Welcome to episode 249 (“AirTag Dangers”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 16, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed “the technology correction” (the intersection of “Big Tech” / social media and regulation,) Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta / Facebook, security, and miscellaneous topics relating to educational technology. Geeks of the Week included “5 Free Online Video Editors Without Watermarks or Other Hidden Limitations,” the “Search Smarter by Dorking” resource page by “Exposing the Invisible,” and the Google Chrome extension Tag-a-Doc. Check out our shownotes for links to all the articles we discussed, and subscribe to our Substack to receive all the links we discussed and also didn’t have time to talk about in this week’s show in your email inbox! 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 248 (“Rogan Spotify Kerfuffle”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 9, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed technology-related news about Microsoft, Apple, The Technology Correction, Google, Security, and Privacy. In this episode, we especially focused on the issues raised with the Joe Rogan and Spotify situation, involving musical artists like Neil Young, who threatened and then removed all their music from Spotify’s library in protest of the platform’s support for Rogan and disinformation. Check out our shownotes for links to all the articles we discussed, and subscribe to our Substack to receive all the links we discussed and also didn’t have time to talk about in this week’s show in your email inbox! 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 246 (“Metaverse Rising”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 19, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed new Apple rumors about Mac Pro computers and a “portless” iPhone 14. New metaverse patents by WalMart and Meta (the company formerly known as Facebook) as well as the enormous challenges of moderating social media and the emerging metaverse specifically were highlighted. The Democratic bill to address surveillance capitalism by “banning online surveillance advertising” was discussed. A new study showing we’re spending a third of of our waking hours looking at our smartphone screens, A really fast ARM processor for Chromebooks, and fast new HP Chromebooks were also highlighted. The health and wellness app “Welltory” and the recent cyberattack against Albuquerque Public Schools were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included Podchaser.com, the Chrome extension OneTab and the amazing “Moonrise Podcast” from the Washington Post. 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. Please sign up for our NEW SubStack newsletter to receive all our show links each week in your inbox, including links we are not able to discuss on edtechsr.substack.com. Stay savvy and safe!
Welcome to episode 245 (“Roblox as Metaverse”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 12, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed a recent explosive Guardian article about Roblox and child labor. Rumored Apple glasses which auto-adjust to a user’s prescription, Windows 11 post-install tips, a hotel chain which ransomware inspired to drop WindowsOS for ChromeOS, and a Google Street View mafia arrest story were also highlighted article topics. Improvements to Google File Stream for Google Drive, live translated captions in Google Meet, T-Mobile’s blocking of iCloud Private Relay, and the overwhelming seriousness of the LOG4J security vulneratibility were topics rounding out this weeks’ show. Geeks of the Week included the DD-WRT open source router firmware project, the Milkeshake web design app, and Infinite Painter software. 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. Please sign up for our NEW SubStack newsletter to receive all our show links each week in your inbox, including links we are not able to discuss on edtechsr.substack.com. Stay savvy and safe!
Welcome to episode 244 (“Join our SubStack”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 5, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the case of two California teachers secretly recorded talking about LGBTQ student outreach, who used student laptop monitoring software to identify prospective club members. The DuckDuckGo privacy desktop web browser and Americans’ distrust of social media companies were also discussed. On the Google front, the new capability to host up to 500 meeting participants in a Google Meet videoconference for paying Google Workspace customers, changes to the “Your News Update” for the Google Assistant, and the potential dangers (according to the EFF) of the Google Chrome “Manifest V3” user tracking standard were highlighted. UBlock Origin as a free ad-blocking extension for Chrome and FireFox was extolled / recommend, and Google’s announced “major improvements” to Android were explored. Lastly, some tales of algorithmic poor choices by automated podcast advertisement selection programs were discussed. Geeks of the week included MapCrunch, James Webb space telescope links, and a good (but troubling) podcast about fascism in America by Vox Conversations. 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. Please sign up for our NEW SubStack newsletter to receive all our show links each week in your inbox, including links we are not able to discuss on edtechsr.substack.com. Stay savvy and safe!
Welcome to episode 242 (“Birds Are Real”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 15, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the Log4j security flaw, bluetooth security risks, Apple AirTags used in harmful ways, changes for LastPass as it becomes an independent company (sold by LogMeIn), Life360’s announced purchase of Tile and the possible privacy implications, and the fascinating (and admittedly false) Gen Z conspiracy theory “Birds Aren’t Real.” Adobe’s launch of “Creative Cloud Express” to replace Adobe Spark Post, Pixlr’s enhancements for stylus users, and a possible solution to solve the rural-urban digital divide were also discussed topics. The security (or insecurity) of a Chromebook post-ChromeOS updates, the “snooping detection” included in ChromeOS 98, and reasons to update to iOS 15.2 were security related articles rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included the National Geographic “Storytellers Summit” January 26-28, 2022, the Google Canvas web-based drawing platform (free!), and the New York Times Best of 2021 lists. 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. NOTE WE WILL NOT HAVE A SHOW ON DECEMBER 22, but will be back on December 29th. Stay savvy and safe!
Welcome to episode 237 (“Fixing Social Media”) of the EdTech Situation Room from November 3, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed an amazing Wall Street Journal article featuring 12 Internet and cultural visionaries on “How to Fix Social Media.” Other articles on the social media / “tech correction” topic included “Facebook’s Lost Generation,” Facebook’s name change to “Meta,” the impact of Zuckerberg’s dream to transform the web into a “Ready Player One” VR playground. The financial impact of Apple’s iPhone privacy changes, Google’s policy to remove under-18 photos from search results, the debut of MacOS Monterey, and reasons you do NOT need the new MacBook Pro were also topics of discussion. The long awaited (for Jason) arrival of MacOS M1 processor native Google Drive for Desktop, the death of iMovie Theater, Google’s facilitation of work/life separation on Android devices, and Google Calendar’s option to schedule “Focus Time” were also highlighted. The arrival of Adobe PhotoShop on the web for Chromebook users, powerful, web-based image editing tools, and Geeks of the Week including a new NASA astronaut bio video, a “Parent University” slideshow about online influencers, and the “Mindful Schools” website as “geeks of the week” rounded out this weeks’ show. 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 236 (“Shame on Canon”) of the EdTech Situation Room from October 20, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the biggest announcements from Apple’s Monday “Unleashed” event, The Apple Music Voice plan, Google’s Pixel 6 Event announcements, and the forthcoming launch of Chrome OS 94 with better human sounding voices. Other topics included MacOS’ forthcoming update to “Monterey” on October 25th, the Google Assistant’s updated code to stand up to profane users, and Canon’s distasteful choice to disable all-in-one scanning features for users when they run out of ink. A counter-point to last week’s article about a former Pentagon official declaring the US has already lost the AI race with China, the mental and physical health costs of TikTok, and Facebook’s concerns about Instagram losing youth marketshare were also discussed. Possibilities for “an effective social media regulator,” Facebook’s secret blacklist of prohibited people, organizations and topics, Donald Trump’s announced “Truth Social” platform, and some miscellaneous articles about drones saving dogs from volcanoes, Russian space snafus and the confused Missouri governor who thinks “view HTML source” is criminal hacking were final article topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included SortMyList.com, a podcast about Charles Babbage by Steven B. Johnson, a whimsical videoconferencing platform in beta (ooo for web) and the New York Times’ new invite-only audio app experiment. 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 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 234 (“Regulate Facebook Please”) of the EdTech Situation Room from October 6, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Microsoft news including how to update to Windows 11 without waiting in line, recommended preparatory steps to take BEFORE upgrading to Windows 11, and positive reviews of the new Surface Pro 8 computer. In Google news, the forthcoming Chromebook launcher with smaller icons and folders, the option to create meeting notes directly connected to a Google Calendar event, and YouTube Germany’s suspension of Russia Today’s (RT’s) misinformation plagued channel, were highlighted. Facebook’s mysterious global service outage from this week and the impact of the related WhatsApp’s outage on small businesses were also addressed. Several articles summarizing Frances Haugen’s testimony this week before Congress about the knowing malicious acts of Facebook to favor profits over safety or ethics were discussed. Google’s quest to imagine and invent “the next phase of online search” was the final article discussed in this weeks’ show. Geeks of the Week for Wes included the new app Audm for listening to longform audio versions of news articles, the Project N95 website for ordering COVID masks, and Hope Haley’s (an 8th grade YouTuber at Dr. Fryer’s school) YouTube channel. Jason’s Geek of the Week was the TMobile Google Drive Plan, free for subscribers. 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!