Alexa in the classroom? Amazon’s voice assistant leads kids’ story time

An Apple Inc. laptop computer displays Bamboo Learning Inc. signage during a focus group event in the Brooklyn Borough of New York, U.S., on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Bamboo Learning is an education software and services company with a mission to teach using voice-based devices. Bamboo Learning develops skills for Amazon.com Inc.'s Alexa that help people learn and practice different subjects through listening and using their voice. Photographer: Cate Dingley/Bloomberg

The group of kids, aged seven to 12, sat around a table, trying to follow along with the reading assignment. It was after lunch. Energy was high, attention spans short.

Nobody held books, though. And a teacher wasn’t reading.