EdTechSR Ep 252 Clipchamp Beckons

Welcome to episode 252 (“Clipchamp Beckons”) of the EdTech Situation Room from March 16, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google news, Microsoft news, Ukraine – Russia war news, and one IoT news article. Check out our shownotes for links to all the articles we discussed, and subscribe to our Substack to receive all the links we discussed and also didn’t have time to talk about in this week’s show in your email inbox! Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Google shuts down YouTube Vanced, a popular ad-blocking Android app (ArsTechnica, 14 March 2022)
  10. Google Docs update lets you draft emails and send them to Gmail with a click (The Verge; 16 March 2022)
  11. Chrome for Mac achieves highest Speedometer score to date, beating Safari [U: More details] (9 to 5 Google; 15 March 2022)
  12. New Google Classroom features include some advanced “Google magic” (Chrome Unboxed; 16 March 2022)
  13. Microsoft is testing a Windows 11 desktop watermark for unsupported hardware (The Verge; 22 February 2022)
  14. Clipchamp is Microsoft’s new video editing app for Windows 11 (The Verge; 9 March 2022)
  15. Facebook removes ‘deepfake’ of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy (Verge, 16 March 2022) – s/o @Durff
  16. TikTok temporarily bans new video creation in Russia (Verge, 6 March 2022)
  17. Harvard internet whiz, 19, creates website connecting Ukrainian refugees with hosts (The Times of Israel, 4 March 2022)
  18. Russia’s disinformation machinery breaks down in wake of Ukraine invasion (Wired / ArsTechnica, 12 March 2022)
  19. Ukraine: Spam website set up to reach millions of Russians (BBC, 12 March 2022)
  20. The White House is briefing TikTok stars about the war in Ukraine (Washington Post, 11 March 2022)
  21. The average person doesn’t have a chance with the smart home (Tech Crunch; 18 February 2022)
  22. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Canva for Education
  23. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Russia-Ukraine Monitor Map by @Cen4infoRes

EdTechSR Ep 251 Ukraine War News

Welcome to episode 251 (“Ukraine War News”) of the EdTech Situation Room from March 9, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed announcements at the March 8th Apple Event, technology related news from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a few Google updates. Check out our shownotes for links to all the articles we discussed, and subscribe to our Substack to receive all the links we discussed and also didn’t have time to talk about in this week’s show in your email inbox! Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Everything announced at the Apple 2022 ‘Peek Performance’ event (Mashable; 8 March 2022)
  10. The 27-inch iMac has been discontinued (The Verge; 8 March 2022)
  11. Apple’s new strategy is to give — not tell — users what they want (The Verge; 9 March 2022)
  12. AirTag scare stories may have actually done more good than harm (9 to 5 Mac; 23 February 2022)
  13. Several Western news organizations suspend operations in Russia (NY Times, 4 March 2022)
  14. Elon Musk: “High” probability of Russian attacks on Starlink in Ukraine (ArsTechnica, 5 March 2022)
  15. The war in Ukraine is keeping Chinese social media censors busy (ArsTechnica, 6 March 2022)
  16. Google shares grand vision of tablets surpassing laptop sales, ‘tablet-first’ Android apps, more (9 to 5 Google; 9 March 2022)
  17. Hands-on with the ‘new Gmail view’ web redesign: Sidebar woes, chat bubble default, custom themes (9 to 5 Google; 2 March 2022)
  18. Chromebook owners will get to disable automatic Chrome OS updates. YES! (About Chromebooks; 3 March 2022)
  19. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Democracy Report 2022
  20. Jason’s Geek of the Week: mrchromebox.tech

EdTechSR Ep 250 Behold ChromeOS Flex

Welcome to episode 250 (“Behold ChromeOS Flex”) of the EdTech Situation Room from March 2, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google’s ChromeOS Flex, rumors of the upcoming Apple Event March 8th, security / cybersecurity warnings, and software alternatives to Evernote. Additional topics included the Ukraine – Russia War, and linguistic analysis about the identity / identities of those behind QAnon. Geeks of the Week included a recent podcast about science fiction shaping popular culture, “March Mammal Madness,” and open registration for NCCE’s spring virtual conference. Check out our shownotes for links to all the articles we discussed, and subscribe to our Substack to receive all the links we discussed and also didn’t have time to talk about in this week’s show in your email inbox! Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Chrome OS Flex is an ideal off-ramp for millions of PCs that can’t run Windows 11 (Ars Technica, 16 February 2022)
  10. I Ran Chrome OS Flex on the MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) (Mac o’Clock; 27 February 2022)
  11. Chrome OS Flex on Mac Review + Setup (Mac Research)
  12. You Can Use Same Management License (via @PrimaryNetMan)
  13. Apple Event: March 8th
  14. Here’s everything Apple could announce at its March 8 ‘Peek performance’ special event (9to5Mac, 2 March 2022)
  15. Why a Mac Mini Pro would be such a game-changer (Digital Trends; 22 February 2022)
  16. These are the 20 most common passwords leaked on the dark web — make sure none of them are yours (CNBC; 27 February 2022)
  17. CISA Issues “Shields Up” Warning About Russian Cyber Attacks (Forbes; 25 February 2022)
  18. 7 of the Best Evernote Alternatives (and Why You Should Finally Switch) (Lifehacker; 25 February 2022)
  19. Why a Russian Invasion of Ukraine Would Be a Big Test for Google Maps (Time Magazine; 15 February 2022)
  20. Ukraine’s Volunteer ‘IT Army’ Is Hacking in Uncharted Territory (Wired, 27 Feb 2022) – “Google Form Sign-Up”
  21. RT America ceases productions and lays off most of its staff (CNN Business, 3 March 2022)
  22. We Have Never Been Here Before (NYT OpEd by Tom Friedman, 25 Feb 2022)
  23. Daniel Funke, USA Today, Out of Context Twitter Thread
  24. Differences in Media Coverage (Russia vs The World)
  25. Who Is Behind QAnon? Linguistic Detectives Find Fingerprints (NYTimes, 19 Feb 2022)
  26. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: @HumaneTech_⁩ [PODCAST] episode “How Science Fiction Can Shape Our Reality” interview with Kim Stanley Robinson – March Mammal Madness
  27. Jason’s Geek of the Week: NCCE Registration Open NOW!

EdTechSR Ep 249 AirTag Dangers

Welcome to episode 249 (“AirTag Dangers”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 16, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed “the technology correction” (the intersection of “Big Tech” / social media and regulation,) Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta / Facebook, security, and miscellaneous topics relating to educational technology. Geeks of the Week included “5 Free Online Video Editors Without Watermarks or Other Hidden Limitations,” the “Search Smarter by Dorking” resource page by “Exposing the Invisible,” and the Google Chrome extension Tag-a-Doc. Check out our shownotes for links to all the articles we discussed, and subscribe to our Substack to receive all the links we discussed and also didn’t have time to talk about in this week’s show in your email inbox! Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Does banning extremists online work? It depends. (Re/Code; 3 February 2021)
  10. TikTok says it will strengthen policies in effort to prevent spread of hoaxes and dangerous challenges (CNN Business; 8 February 2022)
  11. TikTok is thinking about letting its creators charge subscription fees (The Verge; 20 January 2022)
  12. Facebook Has a Superuser-Supremacy Problem (The Atlantic, 10 Feb 2022)
  13. Windows 11’s first big update arrives with Android apps, taskbar changes, and more (The Verge; 15 February 2022)
  14. Chrome OS Flex brings the Chromebook experience to PC and Mac for free (Chrome Unboxed; 15 February 2022)
  15. Google Drive’s new filters that make search easier are rolling out to everyone (The Verge; 15 February 2022)
  16. Google Docs getting AI-generated summaries, collaborative email templates, and more (9 to 5 Google; 15 February 2022)
  17. Gmail’s redesign is rolling out now for regular Google Account users and here’s how to use it (Chrome Unboxed; 14 February 2022)
  18. YouTube video streaming now using A.I. that mastered chess and Go (Fortune, 11 Feb 2022)
  19. I Used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS Tracker to Watch My Husband’s Every Move (The New York Times; 11 February 2022)
  20. An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking (Apple Newsroom; 10 February 2022)
  21. Apple launches AirTags and Find My detector app for Android, in effort to boost privacy (CNet; 13 December 2021)
  22. Facebook renames its News Feed to just ‘Feed’ (Yahoo Finance, 15 Feb 2022)
  23. Peter Thiel to Exit Meta’s Board to Support Trump-Aligned Candidates (The New York Times; 7 February 2022)
  24. No, that email from Equifax is not a scam. You are entitled to free credit monitoring for four years. (Washington Post, 11 Feb 2022)
  25. Senators: CIA has secret program that collects American data (Washington Post, 11 Feb 2022)
  26. The hacked account and suspicious donations behind the Canadian trucker protests (Grid News, 8 Feb 2022)
  27. Jason’s Geek of the Week: 5 Free Online Video Editors Without Watermarks or Other Hidden Limitations (Make Use Of; 11 February 2022)
  28. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Search Smarter by Dorking (Exposing the Invisible) and Tag-a-Doc

EdTechSR Ep 248 Rogan Spotify Kerfuffle

Welcome to episode 248 (“Rogan Spotify Kerfuffle”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 9, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed technology-related news about Microsoft, Apple, The Technology Correction, Google, Security, and Privacy. In this episode, we especially focused on the issues raised with the Joe Rogan and Spotify situation, involving musical artists like Neil Young, who threatened and then removed all their music from Spotify’s library in protest of the platform’s support for Rogan and disinformation. Check out our shownotes for links to all the articles we discussed, and subscribe to our Substack to receive all the links we discussed and also didn’t have time to talk about in this week’s show in your email inbox! Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Microsoft Surface Laptop SE vs Chromebooks: A limited but capable competitor (About Chromebooks; 7 February 2022)
  10. Every M1 Mac is due for a 2022 refresh with faster M2 chip, new designs (MacWorld; 8 February 2022)
  11. Apple will introduce new iPhone, iPad on March 8 (ArsTechnica, 7 Feb 2022)
  12. Meta’s threat to close down Facebook and Instagram in Europe backfires as EU leaders embrace shutdown: ‘Life would be very good without’ (City AM; 9 February 2022)
  13. Facebook loses users for the first time in its history (The Washington Post; 2 February 2022)
  14. FB Stock (Google)
  15. The Spotify-Rogan saga highlights the distinction between publishers and platforms (Tech Crunch; 9 February 2021)
  16. Spotify to Pull Neil Young’s Music After Artist’s Objections to Joe Rogan (Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan 2022)
  17. Spotify Publishes Content Guidelines in Response to Rogan Kerfluffle
  18. Everything you need to know about the bill that could blow up the app store (The Verge, 9 Feb 2021)
  19. LumaFusion, a popular video editor on iOS, is coming to Android in the ‘first half’ of 2022 (9 5o 5 Google; 9 February 2022)
  20. Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra’s massive screen makes it basically an Android laptop (CNet; 9 February 2022)
  21. Chrome OS 98 Offers A Screen Capture Update, A New Virtual Desk Shortcut, And More (Chrome Unboxed; 8 February 2022)
  22. Reports Of Declined Chromebook Shipments Disregard The Bigger Picture (Chrome Unboxed; 1 February 2022)
  23. Google still thinks 3 years of updates provide a ‘great experience’ ahead of cutting off Pixel 3 (9 to 5 Google; 25 January 2022)
  24. YouTube CEO: More Creators Are Making At Least $10K a Year (Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan 2022)
  25. Google account hacks drop 50% for 150 million who got 2-factor login (CNet; 8 February 2022)
  26. Hacker Circulates Fake, Malware-Laden Windows 11 Installer (PC Magazine; 9 February 2022)
  27. Russia could cyberattack Ukraine — again — and disrupt the entire world (NPR, 29 Jan 2022)
  28. Phishing Simulation Study Shows Why These Attacks Remain Pervasive (Dark Reading, 7 Feb 2022)
  29. Lawmakers call on feds to drop Clearview AI facial recognition contracts (Verge, 9 Feb 2022)
  30. IRS stops requiring selfies after facial recognition system is widely panned (ArsTechnica, 7 Feb 2022)
  31. Health sites let ads track visitors without telling them (ArsTechnica, 7 Feb 2022)
  32. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Teach With Chrome Series by ⁦@GoogleForEdu⁩ (free online learning starts Feb 22! – “Coded Bias” Netflix documentary – Control-F Project
  33. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Vista Create

EdTechSR Ep 247 Goodbye FLoC

Welcome to episode 247 (“Goodbye FLoC”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 26, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed news about Microsoft, privacy, Google, the “Technology Correction,” security, media literacy, and everyone’s favorite topic, “miscellaneous.” Geeks of the Week included an option to receive updates for “expired Chromebooks” (CloudReady) and the Clarksville free Saturday online conference on January 29, 2022. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Please sign up for our NEW SubStack newsletter to receive all our show links each week in your inbox, including links we are not able to discuss on edtechsr.substack.com. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Windows 11 SE laptops arrive to take on Chromebooks in schools (The Verge; 18 January 2022)
  10. Google abandons FLoC, introduces Topics API to replace tracking cookies (The Verge; 25 January 2022)
  11. IRS Will Soon Require Selfies for Online Access (Krebs on Security, 19 Jan 2022)
  12. IRS Will Require Facial Recognition Scans to Access Your Taxes Online (Gizmodo, 19 Jan 2022)
  13. ID.me does use facial recognition to match against databases, CEO admits (Verge, 26 Jan 2022)
  14. The Old Internet Shows Signs of Quietly Coming Back (Cheapskate’s Guide; 24 January 2022)
  15. Should bad science be censored on social media? (BBC News; 19 January 2022)
  16. One Year After the Jan. 6 Attack, Parler’s CEO Grapples With Big Tech and Trump (NYTimes Kara Swisher, 6 Jan 2022)
  17. OAN panics as DirecTV drops network, asks viewers to find “dirt” on AT&T chairman (ArsTechnica, 20 Jan 2022)
  18. Google Docs now lets you create ‘Confidential,’ ‘Draft,’ and other text watermarks (9 to 5 Google; 24 January 2022)
  19. Adaptive Charging will extend your Chromebook’s longterm battery life – coming soon to Chrome OS (9 to 5 Google; 24 January 2022)
  20. Google requiring all ‘G Suite legacy free edition’ users to start paying for Workspace this year (9 to 5 Google; 19 January 2022)
  21. NFT art sales are booming. Just without some artists’ permission. (NBC News, 10 Jan 2022)
  22. To my surprise and elation, the Webb Space Telescope is really going to work (ArsTechnica, 25 Jan 2022)
  23. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Get updates on your “expired” Chromebook
  24. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Clarksville EdTech Conference, January 29, 2022 (free)
Episode 247 of the EdTech Situation Room

EdTechSR Ep 246 Metaverse Rising

Welcome to episode 246 (“Metaverse Rising”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 19, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed new Apple rumors about Mac Pro computers and a “portless” iPhone 14. New metaverse patents by WalMart and Meta (the company formerly known as Facebook) as well as the enormous challenges of moderating social media and the emerging metaverse specifically were highlighted. The Democratic bill to address surveillance capitalism by “banning online surveillance advertising” was discussed. A new study showing we’re spending a third of of our waking hours looking at our smartphone screens, A really fast ARM processor for Chromebooks, and fast new HP Chromebooks were also highlighted. The health and wellness app “Welltory” and the recent cyberattack against Albuquerque Public Schools were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included Podchaser.com, the Chrome extension OneTab and the amazing “Moonrise Podcast” from the Washington Post. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Please sign up for our NEW SubStack newsletter to receive all our show links each week in your inbox, including links we are not able to discuss on edtechsr.substack.com. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Smaller Mac Pro with Apple Silicon to join Mac mini refresh in 2022 (Apple Insider; 2 January 2022)
  10. The iPhone 14 Is Unlikely to Be Portless, Here’s Why (Mac Rumors; 8 January 2022)
  11. Report: Apple Headset not an ‘all-day device,’ creating a metaverse ‘off limits’ (9 to 5 Mac; 9 January 2022)
  12. Walmart is getting serious about the metaverse (The Verge; 16 January 2022)
  13. How will Facebook keep its metaverse safe for users? (Financial Times, 12 Nov 2021)
  14. Facebook patents reveal how it intends to cash in on metaverse (Financial Times, 17 Jan 2022)
  15. The true cost of Amazon’s low prices (Recode, 13 Jan 2022)
  16. Democrats unveil bill to ban online ‘surveillance advertising’ (The Verge; 18 January 2021)
  17. We’re Spending a Third of Our Waking Hours Staring at Our Phones (PC Magazine; 12 January 2022)
  18. Mediatek’s New Kompanio 1380 ARM Processor Is Really, Really Fast [Video] (Chrome Unboxed; 19 January 2022)
  19. HP Unveils “Fortis” Brand For Blended Learning With Two Chromebooks In Tow (Chrome Unboxed; 18 January 2022)
  20. Welltory packs a lot of science into its app to measure your stress levels (TechCrunch, 8 Aug 2017)
  21. Albuquerque Schools Cancel Classes After Cyber Attack (Government Technology; 13 January 2022)
  22. Jason’s Geek of the Week: podchaser.com
  23. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: OneTab and Moonrise Podcast (Washington Post)

EdTechSR Ep 245 Roblox as Metaverse

Welcome to episode 245 (“Roblox as Metaverse”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 12, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed a recent explosive Guardian article about Roblox and child labor. Rumored Apple glasses which auto-adjust to a user’s prescription, Windows 11 post-install tips, a hotel chain which ransomware inspired to drop WindowsOS for ChromeOS, and a Google Street View mafia arrest story were also highlighted article topics. Improvements to Google File Stream for Google Drive, live translated captions in Google Meet, T-Mobile’s blocking of iCloud Private Relay, and the overwhelming seriousness of the LOG4J security vulneratibility were topics rounding out this weeks’ show. Geeks of the Week included the DD-WRT open source router firmware project, the Milkeshake web design app, and Infinite Painter software. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Please sign up for our NEW SubStack newsletter to receive all our show links each week in your inbox, including links we are not able to discuss on edtechsr.substack.com. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. The trouble with Roblox, the video game empire built on child labour (The Guardian, 9 Jan 2022)
  10. “Tech Won’t Save Us” Podcast Episode: “How Roblox Exploits Children w/ Quintin Smith” https://pca.st/vk0h73a7
  11. Apple glasses could adjust lenses to match user’s prescription (Apple Insider; 11 January 2022)
  12. Windows 11 at First Glance: Here Are the First 10 Things You Should Do After Installing the New OS on Your PC (Tech Times; 4 January 2022)
  13. Windows 11 could soon run better on less powerful hardware (Tech Radar; 7 January 2022)
  14. Hotel chain converts Windows PCs to Chrome OS using CloudReady after ransomware attack (9to5 Google, 7 Jan 2022)
  15. A Google Street View car spotted a missing criminal and it led to an arrest (Mashable, 8 Jan 2022)
  16. G Suite File Stream Now Allows Personal Gmail Accounts To Sync Drive With Their PC Or Mac (Chrome Unboxed; 3 October 2020)
  17. Neverware CloudReady Download
  18. After ruining Android messaging, Google says iMessage is too powerful (ArsTechnica, 10 Jan 2022)
  19. Live Translated Captions Are Now Able In Google Meet To Reduce Language Proficiency Barriers (Chrome Unboxed; 12 January 2022)
  20. T-Mobile begins blocking iPhone users from enabling iCloud Private Relay in the US (9 to 5 Mac, 10 Jan 2022)
  21. The FTC Wants Companies to Find Log4j Fast. It Won’t Be Easy (Wired, 10 Jan 2022)
  22. CISA director says the LOG4J security flaw is the “most serious” she’s seen in her career (CNBC, 16 Dec 2021)
  23. White House to launch COVID test-ordering site ‘by this weekend,’ reports say (The Verge; 12 January 2022)
  24. Jason’s Geek of the Week: DD-WRT
  25. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Milkshake App (example) and: Infinite Painter (iOS & Google Play)

EdTechSR Ep 244 Join our SubStack

Welcome to episode 244 (“Join our SubStack”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 5, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the case of two California teachers secretly recorded talking about LGBTQ student outreach, who used student laptop monitoring software to identify prospective club members. The DuckDuckGo privacy desktop web browser and Americans’ distrust of social media companies were also discussed. On the Google front, the new capability to host up to 500 meeting participants in a Google Meet videoconference for paying Google Workspace customers, changes to the “Your News Update” for the Google Assistant, and the potential dangers (according to the EFF) of the Google Chrome “Manifest V3” user tracking standard were highlighted. UBlock Origin as a free ad-blocking extension for Chrome and FireFox was extolled / recommend, and Google’s announced “major improvements” to Android were explored. Lastly, some tales of algorithmic poor choices by automated podcast advertisement selection programs were discussed. Geeks of the week included MapCrunch, James Webb space telescope links, and a good (but troubling) podcast about fascism in America by Vox Conversations. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Please sign up for our NEW SubStack newsletter to receive all our show links each week in your inbox, including links we are not able to discuss on edtechsr.substack.com. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Two California teachers were secretly recorded speaking about LGBTQ student outreach. Now they’re fighting for their jobs (San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Dec 2021) – PDF version
  10. DuckDuckGo is working on a privacy-focused desktop browser (The Verge; 21 December 2021)
  11. Americans widely distrust Facebook, TikTok and Instagram with their data, poll finds (Washington Post, 22 Dec 2021 – gift link!)
  12. Host Google Meet meetings with up to 500 participants (Google Workspace Blog, 16 Nov 2021)
  13. Google Assistant gets rid of ‘Your News Update’ audio digest (9to5Google, 5 Nov 2021)
  14. Chrome Users Beware: Manifest V3 is Deceitful and Threatening (EFF, 9 Dec 2021)
  15. UBlock Origin for Chrome – for FireFox
  16. Google Announces Major Improvements To Android Better Together At CES 2022 (Chrome Unboxed; 5 January 2022)
  17. Seriously, Affordable Chromebooks Are Getting Really Good [Video] (Chrome Unboxed; 19 June 2021)
  18. Podcasters Are Letting Software Pick Their Ads — It’s Already Going Awry (The Verge; 4 January 2022)
  19. Jason’s Geek of the Week: MapCrunch
  20. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: James Webb Telescope Wonder Links and Why fascism in America isn’t going away (Vox Conversations Podcast)

EdTechSR Ep 243 Bad Idea Alexa

Welcome to episode 243 (“Bad Idea Alexa”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 29, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Alexa sharing a dangerous TikTok challenge, LastPass credential stuffing, and cybersecurity discoveries in 2021. Russia’s Google fine, Texas’ misguided social media law, and a New York Times editorial challenging us to figure out what to do with our amazingly powerful technology tools were also highlighted articles. Predictions for how Apple may transform the Macbook Air in 2022, a lawsuit from earlier in 2021 challenging Apple’s use of the word “buy” instead of “rent” in the iTunes store, and ways our cloud-based infrastructure model is broken were also discussed. A shout out to the Smarter Every Day video, “Is Your Privacy An Illusion? (Taking on Big Tech)” and a brief mention of a complex San Francisco Chronicle article about a secret recording of a teacher presentation were topics rounding out the show. (We’ll talk more about the last article next time.) Geeks of the Week included Coffitivity, Xway web design software, and Wes’ latest blog post on social media stories, Instagram Reels and Mojo Videos. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com, and compressed to a smaller video version (about 100MB) on AmazonS3 using Handbrake software. 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. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  2. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  3. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  4. Video version on YouTube
  5. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  6. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  7. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  8. Alexa told a child to do potentially lethal ‘challenge’ (The Verge; 28 December 2021)
  9. LastPass confirms credential stuffing attack against some of its users (THe Record; 28 December 2021)
  10. 6 things in cybersecurity we didn’t know last year (Tech Crunch; 29 December 2021)
  11. Russia fines Google $100 million for not removing banned content (Axios, 24 Dec 2021)
  12. Judge tears apart Texas social media law for violating First Amendment (ArsTechnica, 2 Dec 2021)
  13. Tech Won. Now What? (New York Times; 23 December 2021)
  14. 5 ways Apple will radically transform the MacBook Air next year (MacWorld; 19 December 2021)
  15. Apple sued for terminating account with $25,000 worth of apps and videos (ArsTechnica, 23 April 2021)
  16. ‘The cloud’ may be great but it’s also horribly broken (Android Central; 18 December 2021)
  17. Video: Is Your Privacy An Illusion? (Taking on Big Tech) – Smarter Every Day 263
  18. Two California teachers were secretly recorded speaking about LGBTQ student outreach. Now they’re fighting for their jobs (San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Dec 2021)
  19. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Coffitivity
  20. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Xway web design software (Wes’ archived sites) – Social Media Stories, Instagram Reels & Mojo Videos