Welcome to episode 154 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 6, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the popularity and function of Apple’s AirPods, ways to restore/enlarge your iPad icons with iPadOS13, and the benefits of using an Apple Watch as a wireless remote control during a presentation. Extended ChromeOS support from Google for hundreds of older Chromebooks, booming Chromebook sales and Android app use, shocking Chromebook durability tests, and an interesting article recommending that users regularly delete their Google data were included in Google-related updates. On the security front, the LastPass password challenge and other password manager features highlighting compromised/weak passwords, revelations that Chinese hackers have fully compromised the privacy of SMS messaging worldwide, and the vulnerability of smart speakers to “laser-based attacks” were highlighted. Additional topics included ending Google Pixel 1 smartphone support, the surging popularity of TikTok among U.S. teens, screentime and preschoolers, questions about Amazon’s Alexa functionality stagnating, and AT&T’s $60 million fine for misleading consumers about “unlimited data plans.” The intrusive nature of virtual reality / VR experiences and helpful multidisciplinary approaches to create them and announcements from Adobe Max 2019 rounded out the show. Geeks of the Week included Immersive AR/VR article features from the New York Times, a security question answered by Troy Hunt via Twitter, DarkNet Diaries episode about the mindblowing Saudi Aramco hack by Iranians in 2012, and the dark side of standard batteries. 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 if you can (normally) 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 – Wes’ Media and Digital Literacy Curriculum / Classroom Website
- Restore your iPad icons to larger versions (9 to 5 Mac, 3 Oct 2019)
- Presenting with Keynote and Apple Watch (Wes’ blog, 8 Sep 2019)
- DinoFire Wireless Presenter USB Laser Pointer
- How To Take a Screenshot on Your Mac
- Google gives most Chromebooks an extra year of software support (Update: Six more models) (5 November 2019)
- Chromebook Sales Are Booming As Android App Usage Grows 300% (Chrome Unboxed; 31 October 2019)
- 11 Chromebooks Get Brutalized In Drop Test And You’ll Be Surprised Which One Holds Up Best (Chrome Unboxed; 6 November 2019)
- How to Automatically Delete Your Google Data, and Why You Should (LifeHacker, 4 Nov 2019)
- With a Laser, Researchers Say They Can Hack Alexa, Google Home or Siri (New York Times; 4 November 2019)
- The Best Way to Tackle the LastPass Security Challenge (HowTo Geek, 4 Nov 2019)
- Chinese Hackers Just Gave Us All A Reason To Stop Sending SMS Messages (Forbes, 3 Nov 2019)
- RIP OG Pixel: Google ends support after just three years [Update] (Ars Technica; 5 November 2019)
- Teens Love TikTok. Silicon Valley Is Trying to Stage an Intervention (The New York Times; 3 November 2019)
- MRIs show screen time linked to lower brain development in preschoolers (CNN, 4 Nov 2019)
- After five years of Amazon’s Alexa, why isn’t it better? (The Verge; 6 November 2019)
- AT&T fined $60 million for throttling ‘unlimited’ data plans (The Verge; 5 November 2019)
- Virtual Reality Experiences Can Be ‘Violent’ and Intrusive. They Need an Artist’s Touch. (EdSurge, 30 Oct 2019)
- Adobe Max 2019: all the top announcements (The Verge; 4 November 2019)
- Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Apollo 11 As They Shot It via Immersive (AR/VR) – The New York Times , Troy Hunt Twitter reply and DarkNet Diaries Podcast Episode 30: Shamoon
- Jason’s Geek of the Week: Unraveling the Secret Origins of an AmazonBasics Battery (One Zero @ Medium; 29 October 2019)
