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The concurrent proliferation of voice-enabled consumer devices and the isolation of students at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, presents a unique research opportunity to explore how these devices - such as market leader Amazon Echo and its Alexa Skills ecosystem - can enhance learning outcomes. While existing research centers around technical and privacy issues about these devices, there is scant consideration for educational opportunities, and no systematic evaluation of Alexa educational skills (aka apps). This preliminary study seeks to fill this gap in the literature by surveying popular Alexa Echo Educational Skills, and then evaluating them in terms of Bloom’s taxonomy. The objective is to identify which Alexa Skills hold the greatest promise for promoting cognitive abilities and critical thinking among students.

Alexa, education, technology, Bloom's taxonomy