Welcome to episode 235 (“TikTok is Huge”) of the EdTech Situation Room from October 13, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Epic’s ongoing court battles over third party smartphone app payment processors with both Apple and Google, as well as upcoming tech events next week by Apple, Google and Samsung. Options for editing PDF files in a web browser (including on Chromebooks) included a new Acrobat extension from Adobe, the Squid app from the Google Play Store and DocHub. The incredible growth and reach of TikTok (which is somehow slipping under the radar now for would-be Congressional regulators and regulation advocates) was highlighted, along with the alleged futility of US military efforts to develop robust artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities relative to China. Lastly, an article highlighting the Internet ignorance of many U.S. citizens was discussed. Geeks of the Week included an eye opening article by a high school student who successfully prank hacked his school district (and provided a comprehensive analysis for his IT department to use afterward) and the bill cutting service, AskTrim.com. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights (normally) if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. All shownotes are available on http://edtechSR.com/links. Stay savvy and safe!
Welcome to episode 224 (“Stores Watch You”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 21, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the extent of retail facial recognition and why it matters, Automattic’s acquisition of PocketCasts, the recent FTC ruling supporting the “Right to Repair,” and ongoing proposals for “Big Tech Regulation” / “The Tech Correction.” Additional topics highlighted included useful iOS apps for sketchnoting, Chromebook advice, improvements in Zoom for ChromeOS, the increased national focus on vaccine disinformation and more. Please see our shownotes for links to all these articles and resources! Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights (normally) if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. All shownotes are available on http://edtechSR.com/links. Stay savvy and safe!
Welcome to episode 194 (“Yes Another New iPhone'”) of the EdTech Situation Room from October 14, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Apple’s new announcements about iPhone12 and HomePod Mini, actions taken by social media companies to curb election-related misinformation and malinformation, and some proposals by tech correction advocates for technology company anti-trust legislation advocates. Developments in fast battery charging technology, the CRISPR / CAS9s discovering female scientists recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the promises of faster bandwidth over both cellular 5G and residential cable modems, and the mindblowing power of the average smartphone today were topics rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included a call to audit your own autopay subscriptions, a great opportunity for high school students to learn about AI from Stanford alums and grad students, and the podcast “In Machines We Trust” from journalist Jennifer Strong of the MIT Tech Review. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights (normally) if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. All shownotes are available on http://edtechSR.com/links.
Welcome to episode 133 of the EdTech Situation Room from May 8, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed lots of news from this week’s Google I/O Conference. Topics included Google’s renewed focus on user privacy, shift in focus from search and answers to productivity, improved digital well-being tools, the mid-range price Pixel 3A smartphone, and the amazing “Google Lens” text to speech as well as translation capabilities. On the Microsoft front, the return of “PowerToys” to Windows10 and forthcoming support for Linux were discussed. Additional topics included NASA’s robotic detection of an earthquake on Mars, the election of a well known comedian (with no prior political experience) to the presidency in Ukraine thanks in part to social media, and the productivity drag of business communication apps like Slack. The failure of Energizer’s 18K mAh smartphone was also highlighted. Geeks of the week included a two part episode on the Chinese Surveillance State from the New York Times “The Daily” podcast, freely licensed photos from Wes and many other photographers on UnSplash, and the personal finance automation service, “Trim.” Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can (normally) at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. All shownotes are available on http://edtechSR.com/links.
Welcome to episode 119 of the EdTech Situation Room from December 26, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed copyright and intellectual property issues on the Teachers Pay Teachers (@tptdotcom) website, YouTube creator backlash amidst other “trust issues” with Google, and the challenges of radicalization and “outlier content” on YouTube based on its attention-maximizing algorithms. Continuing warnings from U.S. security officials to avoid Huawei smartphones and telecommunications gear because of the Chinese government’s hacking threat, the four variations of recommended 2 step verification for account security, and the promise of podcasting for the “slow democracy movement” were also highlighted and explored. Amazing recent space photos of the planet Jupiter, China’s ongoing space exploration milestones on the moon, disclosure challenges for Instagram creators for paid advertising, and the power of Fortnite as a social media hangout were other topics addressed in the show. The advent of autonomous / AI powered databases by Oracle and the upcoming release of HTML 5 compliant Scratch 3.0 software rounded out the show. Geeks of the week included a wonderful (and inexpensive) sketch journal from Michael’s (via Jason) and the printed photo book service of Motif for Apple Photos users (via Wes). Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can (normally) at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. All shownotes are available on http://edtechSR.com/links.
Welcome to episode 110 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 10, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Jun Kim (@mpstechnology) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included the alleged hack of computer hardware by Chinese authorities affecting major tech companies including Apple and Amazon, which is very controversial and has been firmly denied by technology companies as well as government agencies. The dangers of connecting to open WiFi in public spaces, ways to avoid phishing scams in email, and the benefits of using password managers as well as a VPN or cell phone access point / phone tethering were also discussed. Robocalls on the rise, Google’s changes to third party data access for Gmail, the prospect of Google enforcing restrictive limitations on data sharing around the world because of country-specific laws, and Google’s Certification program for IT professionals were also discussed by Jun and Wes. Briefly highlighted articles at the end of the show included the Google Pixel 3 and it’s touted capability to screen phone calls using an AI voice agent and Facebook’s challenges in moderating content worldwide. Geeks of the week included the COSN toolkit on protecting student data and FlowCrypt for sending encrypted email within Gmail. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can (normally) at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. Note we will be starting earlier than usual occasionally to accommodate guest schedules in upcoming weeks, so please check Twitter for those updates.
Welcome to episode 103 of the EdTech Situation Room from August 15, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed universities deploying smart assistants in student dorms to answer questions, the privacy concerns of smart assistants in educational contexts, and the shortcomings of the latest MacBook Pro laptops relative to Windows-based competitors. Rumors of dual-booting Chromebooks (also booting to Windows), whether or not social media platforms are “publishers,” and strategies to stop or avoid “stalking ads” on social media were also addressed. Social media / fake news controversies over the temporary (7 day) banning of Alex Jones / InfoWars on Twitter, hacker threats to home routers (VPNfilter) and IoT devices, the advent of Fortnite on ALL Android devices (but not via the Google Play Store), and Google’s location tracking of users who turn off location services rounded out the news articles addressed in this show. Geeks of the Week included the Timer Tab app (ad-free), an incredible photo of our sun during a “Coronal Mass Ejection” with the earth shown to scale, and the recent PBS documentary, “Documenting Hate: Charlottesville.” Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC.
Resources on Privacy Issues for Smart Assistants in the Classroom: Common Sense Media Privacy (@cs_privacy) Bill Fitzgerald (@funnymonkey) and Susan Bearden (@s_bearden)
Welcome to episode 101 of the EdTech Situation Room from July 25, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed automation and the technological trajectory of our society, potentially toward dystopia, informed by Douglass Rushkoff’s “Survival of the Richest” article shared in early July. This led to discussions about the weaponization of news via social media, as highlighted by danah boyd in a recent lecture in Detroit available on YouTube, recent revelations about voting machine vulnerabilities to hackers via remote access, and the cautionary tale provided by Ukraine in recent years on Russian hackers’ capabilities to bring a society’s institutions to a standstill via cyberwarfare. On the less depressing technology news front, Jason and Wes discussed the recent hoopla of Apple throttling MacBook Pro laptops revealed by a user on YouTube, and Apple’s release of an iOS version which provides better support for privacy and travelers passing through customs inspections where equipment may be used to copy iPhone data via USB tools. On the Google front, Jason discussed identified speed issues with web browsers and the YouTube website, the recent EU fine of Google for anti-trust legal violations, the opinion that Android has (positively) created more choice in the global smartphone market, and an update on Google’s Chromecast technology which celebrated its 5th birthday. Facebook’s legal challenges and potential fines in Great Britain over Brexit, rumors of a Microsoft-branded smartphone, updates to Microsoft Teams software, slow growth in the PC industry, and the continued revelation of more backdoors in Cisco routers (5 at this point) rounded out this episode’s topics. Geeks of the Week included Loom, a Chrome extension for screencasting, the Apple Magic Pad running on Chrome, Reddit (it’s not just for trolls), DocHub (for PDF annotation and digital signing) and the new documentary “This is AI” by IBM and Discovery. Please follow us on @edtechSR for updates and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can for our show!
Welcome to episode 99 of the EdTech Situation Room from June 19, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed advice for attendees of the upcoming 2018 ISTE Conference, the AI robot debater from IBM, Facebook and social media privacy settings, and poor home wifi router security. Wes shared a weekly dose of cyberattack doom and gloom (shout out to NPR Fresh Air and their recent interview with author David E. Sanger) and highlighted Apple’s decision to make it harder for border customs officials to quickly copy data off of traveler’s iPhones. Microsoft’s announced purchase of Flipgrid, the demise of freemium platforms Padlet and Tenmarks, and the emergence of “Minecraft Story Mode” remote control game/story videos on Netflix were also highlighted. Jason shared an update on the ZigZag Podcast mentioned last week, and also highlighted two Android apps: Android Messages (now includes a desktop version) and Datally to gain more insight into your smartphone use habits. (Or perhaps addictions). Geeks of the Week included the Adobe Spark App’s port to Android OS, and the “Caliphate Podcast” series from the New York Times. A shout out to Peggy George, the PhotoMyne app, and the Classroom 2.0 Live Bucket List Google Sheet of apps and websites from last Saturday’s show rounded out this 99th episode of EdTechSR. We will NOT have a show next week, but may squeeze in a July 4th show on a day other than Wednesday that week. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter for updates. Stay safe and stay saavy, friends!
Welcome to episode 88 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 13, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week special guest Jennifer Carey (@TheJenCarey) and Wes Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the admirable way Florida teens have used social media to advocate for political change following the Parkland school shooting, how we can help curb trolling and harassment on Twitter by reporting it when we see it, and how YouTube seems coded to be a radicalizing influence through its recommendation engine. Social media analysis continued with discussion about a recent Wired article highlighting how Russia’s “abuse” of Facebook during the 2016 elections essentially constituted an adept use of the platform as it’s been designed to serve advertisers through micro-targeting, and the ways “the smartphone has become the new bogeyman” for many parents decrying the ills of social media much like parents blaming television watching in the 1980s. The need for expanded digital citizenship conversations at school to include “digital hygiene” including a focus on password managers and two-step verification was discussed, as well as the solution to a recent mystery involving laughing Amazon Alexa smart assistants. A discussion about Apple’s emphasis on privacy but lagging innovation with artificial intelligence and Siri rounded out the discussion, including rumors of a new (and less expensive) MacBook Air laptop coming in the second quarter. Geeks of the week included a discounted laser cutter from Glowforge, Gaggle’s Safety Management service, Slack for team messaging, the new Google Sites, and amazing augmented reality examples from the New York Times featuring Olympic athletes. Check out our full list of links on edtechsr.com/links, and be sure to follow us on Twitter for show updates @edtechSR. Next week special guest Carl Hooker (@mrhooker) will join Wes at our regular show time (9 pm central on Wednesday) as Jason Neiffer continues to hunker down and finish his dissertation this month. Please share feedback by reaching out on Twitter or leaving a comment on our website at edtechsr.com.
