Welcome to episode 100 of the EdTech Situation Room from July 11, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed recent announcements from the 2018 ISTE Conference in Chicago, Microsoft’s new Surface Go budget laptop, and the opening of Pandora’s Box for 3D printed guns. Security articles discussed included the worst cybersecurity breaches of 2018 (so far), the importance of never using a USB from an unknown source (including North Korea summit officials), and the potential danger of discarding a used USB flash drive. Google Chrome articles included the launch of the CTL rugged Chromebook, and Neverware’s “Bring Your Old Device” tour, which included an ISTE vendor hall appearance at the Google booth. On the Amazon front, Jason reminded us to look forward to Amazon Prime Day on July 16th, and to consider why Amazon continues to sell lots of tablets in an otherwise lackluster market. Twitter’s recent efforts to delete fake accounts in advance of 2018 midterm elections in the United States was also highlighted. Geeks of the week included a recent episode of the Wired Educator podcast, Wes’ shared podcast subscriptions from PocketCasts, The Scratch Team’s “Getting Unstuck” campaign for 25 days of creative coding, and the recommendation to restart your router to defeat variants of the “VPNfilter” malware outbreak and also optimize your bandwidth performance. Please follow us on Twitter at @edtechSR for updates and for live join links during our Wednesday night shows. Please reach out to us on Twitter if you enjoy the show and let us know you’re listening!

Shownotes:

1. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
2. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
3. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
4. Video version on YouTube
5. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
6. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
7. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
8. All the Upgrades and Updates From Apple, Google and More at ISTE 2018 (EdSurge; 29 June 2018)
9. Surface Go Is Microsoft’s Big Bet on a Tiny-Computer Future (Wired, 9 July 2018)
10. A Landmark Legal Shift Opens Pandora’s Box for DIY Guns (Wired, 10 July 2018)
11. The Worst Cybersecurity Breaches of 2018 So Far (Wired, 9 July 2018)
12. What was on a USB fan given at the Trump-Kim summit? Security experts say nothing —  but don’t plug it in. (Washington Post; 3 July 2018)
13. Ready to ditch your old flash drive? Don’t just erase and recycle (USA Today; 5 July 2018)
14. CTL Launches The Ultra-Rugged Chromebook NL7X (Chrome Unboxed; 22 June 2018)
15. Neverware Embarks On “Bring Your Old Device” Tour (Chrome Unboxed; 19 June 2018)
16. Amazon Prime Day is July 16th! (Android & Me, 3 July 2018)
17. Why Amazon keeps making tablets when the market has been struggling (Washington Post; 5 July 2018)
18. Twitter is sweeping out fake accounts like never before, putting user growth at risk (Washington Post, 6 July 2018)
19. Wired Educator Podcast 105: Wes Molyneux on How to Rock 1:1 Deployment and Professional Development (@WiredEducator)
20. Wes’ Podcast Subscriptions via PocketCasts
21. Getting Unstuck: 25 Days of Scratch Challenges
22. Remember to periodically reboot your home router!

“Flash Drive in the Sky” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer