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Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Cindy Christani, a librarian at the Boardman branch, hosted an event teaching community members about the smart voice assistant the Amazon Echo April 18.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Librarian Cindy Christani hosted the first Smart Voice Assistants class at the Boardman library April 18 where she taught community members about the Amazon Echo and hooking up your house as a smart house.
By JESSICA HARKER
Community members recently learned how to turn their houses into a smart home at the Boardman library.
Librarian Cindy Christani hosted her first event on April 18 where she taught community members how to hook up their smart voice assistants in their houses.
“It really is amazing what they can do,” Christani said. “You can ask them almost anything.”
The event featured the Amazon Alexa, which Christani uses in her own home.
“You can connect it to almost everything in your home, it really makes a huge difference,” Christani said.
During the event Christani presented on the Alexa, going through the history of the smart voice assistants.
She explained the popularity of different assistants and the different tools you can use with the assistant.
Christani brought smart light bulbs, switches and other tools that can be connected to an Alexa and controlled through the device. She showed devices connected to her own home, including a video doorbell and an automated dog feeder.
“I can set times, set my alarm, play music throughout my house and even call my family to dinner,” Christani said. “It really is endless what you can do.”
Christani did explain that when purchasing items it is important to check which items are compatible with which smart assistant speakers.
She also suggested the best place to start buying items to upgrade your home is Amazon.
“It’s great to ask what you want your home to do for you,” Christani said. “It’s the best place to start. But warning once you start it’s hard to stop.”
For more information on upcoming library events, go to www.libraryvisit.org.