NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The New York Code + Design Academy (NYCDA) today announces a unique collaboration with Amazon that will offer developers an opportunity to build and publish voice-enabled skills using the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK). The curriculum for the course, titled “Voice Activated Apps 101 with Amazon Alexa,” was built by NYCDA working with the Amazon Alexa team and will be the first in-person training on building Alexa skills in Ruby.
The course is now open for enrollment and will run from August 9, 2016 to September 27, 2016. Meetings will take place on Tuesday nights from 6:30-8:30 p.m. EDT at NYCDA’s headquarters in New York City and be taught by the NYCDA Co-Founder and Chief Academic Officer, Zach Feldman. Feldman, a highly active member of the developer community and one of the first members to access the Alexa developer preview of Amazon’s Alexa Development Program, approached the Alexa team this past spring with the idea to launch a collaborative course. The idea immediately resonated with the Alexa team and quickly turned into the eight-week long curriculum being offered today.
“I’m excited to begin our collaboration with the Amazon Alexa team this summer in a truly unique course offering,” said Feldman. “This course gives NYCDA students an opportunity to reimagine the way voice-activated experiences are being used under the direction of one of the most innovative technology brands in the world.”
Students who participate in the Voice Activated Apps course will start by gaining an understanding of the ASK infrastructure and move on to building an Alexa skill together as a class through the developer language of Ruby and the Sinatra web application framework. The course will culminate in an independent final project and upon certification, the publishing of the student's first skill in the Alexa App.
“We look forward to our collaboration with the NYCDA, which will open the door for more innovations from developers on Alexa,” said Rob Pulciani, Director, Amazon Alexa. “It’s a first-of-its-kind curriculum, designed specifically for voice-enabled experiences, and will teach students how to use the Alexa Skills Kit to develop high-quality, fun and unique skills.”
Prospective students can learn more about the course by attending a free lecture on Alexa and what goes into building skills on June 21, 2016 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EDT at New York Code + Design Academy headquarters in New York City. Participants will have an opportunity to meet with Feldman, learn about Alexa skill development, and ask questions about NYCDA’s 8-week course.
To learn more about NYCDA or to enroll in NYCDA’s new “Voice Activated Apps 101 with Amazon Alexa” course, go to https://nycda.com/.
About The New York Code + Design Academy
The New York Code + Design Academy is a technology education provider with a mission to teach everyone to code. Founded in 2012 and now operating under Strayer Education, Inc., NYCDA provides intensive full-time and evening part-time courses for adults, and summer season camps for kids and teens. Its Web Development Intensive retrains adult learners, preparing them for careers in technology. NYCDA also teaches innovative new technologies like AngularJS and React to more experienced developers.
