
#3. Build Your Own Quiz
You can use Blueprints to create a personalized quiz to help your child drill on irregular French verbs or biology terms.
The Flashcards Blueprint works best for testing those facts, or you can use the Game Show skill to make it even more fun.
Here’s how to do it:
- Open the Alexa app
- Click the “More” button in the bottom navigation
- Click “Blueprints”
- Tap “Learn” from the icons at the center of the screen
- Tap “Flashcards” and click the “Make Your Own” button
- Follow the prompts to name the topic, type up the information that will appear on the cards, then tap “Next: Experience”
- Customize the experience by putting in messages Alexa will say at the start, as your child uses the skill, and as they exit out. Then tap “Next: Name”
- Type in a name for the skill (choose something easy to remember), then tap “Next: Create Skill” (It may take a few minutes for your skill to become active)
Pro Tips
Pro Tip #1: If you have a lot of terms you need to input, it might be easier to create your Blueprint on a computer.
Pro Tip #2: You can share the quiz with your child’s classmates so they can all access it via the Alexa app or their own Echos. To do that, click “More,” click “Blueprints,” then click “Your Skills.” Click the flashcards set you want to share, then click “Share” at the bottom of the page. You can copy the unique link and send it to your friends.
#4. Make Alexa Your Project Manager
Keep long-term projects moving in the right direction (without the nagging!) by setting up a series of daily reminders to encourage your child to start researching and writing. Here’s a refresher on how to set up reminders with Alexa.
When You Want To Learn Something New…
Even if your back-to-school days are behind you, there’s always time to learn something new. These skills can help students enhance their education (and help keep little ones busy), or provide some new learning for adults, too.
#5. Unleash Your Creative Side
Summer may be over, but Camp Prime’s creative activities can still inspire some exciting (and educational!) fun, with info on how to take on the famous egg drop experiment, healthy food recipes, tips for building the perfect bug house, and designing your own family crest.
#6. Enhance Your Vocabulary
Whether you’re studying for the SAT or just want to ace your next crossword puzzle, there are several word-of-the-day skills to choose from.
Just say “Alexa, open SAT Word of the Day” to get a fresh vocabulary word each day with the definition, spelling, and an example of it in a sentence. (Today’s word was adversity!)
#7. Find Your Next Good Read
Looking for your next great read? Audible’s Book Finder skill lets you seek out books just like one you loved, check out samples of audiobooks, or discover what’s new and popular.
Just say “Alexa, open Book Finder” to get started.
When I asked for similar books to Harry Potter, I got a slew of great recommendations, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the latest installment of the Hunger Games series.
#8. Become A History Buff
Discover what happened on a particular day by saying “Alexa, open This Day in History.”
She’ll tell you a brief fact about something that happened on this day, then prompt you to either hear the whole story, get another event from today, or choose another day to explore. (Who knew that August 5th was the day the first electric traffic light was installed?)
Pro Tips
Pro Tip #1: If you want to hear Nikola Tesla, Amelia Earhart, or Gandhi speak, just say, “Alexa, open Historical Voices.” You can choose from several historic figures of the modern era, and get a short minute or two of a speech they gave.
Pro Tip #2: And if you just want to test your grasp of history, say “Alexa, open the Ultimate History Quiz,” to test your history knowledge with three true/false questions per day.
#9. Master Basic Adulting Skills
Just say “Alexa, open WikiHow” to get full step-by-step directions on a whole series of practical skills like tying a tie or getting rid of ants in your home.