Welcome to episode 341 (“Blue Sky Rising”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 4, 2024, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week, Dr. Jason Neiffer (aicentrist.com) and Dr. Wesley Fryer (wesfryer.com) explored the surge in popularity of Bluesky as a social platform for educators, the rising importance of media literacy, and the expanding role of AI in classrooms and personal security. Jason shared insights from Montana’s first AI Play Date event, and Wes highlighted a fantastic media literacy teaching example making national headlines. The hosts also discussed the hidden security risks of smart devices, the unexpected afterlife of Redbox kiosks, and the powerful implications of voice cloning technologies. Other topics included privacy concerns surrounding Bluesky post-scraping and the Supreme Court’s upcoming review of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund. Our show was live-streamed and archived on YouTube Live via StreamYard.com. Please follow our @EdTechSR page on Facebook, @edtechsr@mastodon.education on Mastodon for updates, and join LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can. All show notes are available at edtechSR.com/links.
Show Notes
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- Jason Neiffer: aicentrist.com
- Wes Fryer: wesfryer.com
- Your Bluesky Posts Are Probably Training AI (404 Media Podcast, 4 Dec 2024)
- Facebook Friend Safety Tips (Wes Fryer on Speed of Creativity, 1 Dec 2024)
- https://play.ai/ (audio cloning and text to audio)
- Grammarly on MacOS
- Freepik AI Generator
- “Downranking Links” – Twitter (and Threads) Have Made a HUGE Mistake (Hank Green on YouTube, 16 min, 29 Nov 2024)
- A seventh grade media literacy class demonstrates how to handle tough conversations this Thanksgiving (CBS News, 28 Nov 2024)
- The Hidden Lifespan of Smart Devices: What the FTC’s Report Means for Consumers (Consumer Reports; 26 November 2024)
- The Redbox Removal Team (404Media, 28 Nov 2024)
- Supreme Court To Review Legality Of FCC-Managed Universal Service Fund (MSN, 23 Nov 2024)
- Jason’s Geek of the Week: ChatGPT Summary for Chrome
- Wes’ Geek of the Week: “The 12 Days of AI” via Kevin Hodgeson (@dogtrax.bsky.social)
