Welcome to episode 32 of the EdTech Situation Room from December 7, 2016, 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) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the launch of the new Google WiFi home router, screen time surveys for adults and kids, Gmail account hacks to well known politician accounts (Colin Powell and John Podesta) via clever phishing attacks, and recent Apple headlines about MacBook Pro issues. A considerable part of the show focused on Carole Cadwalladr’s recent article for The Guardian, “Google, democracy and the truth about internet search,” and the resulting response by Google to alter auto-complete search results. Thanks to Peggy George (@pgeorge) for sharing the excellent TEDtalk video, “Machine intelligence makes human morals more important” by Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep). Jason shared a collection of “travel nerd” websites for his geek of the week, and Wes shared https://safeshare.tv. Next week we’ll have a special “Technology Shopping Cart” episode, and then be off the week of December 21st for the holiday break. We’ll be back with an end-of-year “2016 Technology Year in Review Show” either the last week of December or the first week of January. 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!
Welcome to episode 31 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 30, 2016, 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) and Martin Horejsi discussed the implications of President-elect Trump’s use of Twitter and first direct use of YouTube to communicate with the U.S. electorate instead of calling a traditional press conference. They also discussed implications of our social media dominated news and information landscape, especially as it pertains to journalism and the historic role of journalists to be the “news reporters” and not necessarily the “new analyzers.” They discussed Apple’s recent announcement that “air pods are coming soon” as well as new rumors of an iPad Air 3, and what upgrades or improvements are even possible now in the iPad line beside speed bumps. Jason and Martin also discussed Netflix’ announcement about offline downloads being available for certain shows, and what this might mean for cord cutters at home as well as travelers. Geeks of the week included Amazon’s facial recognition system “Rekognition” (from Jason) and the FLIR Infrared Camera for iOS/Android (from Martin). Check out the shownotes below for links to referenced articles and websites from the show. Also please fill out our listener survey if you have not already!
Welcome to episode 30 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 22, 2016, 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) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the challenges of “fake news” continuing to be shared in the aftermath of the U.S. election, and the responsibilities we have to vet and verify articles before passing them on to others. The future of net neutrality in the Trump administration, the rumored end to development of Apple’s AirPort routers, and the impact of both robotics and artificial intelligence on global labor markets were also addressed. As always, Jason and Wes focused on the impact and relevance of these stories for teachers. Please follow @edtechSR for updates on Twitter http://twitter.com/edtechsr as well as on Facebook. If you listen to the show, please submit our listener survey using the shortened link http://wfryer.me/edtechsr which forwards to a Google Form. You can also reach out to Jason and Wes on Twitter to share feedback, questions, or just let them know you’re tuning into the show! If you’re in the United States on holiday this week, have a restful and joy-filled Thanksgiving break!
Welcome to episode 29 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 16, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jen Carey (@TeacherJenCarey) joined Wes Fryer (@wfryer) for a YouTube Live conversation about student privacy, government and corporate surveillance, digital citizenship, strategies to stem the onslaught of fake news, helpful Google Chrome extensions, and more! Geeks of the Week included the app Google PhotoScan and ATLIS (The Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools) from Jen, and several from Wes. Those included “Chromebook Apps Thumbnail links from Maize, Kansas,” Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points (from Apple), and Google Street View Animator. Check out past episode shownotes on https://edtechsr.com/links and be sure to follow @edtechSR for updates on Twitter http://twitter.com/edtechsr as well as on Facebook. If you listen to the show, please submit our listener survey using the shortened link http://wfryer.me/edtechsr which forwards to a Google Form.
7 minutes of the original recording were removed because of bandwidth/connectivity issues during the live show. Thanks SO much to Jen for flying solo and carrying on despite Wes’ bandwidth problems!
Welcome to episode 28 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 9, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) briefly discussed the historic and surprising (to many) U.S. Presidential election result, but spent the majority of the show talking about “Digital Citizenship in the Surveillance State.” Wes and Jason have submitted a proposal for ISTE 2017 on this topic (www.edtechSR.com/nsa) and Wes will be sharing a TEDx talk on this subject in Enid, Oklahoma, on November 19th. This week’s discussions served, in part, as brainstorming and preparation time for both of those presentations. In addition to the “related resources” available at the bottom of www.edtechSR.com/nsa, check out the “Guiding Questions” we used for the show on our shownotes page at www.edtechSR.com/links. Some of the questions we addressed in this show included: What personal stories can you share which highlight the importance of this discussion about surveillance? What is the current state of surveillance in the United States and why does it matter? Where do you draw the line between reasonable awareness / concern about surveillance and paranoia / unreasonable fear? How can people best stay up to date on surveillance issues? Geeks of the week included “Google Home” (Jason) and “CMRA for Apple Watch” (Wes). Check out past episode shownotes on https://edtechsr.com/links and be sure to follow @edtechSR for updates on Twitter http://twitter.com/edtechsr as well as on Facebook. If you listen to the show, please submit our listener survey using the shortened link http://wfryer.me/edtechsr which forwards to a Google Form. Your feedback and suggestions on the show are appreciated!
Welcome to episode 27 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 2, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed a variety of announcements from both Microsoft and Apple from recent PR events. Topics included Microsoft’s Surface Studio, Apple’s refreshed MacBook Pro, AppleTV updates, and the changing identities as well as customer niche foci of Microsoft and Apple. Jason and Wes discussed the wisdom or folly of Apple going “all in” for the USB-C port in new MacBooks, and the possibility that laptop innovation has plateaued across platforms today. They also talked about the massive and unprecedented cybertattacks from two weeks ago, the role of hacked IoT (Internet of Things) devices in the attack, and the implications of this hostile cyber-environment for consumers as well as schools. Wes gave a big shout out to Brian Krebs, his security blog, and 2014 book “Spam Nation – The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime-from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door.” Geeks of the week included the WorkFrom App for iOS (from Jason) and political messaging games on GOParcade.com (from Wes). Check out past episode shownotes on https://edtechsr.com/links and be sure to follow @edtechSR for updates on Twitter http://twitter.com/edtechsr as well as on Facebook. If you listen to the show, please submit our listener survey using the shortened link http://wfryer.me/edtechsr which forwards to a Google Form. Your feedback and suggestions on the show are appreciated!
A Seedlings podcast mini-reunion! Welcome to episode 26 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 19, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was again out on assignment, so Wes Fryer (@wfryer) joined Alice Barr (@alicebarr) and Cheryl Oakes (@cheryloakes50) for a discussion about recent technology news affecting the world of education. Alice and Cheryl have been educational podcasters for MANY years, and are two of Wes’ personal “podparents” (if such a thing is a thing…) “Seedlings Forever!” Alice, Cheryl and Wes talked about new study statistics showing teens significantly prefer Snapchat and Instagram over Facebook for social media interaction, and how many kids (even older ones who are pre-service teachers) have difficulty viewing and using Twitter for professional networking. They discussed the recent name change of “Google Apps” by Google to the “G Suite,” and both Alice and Cheryl shared a few of their takeaways from last summer’s Google Geo Institute in Mountain View, California. Show participants also discussed the recent Vox interview article with Andy Stern (@AndyStern_DC), author of “Raising the Floor: How a Universal Basic Income Can Renew Our Economy and Rebuild the American Dream.” The title of the Vox article was, “Why we need to plan for a future without jobs.” Geeks of the week included Rewordify.com, “Time Saving Tips from GSuite for Education,” TubeBuddy for YouTube, the GAFE Admins Podcast (@gafeadm1ns), and the Providence Day School Digital Citizenship website. Thanks to our live viewers Jamie Camp (@connect2jamie) and Peggy George (@pgeorge) who persevered with us despite some technical difficulties! Cheryl ended up joining via iPhone speakerphone, so that is why there is a sync issue with her video and her audio quality wasn’t stellar. We were and are THRILLED that this YouTube Live Google Hangout could take place, however, and hope you’ll share feedback with all of us if you listen and enjoy the show. Please also take a moment to respond to our listener survey, which is linked in our shownotes. All links from this and past shows are available on https://edtechsr.com/links and you can follow us on Twitter @edtechSR to stay up to date for future shows. Next week we anticipate being back at our “normal time” (10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific) and will feature yet another guest. Thanks for tuning into the EdTech Situation Room!
Welcome to episode 25 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 12, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was out on assignment, so Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) joined Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin) for a lively conversation about the positive power of Internet technologies to connect us to information as well as each other. Discussion also focused on Google’s new Duo videoconferencing and collaboration platform/app, the implications of AI (artificial intelligence) for our lives and our classrooms, and a recent anti-tech rant by educational policy wonk Diane Ravitch. Wes shared a shout-out to the new “Voices of DARPA” podcast, and Miguel reflected on how the outbreak of “predatory academic journals” reminds of the mid-2000’s as blogs exploded and many pundits heralded the end of information trust and credible sources. Miguel’s Geeks of the Week included the OneNote app and OneNote for Teachers, The Microsoft Selfie app (no that’s not a joke, it’s a real app) and Google Duo. Wes’ Geeks of the Week included the free “Simple Footnotes WordPress Plugin” and the amazing “Interactive Current Earth Wind Map” shared last week during landfall of Hurricane Matthew by @thekidshouldsee. Check out past episode shownotes on https://edtechsr.com/links and be sure to follow @edtechSR for updates on Twitter http://twitter.com/edtechsr as well as on Facebook. If you listen to the show, please submit our listener survey using the shortened link http://wfryer.me/edtechsr which forwards to a Google Form. Thanks to our live viewers who joined us for this show! Next week we’re likely to feature some special guests from Maine, and will be moving the show to start two hours earlier at 8 pm Eastern / 7 pm Central / 6 pm Mountain / 5 pm Pacific. Please join us live if you can, give us a shout out if you listen or watch later!
Welcome to episode 24 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 5, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the challenges of teaching civics in a heated election season and the affordances of social media during election debates. They also discussed some highlights from Google’s Pixel Phone event this week, including the Pixel phone, new wifi routers, a new Google Home device, and the role of AI (artificial intelligence) in Google’s corporate products and services evolution. The rumor of an October 27th MacBook laptop refresh was also discussed, along with some iPhone/Android phone comparisons. Wes shared an endorsement for the new movie “Snowden” and gave a shout out to ProPublica’s new article series, “BREAKING THE BLACK BOX: What Facebook Knows About You.” Jason and Wes also discussed their ISTE 2017 submitted proposal for a session titled, “Digital Citizenship in Our Surveillance State.” Geeks of the week included the importance of ordering OEM certified computer chargers and the free iOS composition apps, “MusiQuest – Music & Beat Maker” and “Sketch-a-Song Kids.” Check out past episode shownotes on https://edtechsr.com/links and be sure to follow @edtechSR for updates on Twitter http://twitter.com/edtechsr as well as on Facebook. If you listen to the show, please submit our listener survey using the shortened link http://wfryer.me/edtechsr which forwards to a Google Form. Your feedback and suggestions on the show are appreciated!
Welcome to episode 23 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 28, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Martin Horejsi hosted the show and dived into a variety of technology related topics. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) was out on assignment this week and was not able to join live. Topics for episode 23 with Jason and Martin included the recently released Horizon Report (K12 Edition) and a great discussion about classroom learning spaces. They also discussed Elon Musk’s recently updated vision for Mars colonization, and the uses of technology to both fact check and distract viewers Monday night during the first U.S. Presidential candidate debate. Martin’s geek of the week was the TI-Innovator Hub, and Jason’s was the Flash Forward Podcast. Check out the episode shownotes for links to referenced articles and geeks of the week. Check out past episode shownotes on https://edtechsr.com/links and be sure to follow @edtechSR for updates on Twitter http://twitter.com/edtechsr as well as on Facebook. If you listen to the show, please submit our listener survey using the shortened link http://wfryer.me/edtechsr which forwards to a Google Form. Your feedback and suggestions on the show are appreciated!
