Welcome to episode 193 (“Oops Google Did It Again'”) of the EdTech Situation Room from October 7, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed monopolistic behavior of big tech companies, rebranding of Google’ GSuite as “Google Workspace,” updates to Google/Nest WiFi, availability of Google Drive File Stream for consumer accounts, and the release of a powerful new Chromebox by CTL. On the Apple front, rumors about the new iPhone set to be announced October 13th and an iOS14 battery drain solution (wipe your iOS) were highlighted. Several articles on social media and our ongoing “Technology Correction” were discussed from the Mozilla Foundation and other sources, seeking to curb the harmful impacts of virtual disinformation and conspiracy groups on the upcoming U.S. election. These include new steps by Facebook and Twitter to crack down on user accounts violating terms of service agreements and community standards. Ongoing COVID-19 impacts on movie theaters, long-game surveillance activities by the Chinese government, and a helpful metaphor to regulation of the tobacco / smoking industry as we think about needed regulations on social media were topics rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included an eye opening “Angry Planet” podcast interview with Jason Wilson (@jason_a_w) about the rise of online extremist groups, an excellent “Virtually Unprepared” webinar series from The Classical Association of New England, a media literacy unit on “Just Add WikiPedia” for news site validation, and a YouTube TV promotional offer including a free Chromecast. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com. 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.
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- Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
- Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – blog: speedofcreativity.org – Shared Media Literacy Lessons & Curriculum
- We are approaching the fastest, deepest, most consequential technological disruption in history (Tony Seba and James Arbib)
- The Big Tech antitrust report has one big conclusion: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are anti-competitive (Recode; 6 October 2020)
- Google has overhauled G Suite – but not all users will be happy (Tech Radar; 7 October 2020)
- Everything you need to know about the new Google Wifi and where to buy it (9 to 5 Google; 7 October 2020)
- G Suite File Stream Now Allows Personal Gmail Accounts To Sync Drive With Their PC Or Mac (Chrome Unboxed; 3 October 2020)
- CTL Unveils 10th Gen Comet Lake Chromebox CBX2 (Chrome Unboxed; 6 October 2020)
- Apple’s next iPhone will be announced on October 13th (The Verge 6 October 2020)
- If iOS 14 is causing battery drain, you might need to wipe your iPhone (The Verge; 2 October 2020)
- “Dear Facebook, this is how you’re breaking democracy” by Yael Eisenstat (@YaelEisenstat) – (TEDTalk, August 2020)
- #UnTrendTwitter by Mozilla
- Facebook: Stop Group Recommendations by Mozilla
- Facebook bans QAnon across its platforms (NBC News, 6 Oct 2020)
- Twitter bans posts wishing for Trump death. The Squad wonders where that policy was for them (CNN; 3 October 2020)
- Facebook removes Trump post falsely saying COVID-19 is less deadly than the flu (The Verge; 6 October 2020)
- Identify Fake Amazon Reviews: www.fakespot.com
- Amazon is trying to crack down on fraudulent reviews. They’re thriving in Facebook groups (The Verge; 2 October 2020)
- James Bond’s ‘No Time To Die’ has been delayed until 2021 in fresh blow to Hollywood (CNN; 3 October 2020)
- Bond was the last straw: Regal and Cineworld will reportedly close all theaters in US and UK next week (The Verge; 3 October 2020)
- AI & Advertising, a consumer perspective (Mozilla Fellow Harriet Kingaby, 30 Sep 2020)
- China has Been Doing ‘Mass Surveillance’ on Millions of Citizens in US, UK, Australia and India (Vice, 14 Sep 2020)
- Smoking’s lessons for regulating social media (MIT Technology Review, 5 Oct 2020)
- Wes’ Geeks of the Week: “Proud Boys, the Boogaloo, & Everything In Between” on @angryplanetpod (interview with @jason_a_w) and “The Classical Association of New England’s Virtually Unprepared Series” (YouTube Playlist) – Register free and Launchpad WikiPedia (lessons by Wes)
- Jason’s Geek of the Week: Subscribing to YouTube TV can get you a free Chromecast with Google TV (Android Police)
Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash