Create out-of-this-world Alexa skills with students in an hour, no Amazon device required.
Calling all high school teachers!
We invite all US high school teachers to teach an Hour of AI with Amazon’s Alexa! We’ve built three lessons designed to blow your students away!
In one hour, any student (ages 14+) can learn to code their own space-themed Alexa skills on MIT App Inventor - no Amazon device required. As they code, students meet Amazon experts and uncover the basic mechanics of voice artificial intelligence systems.
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“This program really taught me a lot. I used to think artificial intelligence was only in movies and robots being smart like people, but I learned it’s also just tech that can respond to you and help you with everyday life.”
High School Student, Mississippi -
“This was a fun lesson and a great way to end the year. The students were super excited to hear Alexa respond to them!”
High School CS Teacher, Nebraska -
“This program has made me think more about what majors I want to choose. I was thinking about doing engineering, but you know, this computer science and tech part, I’m more into it!”
High School Student, Mississipppi -
“I enjoyed learning about code and the importance of innovation to promote the general good. I always knew that Alexa was useful, but I underestimated the uses of Alexa before these lessons. Learning more about the functions of Alexa, implicit biases, and space promoted my interests in computer science.”
High School Student, California -
I really enjoyed teaching these lessons. I thought they were interesting, and the students found them interesting.
High School CS Teacher, Connecticut -
“I enjoyed being able to communicate/talk to an AI that responds to my utterances and commands. It was very interesting.”
High School Student, New Jersey
How can my class participate?
1. Sign up for access to Alexa Inventor.
2. After sign up, explore the provided lesson plans and free training options.
3. Teach with Alexa Inventor and celebrate with #AlexaInventor and #AmazonFutureEngineer!
Sign up with one of our partners:
This option is perfect for one class period in any subject area! The lesson covers the basics of voice AI and leads students through two tutorials. Students code Alexa to say “Hello, Moon!” and create an Space Trivia Generator. At the end, students dive deep into Alexa’s AI systems through an interview with Amazon’s Chief Alexa Evangelist.
For computer science teachers that want to go deeper than one lesson, this is for you! In Mobile CSP‘s Alexa in Space mini-unit, students explore AI concepts and create Alexa skills to help inexperienced space travelers, such as tourists, complete everyday tasks in a microgravity environment. This unit is available through a free interactive e-book.
Got time but no CS experience? The NSTA created a five-day learning experience that exposes students to ideas about AI in the context of life science. Students design an Alexa skill to help monitor astronauts’ physical health during deep-space exploration. The curriculum is aligned to NGSS standards.
Lesson video previews:
The following videos are included in ProjectSTEM’s Hour of AI lesson and in the MIT App Inventor Tutorial. You can preview them below and use them how you like!
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Voice AI Basics
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Tutorial 1 - “Hello, Moon!”
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Tutorial 2: Random Fact Generator
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Understanding the AI in Alexa
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Take your class on our hour-long, interactive Callisto: Space Innovation Tour on Kahoot! Your students will journey aboard the Orion spacecraft to explore the experimental technology heading to the moon as a part of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can families participate or only classrooms?
All students ages 14+ in the United States are welcome! The experiences are designed to be easy for teachers to integrate into classrooms. Teachers and parents can sign up now to bring this experience to their students (ages 14+).
What grade levels can participate?
This experience is for students ages 14+ in the United States.
Where is this program available?
This program is available to students and classrooms aged 14+ and located in the United States.
Do students need to provide personal information to participate in the program?
No, a student does not need to provide information such as their name, address, or email address to participate. Instead, through the MIT program, teachers create MIT App Inventor accounts along with randomly generated student logins, which are used to access the MIT App Inventor platform where skills can be coded. The randomly generated student logins are shared with Amazon in order to support the skills being coded in the MIT App Inventor platform.
Can I preview the lesson or watch a recording?
Yes! You can watch this recording of the one-hour ProjectSTEM lesson. The lesson is modeled as if the speaker is the teacher.
How do I create a teacher account for the MIT App Inventor Platform?
Head to https://hourofai.appinventor.mit.edu/signup. After you create an account, you’ll be taken into the teacher portal to create student accounts, access the coding interface, and more!
I already set up my account, but I’m not sure where to login. How do I access the platform?
Head to https://hourofai.appinventor.mit.edu/login to login to the Hour of AI teacher portal. From here, you will be able to access the Alexa App Inventor coding interface.
How do I create my student accounts on the MIT App Inventor Platform?
After logging into the Hour of AI Teacher Portal (here), you can click on “Student Accounts” to generate your class’s randomly generated student logins. You can download the logins as printable cards or a CSV file. Watch this video for more details.
Can I use the platform and make my own lesson?
Of course. Anyone can create an MIT App Inventor account and begin coding with Alexa. We provide lessons and training with three different partners, but you can always create your own learning experiences using the Alexa platform. Head here to get started.
How much does this cost?
All lesson materials and access to the platform are provided at no cost. Students will need their own computer to successfully code their skill.
What comes in the swag kit?
During CS Education week, each participating teacher can pre-order swag to hand out when they teach the “Hour of AI”. Swag includes a class set of 120 space-themed stickers plus a few special items for the teacher. All swag is provided free of cost to registering classrooms. Swag will no longer be available after December 16, 2022.
Who can I contact for help?
Reach out to afe-contact@amazon.com for any additional support.