Welcome to episode 42 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 1, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Walt Mossberg’s recent analysis and hopeful prediction of an Apple iOS laptop, the uncertain future of Google’s Pixel Chromebook laptop, and a host of Apple product rumors including USB-C charging cables for iOS, updates to the iPad lineup, and new additions to the Apple Pro hardware line. As we often do, we jumped into some privacy / surveillance state rabbit holes with recent articles about big data and artificial intelligence (Big Nudge), the need for ethics and a Hippocratic Oath (“Do no harm”) in computer science programs, and the use of state-sponsored propaganda as well as carefully tuned marketing messages to direct public opinion and influence elections. Geeks of the week included StackUp (get credit for what you read online), hypothes.is (interactive annotation online), and the “Data Selfie” Chrome extension. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.
Welcome to episode 41 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 22, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and Ben Wilkoff (@bhwilkoff – aka “the 12th man of @edtechSR) discussed unlimited cell phone carrier plans, rumored Apple iPad and iPhone upgrades, the privacy and surveillance hazards of taking a smartphone on an international trip, and slow, disruptive changes brought by technology to network television. They also discussed the continuing relevance of “old school” technologies like email in the workplace. Geeks of the week included Skitch for Mac, Canva for image/graphic design, extensions.af and Toby for browser tab management. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.
Welcome to episode 40 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 15, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the dangers posed by IoT (Internet of Things) hacks, the new 802.11ax wifi standard which will bring greater capacity to our networks, strategies to address fake news, and the ongoing demise of Twitter from a financial / investment perspective. They also discussed automation and the danger it poses to middle class jobs, a recent Guardian editorial piece about rejecting standardization in schools, and the amazing capabilities technology has brought us in the last 20 years. Geeks of the week included iThemes Security Pro for WordPress (Wes) and the “3-2-1 backup strategy” (Jason). Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.
Welcome to episode 39 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 1, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Jennifer Carey (@teacherjencarey) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed screen time and a recent response by Derrick Willard (@dwillard) to a provocative Time editorial. They also discussed the recent sunsetting announcement of Club Penguin by Disney, the importance of parents getting into the virtual worlds their kids are playing in and exploring, and Microsoft’s forthcoming “Windows 10 Cloud” product release. The recent successful ransomeware attack on an Austrian hotel, hacking the Internet of Things, uses for digital assistants like Google Home and Alexa, the importance of 2 step verification, and the dangers of Google Authenticator were also addressed. In a “Geek of the Week” bonus moment, Jason shared the $30 bluetooth lightbulb and speaker (from Amazon) which he’s using now at home. Official geeks of the week included the new NPR series “The Privacy Paradox” (Jen), updates to Google Voice (Jason), and “Advanced / Cyborg / Centaur Chess” (Wes) via Kevin Kelly’s (@kevin2kelly) outstanding book, “The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future.” Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.
Welcome to episode 38 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 25, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Ben Wilkoff (@bhwilkoff) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed in-depth the new Chromebook announcements by the Google Chrome team, Samsung and Asus, and Microsoft’s announcement of “Intune for Education,” a cloud-based tool offering functionality to manage Windows10 devices similar to the Administration console in Google Apps for Education (gSuite). They discussed the alarming aggregation of data on millions of U.S. citizens by private companies using innocuous sounding web interactives like “Facebook quizzes.” Topics also included a recent major ransomware security event in U.S. libraries, China’s new crackdown on VPN connections, Walt Mossburg’s reflection on FireFox (the first serious alternative to the dominant Internet Explorer browser from Microsoft), and Trump’s new appointee to lead the FCC who may be hostile to network neutrality. Geeks of the week included resources and tutorial videos to help with USB-C dongle confusion (Jason), a very cool family Raspberry Pi project with local weather (Ben), and TinkerCAD’s 3D design export functionality to Minecraft (Wes). Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.
Welcome to episode 37 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 18, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Eric Langhorst (@elanghorst) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed LinkedIn privacy policy changes, the major updates to Evernote and the Evernote mobile app, the excellent job prospects for physicists in coding, and the negative role of advertising in the online news landscape. Additional topics included the use of more tricky phishing schemes by hackers, the continuing development of personal assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, President Obama’s recent interview with the New York Times discussing his recent favorite books to read, and the ability of AI to predict the mortality of heart disease patients with startling accuracy. Geeks of the week included Bitdefender, the Ancestry Education grant, and SimpleNote. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.
Welcome to episode 36 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 11, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show (as well as some we didn’t have time to discuss.) This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Eric Langhorst (@elanghorst), Ben Wilkoff (@bhwilkoff) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) reflected back on 10 years ago when Steve Jobs first announced the iPhone, discussed new “2 in 1” laptops announced this week at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Store, and more! Follow us on Twitter @edtechSR to stay up to date about upcoming show times. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.
Welcome to episode 35 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 4, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. This was our first show of 2017, starting our second year of live webcasts on YouTube and archived audio podcasts! Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show (as well as some we didn’t have time to discuss.) This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed news coming out of the soon-to-start Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. They also discussed the rise of VPAs (virtual personal assistants), genomics and the potential of CRISPR to not only transform agriculture but also impact a wide variety of medical applications, our need for more family-oriented connection apps, and the recent legislative victory of French workers over the tyranny of work email. They also talked about “The Trump Effect” as described by Walt Mossberg as well as the ability for Google’s DeepMind AI to read lips better than human beings. Follow us on Twitter @edtechSR to stay up to date about upcoming show times. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.
Welcome to the 2016 EdTech Year in Review, the final episode of the EdTech Situation Room for the year! Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Eric Langhorst (@elanghorst) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed many of the most notable topics and technology news stories from year as they relate to schools, education and teaching. These included fake news during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, artificial intelligence and Google’s new “AI First” strategies, cybersecurity, screentime, 3D printing, and the struggles of Apple with the new MacBook Pro. Geeks of the Week included inexpensive world phones / global GSM phones (Jason), the Photo Scan app from Google (Eric), and the book “Raising the Floor” by Andy Stern (Wes). Check out our shownotes on https://edtechsr.com/links for all referenced articles and resources from the show. Please fill out our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr to let us know where you’re tuning in from and what you’ve liked from our shows. Follow us on Twitter @edtechSR to stay up to date on upcoming shows in 2017!
Jason’s Geek of the Week: Travel with Cheap SIM Cards to Europe! Bring a “world phone” or a “global GSM phone.” Or, if you are on Sprint or AT&T, see if you can get your phone “unlocked” from your carrier. We used this one and this one. Find a cell phone store near where you are staying. Buy a pre-paid SIM. Ask for help using it.
It’s the holiday season, and for episode 33 we’ve brought you a special “Technology Shopping Cart” panel discussion helping you find the perfect gifts for the tech nerds in your life! Welcome to the EdTech Situation Room from December 14, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week we had four panelists including Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Martin Horejsi, Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) share book recommendations and techie gift ideas under $10, in the $10 – $20 range, and the over $100 category. Everyone also shared a movie or video series recommendation to check out over the holidays. You’ll definitely want to visit our shownotes this week for a complete list of referenced links. If you purchase something, read something, or watch something as a result of our show please let us know! We’ll be back for one more episode in 2017 with our “EdTech Year in Review” show, but that date will be announced pending Jason’s European vacation travel plans. Follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates about that show’s date and time, which will most likely break with our “normal” Wednesday night routine. Please also fill out our listener survey at http://wfryer.me/edtechsr to let us know where you’re tuning in from and what you’ve liked from our shows. Have a safe, restful, and joyful holiday everyone! (And go download Miguel’s FREE security ebook right away, you’ll feel much safer after you read it and change your personal security habits as a result!)
