Welcome to episode 210 (“Facebook Re-friends Australia”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 24, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the closure of Fry’s Electronics Stores nationwide in the United States, and more details about updates and changes to “Google Workplace for Education” (the rebranded product suite formerly known as “Google Suite for Education” or GSFE.) Apple M1 processor SSD write woes, mysterious MacOS malware, “technology correction” updates from Australia involving major news publishers, Facebook and Google, and some other miscellaneous tech news stories. These included a more sophisticated procedure for using the gene editing tool CRISPR, contention between Canada and China over a vote on the “Uighur Genocide,” and another chapter in the tragic story of Google firing AI ethicist and researcher Timnit Gebru. Geeks of the Week included the New York Public Library Digital Collections, and season 3 of the Vox podcast series, “Land of the Giants” focusing on “The Google Empire,” its history and origin stories as well as its current trajectory. 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.
I am concerned about @timnitGebru 's firing from Google and its relationship to sexism and discrimination. I wanted to share the email I wrote to Google press the day my access was cut off.https://t.co/O7JPlqJW8L
Welcome to episode 209 (“Google Education Pivots”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 17, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google News including significant changes to PAID services for educational customers, privacy, security, Apple, podcasting and connectivity related news headlines. The LastPass password manager’s forthcoming change to STOP supporting free accounts with both mobile and laptop/desktop computer access was highlighted and lamented. “The Tech Correction” (of course) was also discussed. Geeks of the Week included a new “Doodle for Google” challenge and tips on how to get more space in your Google online storage quota. 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.
One of my big takeaways (I’ve been mulling over for months) is that Google is finally moving in a big way to cash in on the education market… pic.twitter.com/4bIzYYArH3
Welcome to episode 208 (“North Dakota and Apple”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 11, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed “The Technology Correction,” Apple News, Google Chrome and Chromebook news, and privacy updates, including Chrome’s forthcoming ban of third party browser cookies. Security news included a recent hacker attack of a Florida city water treatment plant, and a damning New York Times op-ed, “How the United States Lost to Hackers,” which details how the focus on offensive cyberattacks by US agencies and military units has opened a pandora’s box of cyber weapon capabilities which is utilized by a variety of nation-state and non-state actors against a wide variety of individuals and groups. Articles about connectivity and space rounded out the show. Geeks of the Week included a LiveScience article about the use of artificial intelligence to bring statues and images of ancient Roman emperors to full-color life, and the forthcoming second edition of Jason’s favorite book, “Why Don’t Students Like School.” 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 207 (“Scraping is NOT a Crime”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 3, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed digital security, 5G / Connectivity, Apple news, Google news, burgeoning Chromebook sales, and “the tech correction.” This included the threat and possibility of Google discontinuing its search service in Australia in response to newly proposed tax laws. Ongoing disclosures via Parler following the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. capitol were also discussed, including a Lawfare article explaining why the “web scraping” which was done to archive / backup Parler’s terabytes of user submitted media was NOT illegal / a violation of U.S. law. We also briefly mentioned two new videoconferencing / video chat platforms, Kumospace (via Peggy George and Teachers Teaching Teaches) and Class.com from Zoom. Geeks of the Week included Stack Social, Jimmy Wales’ nascent social network (WT Social,) an Ethan Zuckerman podcast interview with Jimmy Wales, the Chrome Music Lab, and the “Ground News” media aggregator. Jason delivered tonight’s 1AR. 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 206 (“Tech Regulation Approaches”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 27, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed our ongoing “tech correction” with social media companies, users and governments: The potential for new regulations on technology companies in response not only to the January 6, 2021 Capitol Riot in Washington D.C. but also the overall polarizing effects of social media on our society and government. Additional topics addressed in the show include broadband access challenges in the United States, updates from Google to ChromeOS and other product platforms, Apple M1 chip user reports and forthcoming software updates (including Google Drive File Stream in April.) Geeks of the Week included an amazing simulation video from MIT in 2014 about the CRISPR gene editing technology, Jason’s favorite (and top rated) standing desk, and the opening of NECC 2021 online registrations. 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 205 (“Struggling with Information Abundance”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 20, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed recent technology news involving connectivity / bandwidth, Microsoft’s embrace of open source software development, the return of the 3:2 laptop monitor aspect ratio, and David Perell’s thought provoking recent article, “The Paradox of Abundance.” On the topics of social media and “The Technology Correction,” topics included over 80 terabits of archived video posted on Parler during the January 6th Capitol Riot, the potential of the social media bans on President Trump to be an inflection point for global Internet fragmentation and censorship, and practical strategies to use when engaging in dialog with someone who believes a “fruit loop conspiracy theory.” Geeks of the Week included the upcoming February 17-18 “Learn with Google” conference, Wes’ GigaOM Twitter list, exemplary use of Twitter to share live event links by the Biden Inauguration team, and the vibrant community of Zune music player devotees. 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 204 (“Forecasts for 2021”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 12, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) shared some predictions for educational technology in 2021, as well as a few technology news headlines from the past two weeks. 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.
Distance learning will continue to grow as a viable option for students that want or need that model after the pandemic.
Intel will continue to lose market share to ARM-based processors and AMD processors. A whole new generation of devices will appear, prioritizing long battery life and speedy, responsive interfaces.
The Technology Correction will continue, but, without the guidance of regulation. Trump’s ban on most social media platforms will push some conversations ahead.
The pandemic will diminish its impact, but, video conferencing and doing some personal and professional connections will continue with technology.
Using the Internet for information will become more complicated, as more and more alternative platforms develop. The information landscape requires persistent information education in schools.
Wes’ Predictions for 2021
US / China Relations and Technology: Deployment of 5G networks and infrastructure will exacerbate technology interoperability issues and force nations to choose Chinese or US/European network infrastructure solutions. Response of Biden administration to Chinese security threats will reveal the validity / sincerity of security threats
The Tech Correction: A constituency and agenda will coalesce further around regulation and limitations of social media companies, increasing liability and extending mandated collaboration standards and requirements for content moderation / censorship (like the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism – GIFCT)
Media Literacy: Disinformation and Conspiracy Theories will continue to be weaponized to subvert democratic governments, teachers will be asked to address these issues through civics education. COVID Vaccination efforts worldwide will be significantly impeded by anti-vax misinformation
Security: Hacks, identify theft, ransomware and password breaches will continue to increase in frequency and magnitude: Password security, MFA and password managers will continue to grow in importance
Welcome to episode 203 (“Adios 2020”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 30, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the amazing Apple M1 chips, neuromorphic computing, “the case for edtech minimalism,” and some of the amazing milestone in space exploration during 2020. “Public domain riches from 1925,” the vast scope of Amazon’s role in our economy and society, the possible end of privacy as we know it, and security concerns for Google Chrome extensions and the Google Play Store were also discussed. The continuing challenges of conspiracy theories in the age of COVID, changes to the landscape of drones for 2021, and Amazon’s acquisition of Wondery to compete with Spotify for podcasting dominance were topics rounding out this week’s show. Wes’ Geek of the Week was his newly created website, “Fryer & Ward Family Recipes” (food.wesfryer.com) and Jason’s was The Internet Archive (archive.org). 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 202 (“Google Down”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 16, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google news including Wednesday’s temporary service outage, acquisition of Neverware, the death of Cloud Print, and the controversial firing of AI researcher and ethicist watchdog Timnit Gebru. Updates to Firefox and Microsoft Office for native MacOS M1 processor support, and developer-mandated revelations about the jaw-dropping ways Facebook’s iOS app tracks user behavior and collects private data. Facebook’s new PR ad campaign “advocating for small businesses” (ok, whatever…), YouTube’s streaming music dominance over all other players, the huge popularity of gaming videos on streaming networks, and disinformation commentary from Roger McNamee as well as Facebook’s oversight board’s initially selected cases were topics rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included T-Mobile’s first 5G hotspot and dataplan, DownDetector.com, and Troy Hunt’s spectacularly helpful “Compromised Password Checker.” 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 201 (“Facebook’s Reckoning Approaches”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 9, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed new lawsuits brought against Facebook by the FTC and 48 state attorneys general. Apple’s new privacy disclosure requirements for developers, the last update for Adobe Flash, and a critical expose of the website PornHub were also highlighted. A recent nation-state hack of the top tier cybersecurity company FireEye, the sufficiency of Windows Defender for security protection of WindowsOS systems, Google and password manager audit tools, and the Apple / Cloudflare initiative to secure DNS via new protocols were discussed. Ways to protect privacy with a smart speaker in your house, the vulnerability of both passwords and SMS-based two factor authentication, and the website HaveIBeenPwned.com were topics rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included the recent #digiURI Media Club meetup discussing the TED Radio Hour Episode, “IRL Online,” Kevin MacLeod’s websites for free music downloads, and the GoSund Smart Plugs. 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.
