Hardware

Published on August 26th, 2020 | by Adrian Gunning

Alexa, can you help Nanna?

It’s natural to worry about Nanna and Pops, or even Mum and Dad, alone in their homes – especially when we can’t always visit as much as we would like. We’re endlessly entertained and assisted by technology, and there’s absolutely no reason why our senior loved ones can’t enjoy the same modern necessities. While they might take a while to setup and troubleshoot, getting them interacting with modern tech brings endless fun to both us and them, whether we laugh with them or occasionally at them.

Amazon’s Alexa helps young and old with all manner of tasks around the home, from setting reminders to creating routines. But it’s the entertainment and playfulness that can add a new dimension to the homes of our loved ones.

Please see below a list of just some of the ways Alexa can bring joy to your household:

  • Playing music from any era or genre, on-demand any time you ask:
    • Try, “Alexa, play music from the 60s”
  • Asking random questions – ask Alexa anything and she’ll always give you her full attention:
    • Try, “Alexa, tell me a fact” or “Alexa, tell me a joke”
  • Set up a routine, including announcements at a certain time of day, playing music to wake up or helping with shopping lists:
    • Try, “Alexa, wake me up with ABC news every day.”
  • Speak to family members who also have an Alexa device by calling or sending voice messages, a good way to round up rogue Grandchildren for a visit:
    • Try, “Alexa, Drop In on Lucy”
  • Useful Skills such as checking your bank balance with NAB, perfect for saving a trip to the branch or checking the big win from Bingo:
    • Try, “Alexa, ask NAB what’s my savings account balance”
  • Combatting boredom or keeping the mind active with trivia, just one way to change up the crossword routine:
    • Try, “Alexa, test my Trivia”
  • Request Alexa speaks slower, as well as activating closed captioning and Alexa captioning on devices with a screen, such as the Echo Show 8
  • Set recurring reminders, helpful for taking medication or completing another daily task:
    • Try, “Alexa, remind me at 3pm every day to feed Mark the fish.”
  • Link with other smart devices in your home such as lights or thermostats to help with mobility, through voice activation.


About the Author

agun@impulsegamer.com'

Adrian lives in Melbourne Australia and has a huge passion for gaming, technology and pop culture. He recently finished his a Bachelor of Journalism and is currently focusing on games journalism. When not writing and playing video games, Adrian can be found in Comics 'R' Us debating the pros of the DC Universe and cons of the Marvel Universe.


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