EdTechSR Ep 257 Elon Buys Twitter

Welcome to episode 257 (“Elon Buys Twitter”) of the EdTech Situation Room from April 27, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Elon Musk’s pending acquisition of Twitter, continued controversy over abusive uses of Apple’s AirTags, Apple’s new DIY phone repair service, and the updated Apple Studio Display webcam. On the Google Front, the trademark filing for the “Pixel Watch,” a new policy to remove search results “that dox you,” and the end of Ohio State University’s iPad 1:1 program were also discussed. BigTech bills moving through the US Congress, Ukrainian hacks of Russian IT infrastructure, and advanced drones in the Ukraine – Russian war were topics rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included Resilio File Sync, a video of a Chinese done warning on a residential balcony, and a new “Speed of Creativity” podcast. 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. Apple’s AirTags keep being tagged in domestic abuse cases (Digital Trends; 8 April 2022)
  10. Apple’s DIY repair service is now available in the US (The Verge; 27 April 2022)
  11. Here’s what the updated Apple Studio Display webcam looks like (The Verge; 27 April 2022)
  12. Google files trademark for ‘Pixel Watch’ ahead of device’s launch (9 to 5 Google; 22 April 2022)
  13. Google files trademark for Pixel Watch name (Verge, 22 April 2022)
  14. Google may now remove search results that dox you (The Verge; 27 April 2022)
  15. Ohio State University ends program to give iPads to new students (9 to 5 Mac; 27 April 2022)
  16. The Senate bill that has Big Tech scared (Wired, 9 April 2022)
  17. Chuck Schumer “Working Closely With Senator Klobuchar” to Whip Votes for Antitrust Bills (Intercept, 27 April 2022)
  18. Elon Musk and the $43 billion bid: all of the updates about his takeover of Twitter (The Verge)
  19. Trump says he won’t leave Truth Social, despite Musk’s Twitter takeover (The Verge; 25 April 2022)
  20. Elon Musk, Twitter’s next owner, provides his definition of “free speech” (ArsTechnica, 27 April 2022)
  21. Russia Is Being Hacked at an Unprecedented Scale (Wired, 27 April 2022)
  22. Ghost: The New Kamikaze Drone Ukraine Will Use to Battle Russia in Donbas (1945, 22 April 2022)
  23. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Resilio File Sync
  24. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Chinese Balcony Drone Threat and Podcast478: Updates and Classroom Favorites

EdTechSR Ep 242 Birds Are Real

Welcome to episode 242 (“Birds Are Real”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 15, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the Log4j security flaw, bluetooth security risks, Apple AirTags used in harmful ways, changes for LastPass as it becomes an independent company (sold by LogMeIn), Life360’s announced purchase of Tile and the possible privacy implications, and the fascinating (and admittedly false) Gen Z conspiracy theory “Birds Aren’t Real.” Adobe’s launch of “Creative Cloud Express” to replace Adobe Spark Post, Pixlr’s enhancements for stylus users, and a possible solution to solve the rural-urban digital divide were also discussed topics. The security (or insecurity) of a Chromebook post-ChromeOS updates, the “snooping detection” included in ChromeOS 98, and reasons to update to iOS 15.2 were security related articles rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included the National Geographic “Storytellers Summit” January 26-28, 2022, the Google Canvas web-based drawing platform (free!), and the New York Times Best of 2021 lists. 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. NOTE WE WILL NOT HAVE A SHOW ON DECEMBER 22, but will be back on December 29th. 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. ‘The Internet Is on Fire’ – Java framework security flaw / issue (Wired, 10 Dec 2021) – Daily Mail clickbait
  9. Kamala Harris is right to be wary of Bluetooth headphones (cNet; 8 December 2021)
  10. Apple AirTags become useful tool for Canadian carjackers (cNet; 8 December 2021)
  11. Apple releases Android app to help find sneaky AirTags (The Verge; 12 December 2021)
  12. LastPass working on a ‘delightful’ mobile app as it becomes an independent company (9 to 5 Google; 14 December 2021)
  13. Life360 makes millions selling location data, and it’s about to buy Tile (The Verge; 9 December 2021)
  14. Birds Aren’t Real, or Are They? Inside a Gen Z Conspiracy Theory (New York Times; 9 December 2021)
  15. Adobe launches Creative Cloud Express, a new app that simplifies its powerful editing tools (The Verge; 13 December 2021)
  16. Pixlr Photo Editing Web App Gains Pen Pressure, More Exciting Features For 2022 (Chrome Unboxed; 7 December 2021)
  17. How to solve the rural-urban digital divide (High Country News; 6 December 2021)
  18. How secure is a Chromebook after it stops getting Chrome OS updates? (About Chromebooks; 14 December 2021)
  19. Chrome OS 98 adds Chromebook snooping detection to watch your back (About Chromebooks; 8 December 2021)
  20. Here’s why you should update your iPhone to iOS 15.2 (9 to 5 Mac; 13 December 2021)
  21. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Storyteller’s Summit by National Geographic: Jan 26-28, 2022 and Google Canvas
  22. Jason’s Geek of the Week: New York Times Best of 2021

EdTechSR Ep 222 Ransomware Canary Speaks

Welcome to episode 222 (“Ransomware Canary Speaks”) of the EdTech Situation Room from June 9, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed our ongoing computer chip shortage and likely impacts, the FCC-managed $7 billion connectivity fund for U.S. schools, and tech reviews on Lon.TV. Media recommendations from Wes’ middle school students, Apple’s WWDC 2021 announcements (just a few of them, there were a TON of newly announced features) and Apple’s forthcoming AirTag improvements were also highlighted. A clever video of AirTag tracking sent to North Korea, Tim Cook and Elon Musk, Amazon Prime Day June 21-22, the password breach behind the Colonial Pipeline hack, and the FBI Director’s Ransomware 9-11 warning / comparison were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included ArcGIS StoryMaps, River Runner, a permanent Minecraft enchantment, and the Digital Learning Annual Conference. Please see our shownotes for links to all these articles and resources! 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. Note we will be on a 4 week summer break starting next week! Our next show will be Wednesday, July 14, 2021. 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. Cisco says computer chip shortage to last six months (BBC; 25 April 2021)
  9. FCC Finalizes $7 Billion Connectivity Fund: What Districts and Vendors Need to Know (EdWeek Market Brief, 12 May 2021)
  10. Lon.TV (great video reviews)
  11. Media Recommendations (including YouTube videos) from Casady School 5th & 6th Graders
  12. Everything Apple announced in its WWDC 2021 keynote: iOS 15, macOS Monterey, more (9 to 5 Mac; 7 June 2021)
  13. Apple announces AirTag privacy improvements, Android app coming this year (9 to 5 Mac; 3 June 2021)
  14. VIDEO: I sent an AirTag to North Korea, Tim Cook and Elon Musk!
  15. Amazon Prime Day set for June 21 and 22 (CNBC; 2 June 2021)
  16. Hackers Breached Colonial Pipeline Using Compromised Password (Bloomberg; 4 June 2021)
  17. FBI Director Compares Ransomware Challenge to 9/11 (WSJ; 4 June 2021)
  18. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: ArcGIS StoryMapsRiver Runner (via @cogdog) – Minecraft “Curse Binding Enchantment”
  19. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Digital Learning Annual Conference, Next Week… Online!
 by steve p2008, on Flickr
” (CC BY 2.0) by steve p2008

EdTechSR Ep 218 Facebook’s Doom Looms

Welcome to episode 218 (“Facebook’s Doom Looms”) of the EdTech Situation Room from May 5, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the decision of the Facebook Oversight Board to maintain (for now) Donald Trump’s ban on the platform, Section 230 and possible tech company regulation by the US Congress, and “the normalization of deviance” on Facebook. Twitter’s AI bot flagging ‘mean tweets,’ Facebook’s plea to users to allow life tracking on iOS 14.5, Signal’s jarring (and revealing) advertisement campaign on Facebook, and China’s efforts to dominate the global electric car market were also discussed. A new CRISPR-challenger for gene editing, a decade old Dell security flaw, AirTags and privacy, and news from the ongoing Apple vs. Epic lawsuit were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included some recommended Star Wars videos on YouTube and Hacker News. Please see our shownotes for links to all these articles and resources! 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.

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. Facebook ban on Trump upheld by Facebook Oversight Board, but decision opens door to his possible return (USA Today, 5 May 2021)
  9. Trump ban: Republicans threaten to break up Facebook after Oversight Board decision (Fox News, 5 May 2021)
  10. Video: ‘Nightmare situation for Facebook’: What the Trump ruling means (CNN, 5 May 2021)
  11. Good Riddance, Donald Trump? (OpEd by Kara Swisher, NYT, 5 May 2021) – via @pgeorge
  12. Section 230 (English WikiPedia)
  13. Facebook and the Normalization of Deviance (New Yorker, 2 May 2021)
  14. Twitter begins to show prompts before people send ‘mean’ replies (NBC News, 5 May 2021)
  15. Donald Trump’s ‘social media platform’ has launched and it’s just a blog (The Verge; 4 May 2021)
  16. Facebook encourages iOS 14.5 users to enable tracking so its apps remain ‘free of charge’ (9 to 5 Mac; 2 May 2021)
  17. Signal Tries to Run the Most Honest Facebook Ad Campaign Ever, Immediately Gets Banned (Gizmodo; 4 May 2021)
  18. As Cars Go Electric, China Builds a Big Lead in Factories (NY Times, 4 May 2021)
  19. Harvard scientists create gene-editing tool that could rival CRISPR (Engadget, 1 May 2021)
  20. Dell security flaw from 2009 affects ‘hundreds of millions’ of PCs: How to fix it (PC Magazine; 5 May 2021)
  21. How to Set Up Every iOS 14.5 Feature Worth Knowing About (LifeHacker; 5 May 2021)
  22. AirTag review: An easy-to-use item tracker empowered by a network of a billion iPhone users (9 to 5 Mac; 4 May 2021)
  23. I tracked my kid with Apple’s Airtags to test its privacy features (CNN; 5 May 2021)
  24. The Epic vs. Apple Hearing Is Already a Disaster (Gizmodo, 3 May 2021)
  25. As Epic case begins, senior Google engineer undermines one of Apple’s arguments (9 to 5 Mac; 3 May 2021)
  26. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Celebrating May the 4th in a Galaxy Far, Far Away and Star Wars 1978 Remix (Lubbock, Texas)
  27. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Hacker News