Welcome to episode 112 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 24, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Jennifer Carey (@thejencarey) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included data privacy, the “hackability” of the human mind, the recent FBI warning on student data privacy, and Tim Cook’s recent criticism of Silicon Valley over privacy. Additional topics included a U.S. cyberoperation against Russia aimed at protecting U.S. elections, the book “Algorithms of Oppression” by Safiya Umoja Noble, and fake news surrounding the death of Jamal Khashoggi. Geeks of the week included CoSpaces Edu, “PD in the Privy” by Cyndi Kuhn, Digital Citizenship presentations for students by Wes, and tips from the Family Online Safety Institute for cleaning up your digital footprint. Check out our shownotes on edtechSR.com/links. 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. Note we will not have a show next week on Halloween, but will be back on November 7th with special guest, Jason Kern!
Welcome to episode 111 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 17, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Beth Holland (@brholland) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens, as well as a variety of educational issues relating to digital citizenship and digital equity. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included algorithmic literacy, privacy, digital equity, digital citizenship, media literacy, digital literacy, Internet safety, digital citizenship week, and more. Other topics included the National Educational Technology Plan, the ongoing code wars between nation states, and the power of social networks / human connections in unlocking opportunity and innovation. The digital divide in rural America, the perils of IoT cameras in our homes, the Media Education Lab’s Mind over Media Project, Imagineering in Storytelling, and geomaps of Lewis and Clark’s journey of discovery rounded out the week’s topics. Check out our shownotes on edtechSR.com/links. 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. Note we will be starting earlier than usual occasionally to accommodate guest schedules in upcoming weeks, so please check Twitter for those updates.
Welcome to episode 110 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 10, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Jun Kim (@mpstechnology) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included the alleged hack of computer hardware by Chinese authorities affecting major tech companies including Apple and Amazon, which is very controversial and has been firmly denied by technology companies as well as government agencies. The dangers of connecting to open WiFi in public spaces, ways to avoid phishing scams in email, and the benefits of using password managers as well as a VPN or cell phone access point / phone tethering were also discussed. Robocalls on the rise, Google’s changes to third party data access for Gmail, the prospect of Google enforcing restrictive limitations on data sharing around the world because of country-specific laws, and Google’s Certification program for IT professionals were also discussed by Jun and Wes. Briefly highlighted articles at the end of the show included the Google Pixel 3 and it’s touted capability to screen phone calls using an AI voice agent and Facebook’s challenges in moderating content worldwide. Geeks of the week included the COSN toolkit on protecting student data and FlowCrypt for sending encrypted email within Gmail. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. 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. Note we will be starting earlier than usual occasionally to accommodate guest schedules in upcoming weeks, so please check Twitter for those updates.
Welcome to episode 109 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 3, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Tye Campbell (@TyeJCampbell) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included the recent “Presidential Emergency Text Alert,” paging and alert messaging at school, and Apple’s latest iOS 12 which brings improved performance at the price of faster battery consumption. The new screentime monitoring tools in iOS12, school conversations on digital citizenship relating to character education, and school partnerships with “The Social Institute” helping students, faculty and parents embrace a balanced approach to social media an technology were also discussed. A shout out to ATLIS (The Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools) and their upcoming conference in April 2019 in Dallas, net neutrality in light of new European legislation relating to “the right to be forgotten” and the GDPR, protection of personal information / privacy, and digital identity verification via Yubikey were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the week included iOS 12 Screen Time Controls (Tye) and recommended actions for scholars who are victims of online trolling (Wes). Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. 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. Note we will be starting earlier than usual occasionally to accommodate guest schedules in upcoming weeks, so please check Twitter for those updates.
“Suggested Discussion Questions” for our Upper and Middle Division teachers at Casady School addressing our revised Responsible Use Policy with students during advisory time.
Welcome to episode 108 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 26, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included Microsoft’s MakeCode resources, the crooked path of a YouTube star to fan fame on new media platforms, and the emergence of “deep fake” videos. If we had a show title based on the show conversations, it would likely be Miguel’s comment, “The boy turned away from Linux, I thought he was doomed!” Miguel and Wes also discussed the importance of students learning how to effectively and responsibly create video today, the recent European Human Rights Court ruling finding the mass surveillance of Great Britain’s GHCQ intelligence organization illegal that was originally highlighted by Edward Snowden, and the prospect of worldwide surveillance through drone monitoring. The Australian government’s new anti-encryption legislation, an FBI alarm on student data privacy, the launch of FireFox’s “Privacy Monitor,” and the feared demise of Evernote as a notetaking cloud platform were also discussed. Miguel set a new global record for podcast “Geek of the Week” shares, including Paranoia Works for personal encryption of data, the book Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez, Glary Utilities for WindowsOS management, an Amazing 1Note Link from Microsoft, the TCEA TechNotes Blog, and Joplin Notes. Wes’ Geek of the Week was “Learning Creative Learning,” a Free online course by MIT Media Lab starting 9 Oct 2018. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. 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. Note we will be starting earlier than usual occasionally to accommodate guest schedules in upcoming weeks, so please check Twitter for those updates.
Welcome to episode 107 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 12, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the days announcements from Cupertino at the special Apple Event including Apple Watch 4 and 3 new iPhone models. The forthcoming iOS 12 and the benefits of the new Apple watch providing ECG / EKG data which is FDA approved was highlighted. Under the heading of “Social Media Correction,” Jason and Wes discussed an fascinating and in-depth article from the New Yorker focusing on the challenges faced by Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook in moderate content for 2.2 billion people worldwide, and specifically the impact that is having on democratic processes and institutions. The banning of Alex Jones by both Apple and Facebook, and the devastating impacts of false rumors spread via social media in Myanmar, India and Brazil were also discussed. The public availability of mind-blowingly high resolution maps of Antarctica, The FCC’s “pause” of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, the ongoing exploration of our “Red Planet” by robots amidst the challenge of a summer planet-wide dust storm, and Twitter’s release of audio-only broadcasting options rounded out the articles in this week’s shortened show. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC.
Welcome to episode 106 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 5, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) reflected on the 20th anniversary of Google and the 10th anniversary of the Chrome web browser, and the long way we’ve come in the ensuing years. Other topics included “the technology correction” with an excellent article arguing for the breakup of Facebook based on current U.S. anti-trust law, proposed revisions to anti-trust law which could be applied to large technology companies including Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple, and this week’s Congressional testimony by technology leaders in Washington D.C. The ethical dimensions of corporate developed and sold spyware, the question of liability for developers when their spyware is used by governments against human rights advocates and political opponents, and the ongoing advocacy by Western governments for security “back doors” in technology platforms were also discussed. The threat posed by new European copyright laws to the open Internet, Apple’s upcoming event on September 12th and leaks suggesting new iPhone models and a 4th generation Apple watch, and the success of the Google Pixelbook in sparking the availability of higher end Chromebooks rounded out the show’s articles. Geeks of the Week included the GeoMap website and application Relive, and CloudReady by Neverware for breathing new Chrome life into older computers. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC.
Welcome to episode 105 of the EdTech Situation Room from August 29, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the challenges of filtering / censoring Internet content at school and now (in the U.K.) at a national level through ISPs. The privacy perils and potential subpoena conflicts relating to cell phone location tracking, the ethical challenges of “native advertising” in podcasts, rumors of Apple removing 3D touch in forthcoming iPhones, and the security danger of sideloading Fortnight software on Android devices were also discussed. Final topics included the monstrous challenges facing Facebook in moderating user generated content on its platform worldwide for 2 billion people and the way Facebook is adopting a trustworthy scale for users in its fight against fake news. Geeks of the week included the Stikbot Studio app for iOS, Google Assistant’s “Tell me something good” new feature, YouTube’s new built-in screen monitoring / management tools, and the keyboard shortcut Control/Command K in Google Docs to add links. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC.
Welcome to episode 104 of the EdTech Situation Room from August 22, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the impact of social media platforms on journalism and the ascendency of China seeking to influence global Internet standards. Rumors of Apple updates to the Mac Mini, a browser extension to identify fake news, the amplified burnout of Elon Musk on Twitter, the “right to disconnect,” and a tense meeting at Google discussing China plans while an employee live-tweeted the event were also highlighted and analyzed. Geeks of the Week included the Amazon Firestick (great for hotel travel), the SurfSafe browser extension, ways you should “Treat your passwords like your underwear,” and a free podcasting course sponsored by the Knight Foundation. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC.
Welcome to episode 103 of the EdTech Situation Room from August 15, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed universities deploying smart assistants in student dorms to answer questions, the privacy concerns of smart assistants in educational contexts, and the shortcomings of the latest MacBook Pro laptops relative to Windows-based competitors. Rumors of dual-booting Chromebooks (also booting to Windows), whether or not social media platforms are “publishers,” and strategies to stop or avoid “stalking ads” on social media were also addressed. Social media / fake news controversies over the temporary (7 day) banning of Alex Jones / InfoWars on Twitter, hacker threats to home routers (VPNfilter) and IoT devices, the advent of Fortnite on ALL Android devices (but not via the Google Play Store), and Google’s location tracking of users who turn off location services rounded out the news articles addressed in this show. Geeks of the Week included the Timer Tab app (ad-free), an incredible photo of our sun during a “Coronal Mass Ejection” with the earth shown to scale, and the recent PBS documentary, “Documenting Hate: Charlottesville.” Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC.
Resources on Privacy Issues for Smart Assistants in the Classroom: Common Sense Media Privacy (@cs_privacy) Bill Fitzgerald (@funnymonkey) and Susan Bearden (@s_bearden)
