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Codecademy

Learn to Program Alexa

via Codecademy

Overview

Learn how to build and host your own Alexa Skill.

### Why Learn Alexa?

With a comprehensive understanding of the process for developing a custom Alexa skill, you’ll be prepared to publish your own program and work with other Voice User Interface (VUI) applications.

### Take-Away Skills:

In this series, you will learn how to create a simple "Hello Codecademy" Alexa skill. You will build the interaction model and Amazon Lambda function that responds to a user's voice with a personal welcome message.

Though it is not a prerequisite for most of the content in this series, a basic understanding of JavaScript will help you understand the programming logic in this course series.

Amazon Alexa recently released a new version of the Amazon Alexa SDK. The Alexa courses in this series teach the old version of the Alexa SDK. We are working to update these courses over the coming months. While the changes between versions are small, we recommend you take these courses, then read about the latest version of the Alexa SDK on GitHub.

In the introduction to Alexa series, you will build Alexa skills that respond to a user's voice with custom messages, like this:



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Syllabus

  • Build Your First Alexa Skill (SDK v2): Learn to build skills for Alexa using the Alexa Skills Kit and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
    • Lesson: Build Your First Alexa Skill
    • Project: Create a New Intent
    • Quiz: Build Your First Alexa Skill
  • Create Your Lambda Function (SDK v2): In this course, you will learn how to create your own Lambda function using the AWS console.
    • Lesson: Creating Your Lambda function
    • Lesson: Understand Your Lambda Function
    • Project: My Favorite Language: Handler
    • Quiz: Create Your Lambda Function
  • Get User Input (SDK v1): Make Alexa skills interactive using behaviors from the Alexa sdk.
    • Lesson: Speak, Listen & Reprompt
    • Lesson: Slots
    • Project: Most Popular Sport
    • Quiz: Get User Input
  • Add Persistence to Your Skill (SDK v1): Learn how to persist values during and between Alexa skills.
    • Lesson: Session Attributes
    • Lesson: DynamoDB
    • Project: City Capitals
    • Quiz: Persistence

Taught by

Zoe Bachman

Reviews

4.3 rating at Codecademy based on 11 ratings

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