Welcome to episode 102 of the EdTech Situation Room from August 8, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed an update to this summer’s MacBook Pro Throttling Controversy, the upcoming death of Flash functionality in 2020, and the importance of being wary when you see pop-up ads to “update flash” and other software on your computer. The recent decisions by Apple, YouTube/Google and Facebook to ban / take down websites and media channels of Alex Jones / InfoWars was also addressed, along with Facebook’s takedown of suspected Russian network pages. Jason shared a shout-out to the helpful updating software “Ninite” for Windows, and Wes shared a shout out to his school’s “Digital Citizenship Conversations” website as well. The perils of digital voting was discussed, along with the ongoing controversy over 3D printable guns. Amy Webb’s recent prediction that “smartphones will be gone in 10 years” and other trends identified through her “Future Today Institute.” The recent news that voice-based phone calls are finally in decline in Britain, Logitech’s purchase of Blue Microphones, a cautionary tale for users of free VPN services whose data is sold to advertisers, and an eye opening Guardian article about Russian hacking forums were also highlighted in the show. Google’s required use of physical identity keys for two step verification and the perils of using SMS as well as app-based verification methods for two step authentication was explored as well. Geeks of the week included Promevo (by Jason) and Explorables (by Wes). Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR to stay up to date about upcoming shows, and share feedback with us about the show on Twitter or via a comment on our website.
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- Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
- Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
- Update: Apple Addresses MacBook Pro Throttling Controversy After Working With YouTuber Dave Lee (MacRumors; 24 July 2018)
- Senator Asks US Government to Remove Flash From Federal Sites, Computers (Bleeping Computer, 25 July 2018)
- Ninite: Install and Update All Your Programs at Once
- Op-ed – Alex Jones is a crackpot—but banning him from Facebook might be a bad idea (ArsTechnica, 6 Aug 2018)
- Facebook confirms discovery of new ‘inauthentic’ social media campaign ahead of US midterm elections (The Verge; 31 July 2018)
- Facebook takes down suspected Russian network of pages (CNN; 31 July 2018)
- Digital Citizenship Conversations website from Casady School
- Experts criticize West Virginia’s plan for smartphone voting (ArsTechnica, 8 Aug 2018)
- 3D-printed (and CNC-milled) guns: Nine questions you were too afraid to ask (5 Aug 2018)
- Smartphones will be gone in 10 years (Amy Webb in Business Insider, 30 Oct 2017)
- 235 Emerging Tech Trends For 2018 (Amy Webb, 25 March 2018)
- Amy Webb: Futurist and Author
- Future Today Institute
- Voice calls drop despite smartphone fever (BBC News; 1 August 2018)
- Logitech Buys Blue Microphones (PC Magazine; 31 July 2018)
- Be Careful With Free VPNs: Your Data Might Be Going to Advertisers (PC magazine; 31 July 2018)
- My terrifying deep dive into one of the largest dark web hacking forums (Guardian, 24 July 2018)
- Google – Security Keys Neutralized Employee Phishing (Brian Krebs, 23 July 2018)
- Google made the Titan Key to toughen up your online security (CNet; 25 July 2018)
- Reddit Breach Highlights Limits of SMS-Based Authentication (Brian Krebs, 1 Aug 2018)
- Have I Been Hacked / Pwned (use your email address to check if it was part of historic information hacks)
- Jason’s Geek of the Week: Promevo – G Suite and Chromebook Reseller
- Wes’ Geek of the Week: “Explorables: snippets of complexity” by @DirkBrockmann
