Welcome to episode 188 (“Hong Kong in Crisis”) of the EdTech Situation Room from August 26, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed surveillance, privacy and security force crackdowns in Hong Kong, a Kansas teacher’s crowdsourced use of Google Sheets to track COVID-19 school closures, and Google’s recent “Future of the Classroom” report. Forthcoming updates to Google Meet and Google Classroom, forthcoming upgrades to Google’s home video casting technology, and the apparent loss of simplicity for Chromebooks amidst dual-boot and other options were also discussed. The alarming rise of “fruit loop conspiracy theory” advocates including winning candidates in U.S Congressional primary elections, the rise of political extremists in the United States on the wings of conspiracy theories, and the impact of sustained remote work mandates by tech companies on the Silicon Valley housing marked were highlighted. The dark side of the “sandbox game” RoBlox was also mentioned. Geeks of the Week included ethics in computing and science embodied in the “Asilomar AI Principles,” the recent “Undivided Attention” podcast episode, ““When Media Was for You and Me,” The Epic eBook of Web Tools and Apps, and Google Voice. 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.
Welcome to episode 187 (“Embrace CloudReady in Our Pandemic”) of the EdTech Situation Room from August 12, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Russia’s announcement to skip phases 2 and 3 in rushed vaccine trial, Chromebook and device shipment delays for schools and individuals, and the wonders of Neverware’s CloudReady software for running ChromeOS on older Intel-based computer hardware. Microsoft’s new Surface Duo laptop, changes to Google Play Music, and screentime for kids (and adults) during the pandemic were also discussed. Additional topics included the limits of home connectivity bandwidth, the importance of “filtering the exoflood” of polluted information around us, and recent government initiated interruptions in Internet connectivity and social media platform access in Belarus following a contested election. Tips for upgrading a 2020 iMac, a recent webinar on “Know Your Power: Know Your Rights” (shared by Peggy George,) and Charter Telecom’s push for residential Internet data caps with the FCC were also highlighted. 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.
Welcome to episode 186 (“Don’t TINKER with Students’ Free Speech Rights”) of the EdTech Situation Room from August 5, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed teenage Twitter hackers and zoombombing, tips for remote workers, and illegal school restrictions on student social media use in Georgia amidst pandemic response controversy. Microsoft’s possible purchase of TikTok, reasons to still purchase a MacOS Intel-based computer instead of waiting for Apple Silicon, a recent podcast highlighting the prominent role of conspiracy theories in shaping politics throughout history, and the ways people are fighting disinformation in our COVID-19 era were also discussed. Geeks of the week included the Oregon State Open Text Project on Romeo and Juliet, an instructional support module on ‘live teaching tools’ including Wooclap (which is free for K-12), the awesome scheduling platform Doodle, and the private beta for the videography platform mmHmm. 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.
Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Live Teaching Tools (including Aug 5th live webinar) – Wooclap (“An interactive platform that makes learning awesome”) – Doodle – mmHmm
Welcome to episode 185 (“The Speed You Need”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 29, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed home Internet speeds and connectivity best practices for remote learners and workers. Coronavirus planning and announcements for the fall 2020 academic term, Congressional testimony by CEOs from Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple, and the importance of “reverse image search” skills and media literacy in our propaganda-filled information environment were also highlighted and analyzed. Resurfacing disinformation videos (“Plandemic” from May 2020) on social media, censorship of disinformation by social media tech firms, a great BBC video uncovering the QAnon conspiracy cult, and Google’s new “for context” links were discussed in the context of media literacy and the ongoing “tech correction.” Topics rounding out the show included ongoing tech shortages during the COVID-19 global pandemic, Android “Phone Hub” features added to ChromeOS, and Collabra Office for ChromeOS. Geeks of the Week included a remarkable podcast Twitter post thumbnail video by Michelle Obama, Google’s forthcoming free global conference “The Anywhere School 2020,” the “Global EdTech Academy” YouTube playlist from CUE, and the powerful Amazon Fire Toolbox. 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.
Welcome to episode 184 (“Remote Learning Looms Large”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 22, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed announcements by many school districts nationwide starting the 2020-21 academic year at home in “remote learning” mode. The “Vaccine Trust Problem,” Twitter’s crackdown on conspiracy / disinformation QAnon accounts, Eric Schmidt’s advice about government regulation of social media companies, and news articles about Internet trolls stoking the fires of political polarization were also discussed. A looming ban of the TikTok app by U.S. government officials, the new GMail experience for GSuite users, and updates in ChromeOS version 84 were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included the “Mote” extension for voice comments in Google Docs via the Chrome browser, the new Google Certified Coach program, and the upcoming NCCE/TeacherCast “Beyond the Bootcamp” free webinar. 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.
Welcome to episode 183 (“Back To School Planning During COVID-19”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 8, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the upcoming Mountain Moot virtual conference, and the enormous challenges facing school administrators planning for safe K-12 learning in schools this fall amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Updates from ChromeOS world were shared by Jason, including a forthcoming “clipboard history manager,” worthy “cheap Chromebooks,” and Amazon issues with inaccurate Chromebook spec headlines. Updates from the ongoing Facebook advertiser boycott and protest movement and challenges around 5G infrastructure build-outs and standards specifications between China and the United States were also explored. Homework for our episode was to follow Peggy George on Twitter (@pgeorge) and subscribe to Peggy’s super-helpful Nuzzel newsletter (nuzzel.com/pgeorge). Geeks of the Week included the Archive.org software library (including Oregon Trail), 1 Take Videos by Lodge McCammon (@pocketlodge) and a post by Wes about installing an “ethernet backhaul” cable at home to speed up WiFi performance. 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.
Over the last couple of weeks I've been interviewing district leaders about the spring closing and the fall re-opening. Fall planning is really daunting. I knew that already but talking to them brought it to life. One of them told me that with social distancing, to get all 1/12
Last week I was part of Amazon's Webinar Series on Remote Learning. During my session, we heard from @waketechcc instructors and students while I modeled an active online learning environment. Here's a short overview of the presentation. @AWS_Edu#AWSEducate@WakeTechPrezpic.twitter.com/siTXvOseog
Welcome to episode 182 (“Awash in Digital News”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 1, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed our need for media literacy and information filtering strategies, and our ongoing “technology correction” reflected in advertiser protest pressure on Facebook for content moderation. The exciting announcement by Microsoft to offer a public beta of Minecraft Education Edition on Chromebooks, significant announcements by Apple at WWDC 2020 last week, Google’s privacy changes for new users, and potential dangers of CRISPR human genome editing were other topics addressed in the show. Wes’ Geeks of the Week included a support article about providing handwritten feedback on Google Docs via an iPad and Google Classroom, Google Meet tips and tricks, and Kast (a software program for watching web videos together). Jason’s Geek of the Week was a new “undelete” utility for Windows10 users. 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.
Welcome to episode 181 (“Starlink Dreaming”) of the EdTech Situation Room from June 17, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed virtual and face-to-face summer camps for students and teachers during our present pandemic, ChromeOS news, the “technology correction” and social media developments involving political advertisements, and the dynamics of content moderation of political speech. The beta phase of Starlink providing satellite connectivity by SpaceX and COVID-19’s impact on movie theaters and college admissions testing were also discussed. Geeks of the Week included an upcoming June 30th KQED free webinar, “Help Students Fight Misinformation One Click at a Time,” and Paul Anderson’s (of Bozeman Science) updated video, “How I Make Screencasts.” 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.
Welcome to episode 180 (“Read Before You ReTweet”) of the EdTech Situation Room from June 10, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the intersection of privacy and smartphones during civic protests, the spread of false rumors and doctored images during the D.C. protests, and our societal need for media literacy education and media mentors. Liability lawsuits for Amazon over the sale of fake N95 masks, disinformation sharing on Twitter by national leaders, and official encouragement from Twitter support to “read before you retweet” were highlighted. On the Apple front, plans to use Apple chips in MacOS computers (instead of Intel processors) for the first time, and the forthcoming death (in 2021) of iTunesU in favor of Apple Classroom and Schoolwork apps was explored. Rounding out the show, news of a famous 23 year old Chinese gamer announcing his retirement from eSports due to health concerns, and a lawsuit over copyright/DRM and eBooks for the Internet Archive during the COVID19 pandemic were also mentioned. Geeks of the week included the YouTube channel and RedIT channel for DIY technology refurbisher Luke Miani, classroomscreen.com, a tutorial about using Noun Project icons in presentation slideshows, and an archived recent conference about Memes in society. 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.
Sharing an article can spark conversation, so you may want to read it before you Tweet it.
To help promote informed discussion, we're testing a new prompt on Android –– when you Retweet an article that you haven't opened on Twitter, we may ask if you'd like to open it first.
Welcome to episode 179 (“Harbinger of the Tech Correction”) of the EdTech Situation Room from May 27, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the intersection of safety, security, medical needs and privacy when it comes to COVID-19 contact tracing. Developments around Twitter’s attempts to counter U.S. Presidential misinformation, “the human cost of misinformation” in the age of neo-coronavirus, and the challenge to mainstream media credibility posed by news outlets republishing Amazon press releases repackaged as “news” were also highlighted. A recent Forbes article on Chrome browser security was also discussed, along with the opportunity articles like this provide to practice web literacy / media literacy strategies like SIFT. (s/o @holden) The escalating battle over 5G infrastructure between China / Huawei and the United States was also discussed, along with reported issues relating to Apple iOS software updates as well as Microsoft Windows10 updates. A recent report by the U.S. Copyright office encouraging Congress to revisit “safe harbor” provisions of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in favor of rights holders was explored. Geeks of the Week included Reflector 3 and AirParrot updates from AirSquirrels, the virtual MountainMoot (July 15-17, 2020), and a new project by Wes and Brian Turnbaugh (@wegotwits) formatively titled, “Conspiracies and Culture Wars.” 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.
