The Amazon Echo
Our first word: comprehensionThe Echo in the Room
Thanks in large part to Apple’s Siri, the stigma associated with being caught talking to an inanimate object is slowly fading away from our society. And if you’ve ever used Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, or similar cell phone based voice recognition tools, you know that once you get over the initial awkwardness, they can prove to be rather helpful for a variety of tasks.
But there is a fundamental problem with these sorts of “assistants” – they’re only valuable so long as your phone is in your hand. That might seem like a relatively minor problem in our increasingly connected world, but it also means that features like Siri are inherently personal – they are not resources for groups of people to leverage, which has obvious implications as we think about how these kinds of software tools might help in say, a classroom environment.
Amazon has started down the road of addressing that problem with their new device, the echo. Part voice recognition tool, part bluetooth speaker, the Echo was built to free the concept of an internet enabled software assistant from the confines of your pocket and place it front in center in a public space, available for anyone to use. And as part of the magic, the Echo is always listening…
The device itself is fairly simple, with only a power and a mute microphone button. Thus it relies on a companion app for your cell phone to get up and running. “An app?” you say? Oh so it really is no different than Siri if I need my phone. Fortunately that’s not quite the case. The app is only required when setting up the device, for example to connect it to the WiFi network. The app also becomes important if you want to pair the echo with things like your calendar, or your *ahem* Amazon account to do a little voice based shopping.
Once the logistics are taken care of, you plug the Echo in somewhere and just … talk.
Technically speaking, the Echo is always on (a point we’ll come back to later), but it requires a trigger word to activate. Out of the box, that word is “Alexa”, but if, like me, you find it awkward to refer to technology by female names, you can switch the trigger word over to “Amazon”. You’ll know the Echo is paying attention when the blue indicator light on the top of the speaker lights up, indicating it is ready to listen.
“Amazon, who is the current president of the United States?”
“Amazon, what does my calendar look like tomorrow?”
“Amazon, how many calories are there in a big Mac?”
You ask and the Echo responds. As was mentioned earlier, you can also connect the Echo to other services, for example Pandora music streaming, your Google calendar or your Amazon shopping account to add additional functionality beyond just fact requests. Out of the box, no voice training is required (though if you have a thick accent or unusual speech pattern that may not be the case).
Really awesome words, extremely awesome words and then even more awesome words about this product which does things.
Our First Question
What does an omnipresent, voice activated support device like the Echo mean for classroom or learning space design?
Step Into A World: Zac Zidik explores a virtual classroom environment using the Oculus
Once the logistics are taken care of, you plug the Echo in and talk.
The Opportunity
But the question remains: what is the educational value of a device like this?
Imagine loading up a forensics science simulation and looking (*literally looking*) around the room for clues from the comfort of your own living room. Or giving a supply chain student the chance to walk a factory floor without leaving their classroom. Or giving an engineering student the chance to look around the inside of a fracking hole. And perhaps just as importantly these kinds of experiences could occur without the need for interface instructions. If you can put a headset on, you can use the Oculus.
The Challenge
In some ways, the dream of the Oculus as a more natural user interface device sounds too good to be true, but despite the potential, the device is not without its flaws. As a note, this review is based on the DK2 or developer kit version 2 – a pre-consumer release of the device (the consumer version is not yet available for purchase), so things may change. To begin, freedom begets the demand for more freedom. The ability to look around freely compels you to want to move through virtual spaces just as freely. But the Oculus is very much a tethered device with a lot of wires. You’ll find yourself wanting to move and turn around, but you it won’t take long before you get tangled in technology, which creates a very immersion breaking effect. You’ll also be very inclined to interact with such a rich world, but because the headset covers your eyes, you’ll find using a keyboard, mouse, or other traditional interface device very difficult (we recommend something a bit easier to navigate by touch alone, such as a joystick of video game controller). Perhaps most importantly though, while the Oculus can allow some very engaging experiences, it essentially requires game developer level skills in programs such as unity to create programs for, which can be a barrier to creating your own content.
Summary
The Oculus is an incredibly exciting device that generates some equally exciting possibilities for improving educational engagement in simulation activities. And its clear that the company is making strides in this, their second version of the technology. But while it is easy to use, that ease also serves to highlight some of the less polished aspects of VR, such as interfacing with objects or moving through virtual space.
Intrigued?
Are you interested in trying out the Oculus? Are there questions you have about the device or VR? Have you used it and would like to share your experiences?