Welcome to episode 158 of the EdTech Situation Room from December 11, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed headlines from our continuing “Technology Cold War” between the United States and China, as well as the U.S. and Russia. China has announced it will purge all foreign made computer equipment from government offices, the FCC continues to oppose Huawei in US ISP networks, and reports continue to verify we’re in a global information and disinformation war. Facebook continues to battle fake accounts and internal corruption aimed and bolstering fake accounts, Microsoft’s new Mobile design, and Microsoft’s first Linux app were also discussed. On the Apple front, the high prices for new Mac Pro desktop computer systems were highlighted. Chrome’s enhanced password management and password compromise features, the end of life for the original Google Glass, the FBI’s recommendation for home users to isolate IoT devices on a separate network, recommended physical security keys for two factor authentication, YouTube’s request for more clarity on the FCC’s COPPA-based ruling impacting creators, and Amazon versus Apple Family discussions were headlines rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included a recent Audible settlement with long time subscribers (check your email!), an amazing traveling Science museum exhibition and website, “The Science Behind Pixar,” and an outstanding iOS and USB-C compatible security key from Yubikey. 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 (unless we have a schedule change like tonight) 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 157 of the EdTech Situation Room from December 3, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the ascendency of Sundar Pichai to the throne of Alphabet, research revealing sophisticated and ongoing Russian propaganda efforts to weaponize social media to foment division and polarization in the United States, CyberMonday deals over the weekend for U.S technology consumers, and the 10 year anniversary / birthday of ChromeOS. The impeding selloff of all .org domains to a private equity company, the politics of local laws on technology platforms revealed by Apple’s new map of Russia including (illegally) annexed Crimea, Apple’s removal of customer reviews from its online store, and the announcement of the GitHub Security Lab to provide bug bounties for open source platforms were also highlighted. Additional topics included the benefits of letting milk cows use VR headsets (in Russia), IBM’s use of machine learning algorithms to discover more ancient, giant etchings in the earth (similar to the Nazca Lines) using tons of satellite imagery, and the optimistic news from Hong Kong following recent elections fueled by student protests and the use of a variety of encryption apps to organize and remain anonymous in the burgeoning Chinese surveillance state. The imminent removal of inactive Twitter accounts and availability of those channel IDs and Google’s struggles with the Stadia gaming platform rounded out the show. Geeks of the Week included BlueGriffon (a free 64 bit WYSIWYG webpage editor), a recent podcast conversation by Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) with Dr. Scott McLeod (@mcleod), and the amazing “Post It” app for iOS and Android. 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 (unless we have a schedule change like tonight) 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 156 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 20, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed hoopla over YouTube’s new requirements for “Creators” worldwide uploading videos to comply with COPPA law in the United States. The ongoing collapse of our information ecosystem thanks (in large part) to both disinformation and the monopolistic domination of global advertising revenues by Facebook and Google, the Russian effective techniques of “narrative laundering” highlighted by Rene DiResta (@noupside) and the need for “media literacy for all” so we can proactively “filter our feeds” were highlighted. The importance of using unique passwords (as highlighted by Disney+ account hacks,) the limitations of the Google Chrome password manager, and the proliferation of human engineering schemes to trick users / steal their money were discussed. Google updates included forthcoming support for audio embeds in Google Slides and the open sourcing of Google Cardboard. On AI and automation, a recent mass surveillance protest in Washington D.C. in which “14,000 people’s faces were non-consensually scanned,” the availability of a “robot lawyer” for legal services, and the risk posed by automation to white collar jobs were highlighted. The importance of purchasing separate streaming boxes / devices for televisions in our homes and offices and the VERY poor sales data for Google Smart Speakers rounded out the show. Geeks of the Week included the danger of USB charging ports and the options to use a “USB condom,” National Geographic Educator Certification, and the Ecosia Chrome search extension. 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.
Welcome to episode 155 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 13, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed YouTube’s newly announced terms of service to apparently pave the way for more channel / account takedowns, the latest 2018-19 report “Why Rural Matters,” and the importance of addressing the rural/urban political divides which separate many voters in western states like Montana and Oklahoma. The “Long Tail” and the wonderful “Craft With Me” YouTube channel of Gayle Agostinelli was mentioned. The new PBS Frontline special “In the Age of AI,” Deepmind AI and its triumph (AlphaStar) over Starcraft 2 world class players, Android users who love the Apple Watch, and Apple’s ongoing focus / market differentiation on privacy were discussed. Additional topics included the story of Carson King, College GameDay in Iowa, Venmo, and the raising of $1 million for a local children’s hospital overshadowed by racist tweets from the past, as well as articles about the algorithmic darkness of YouTube. Google’s forthcoming inclusion of “end of life” date information in ChromeOS settings, Jason’s rebuttal to Phil Schiller’s (of Apple) public criticisms of Chromebooks, and security articles including discussion of passwords and “security fatigue” and the importance of using a unique password for your Google account were also highlighted. Disinformation research from NPR’s Fresh Air program, and resources highlighting both our “age of information disorder) (via @firstdraftnews) and the weaponization of Twitter to counter critics of Saudi Arabia were also discussed. Geeks of the Week included The Noun Project, Andrew Marantz’s new book “Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation,” First Draft News’ Informational Toolbox on Information Disorder, and an alarming video of MIT’s Mini-Cheetah’s rounded out the show. 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.
Here's more footage of MIT's Mini Cheetahs cavorting, frolicking, back-flipping, playing soccer and generally acting fun and cute, courtesy of the Biomimetic Robotics Lab @MITMechE#robots#roboticspic.twitter.com/8ZQzDvCDVW
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.
Welcome to episode 153 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 30, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Twitter’s announcement to stop accepting paid political advertisements for candidates or issues, Facebook’s employee complaints over its political ad policy, challenges to Mark Zuckerberg in testimony before the U.S. Congress, and a “deep fake” video targeting Senator Lindsey Graham over the “Green New Deal.” @SmarterEveryDay’s fantastic 3 part YouTube series on the weaponization of social media, The Mastodon Project, and the Factitious news game (great for media literacy discussions) were mentioned and recommended. The availability of Thunderbolt 3 on some Chromebooks, a new CTL Chromebox at reasonable prices, and Microsoft’s political win over Amazon for a HUGE new U.S. military contract were also discussed. The launch of Facebook’s new “News Tab” with payments to some mainstream media publishers, the new RCS standard for SMS / cell phone text messaging, Apple’s newly announced “AirPod Pro” headphones, and a mind stretching Google AI Blog announcement about predicting the smell of different molecules rounded out the show. Geeks of the Week included New Home Internet service from T-Mobile, amazing “Shot with iPhone” experiment videos from Apple, and a highly manipulative web service available called “The Spinner” perfect for a student media literacy lesson. 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.
‘Factitious’, a game made by Robert Hone and @Mindtoggle, assists in creating media literacy in game players by teaching the difference between real and fake news. pic.twitter.com/zCJtcnJy0i
Welcome to episode 152 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 23, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the demise of Nest smart thermostat installations by contractors following Google’s acquisition, the Pixel 4 smartphone, Google fees for GMail storage, and Google’s new “digital wellbeing” experimental apps. Enhanced genetic editing via CRISPR Prime / Prime Editing, the retirement of 8 inch floppy disks from the U.S. Air Force’s nuclear arsenal control systems, the importance of home router firmware updates, credit card skimming software deployed on over 18,000 websites, and the poor password habits of Equifax network administrators were also highlighted. Meme culture and the PSAT, and the potentially contentious copyright bill just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included the video “Scams That Should be Illegal” by @theodd1sout, the lesson “Don’t Get Tricked Online” by Wes, the free Google Home Mini for Spotify Premium Users offer, and Jason’s relative’s kickstarter campaign for Cardshark! 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.
Welcome to episode 151 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 16, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was out on a birthday special assignment, so returning guest Carl Hooker (@mrhooker) joined Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) to discuss the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Topics included disinformation in the Turkish/Kurd conflict in Syria, “deep fake” videos, surveillance and privacy in our connected age, and the shifting rationale for government encryption advocates. Wellness and “digital minimalism,” a hacked Interstate billboard showing pornography, John Oliver’s debt forgiveness program, the T-Mobile and Sprint merger, and the underwhelming announcements from this week’s Google Event were topics rounding out the show. Carl’s Geeks of the Week were Learn with League (League of Legends eSports Expansion) and the Nebula Capsule Projector (great for a multiscreen classroom experience.) Wes’ Geeks of the Week were YellKey (time limited real word link shortener) and TinEye (reverse image search.) Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as Facebook Live via StreamYard.com and Restream.io . 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.
Welcome to episode 150 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 2, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed newly announced hardware from this week’s Microsoft event, security concerns over the latest way to add Google Apps to Huawei smartphones, and the implications of a recent New York Times expose of the horrific proliferation of images of sexual abuse of children online. Exciting and important announcements from Google focusing on protecting your privacy online, managing your passwords, and checking existing passwords saved with Google against a database of known breaches / compromised were also highlighted. Additional article topics included newly announced efforts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to crack down on White Supremacists, Andrew Yang’s policy platform announcement on protecting digital data as personal property, and the media literacy education importance of imagery shared online of China’s 70 year birthday of the Communist Party with increased street violence in consecutive week 17 of youth led protests in Hong Kong. Newly announced jailbreak exploits to older versions of iOS / the iPhone operating system were also discussed, along with the perils of jailbreaking / rooting your smartphone. Geeks of the week included a superb post by Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) about digital storytelling tools for students, Auto Update Expiration (AUE) dates for ChromeOS / Chromebooks, and an excellent article explaining the difference between Chromium and ChromiumOS. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as Facebook Live via StreamYard.com and Restream.io . 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.
Welcome to episode 149 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 25, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed new Alexa / smart assistant powered product announcements from Amazon, including lots of new smart speakers, a ring for your finger and smart glasses for your nose. Media Literacy news and articles included “Deep Fakes and Cheap Fakes,” a new report from Data and Society, Ukraine-based Facebook disinformation and propaganda campaigns, and a reminder about the SIFT (the four moves) media literacy framework from Mike Caulfield (@holden) and the Digital Polarization Project. iOS 13.1 updates, amazing reports of the camera quality of the iPhone 11 Pro, the 11th birthday of Android, and update news from Google on ChromeOS and Pixelbooks were also highlighted. A warning about newly discovered Android phone app security vulnerabilities, Instagram’s efforts to empower the victims of bullying with new app features, a new screentime report finding no correlation for teens to academic performance, and an interesting geoengineering article about weather modification via technology tools (“hail cannons”) rounded out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included a good CNET article on home WiFi router basics, good for anyone looking to upgrade soon, and the free “Image Size” iOS app. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as Facebook Live via StreamYard.com and Restream.io . 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.
