EdTechSR Ep 263 TikTok is Dangerous

Welcome to episode 263 (“TikTok is Dangerous”) of the EdTech Situation Room from June 29, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed security and TikTok, Chromebook / ChromeOS updates, and font/styling updates for Google Forms. Nostalgia for the iPhone’s initial sale 15 years ago, the inevitable transition to USB-C for iOS devices, “the curse of our data,” and tweaks to Twitter were additional discussion topics this week. Geeks of the Week included Project Hail Mary, reflections on a robotics workshop and the video “PrimeCuber.” 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. An FCC commissioner calls on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, saying it’s a national security risk (Business Insider, 28 Jun 2022)
  10. Leaked Audio From 80 Internal TikTok Meetings Shows That US User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China (BuzzFeed News, 17 June 2022)
  11. Chromebooks have become the Swiss Army Knife of computing (Chrome Unboxed; 21 June 2022)
  12. Chromebooks get these 7 new Chrome OS 103 features (About Chromebooks; 28 June 2022)
  13. Google Forms gains more fonts and styling options (Chrome Unboxed; 22 June 2022)
  14. Mr. Chromebox (Custom coreboot firmware and firmware utilities for your Chromebook/Chromebox)
  15. 15 Years Ago Today, the iPhone Went On Sale (MacRumors, 29 Jun 2022)
  16. Avoiding USB-C on iPhones may get harder for Apple as Brazil considers mandate (ArsTechnica, 29 Jun 2022)
  17. Our Data Is a Curse, With or Without Roe (New York Times; 29 June 2022) – Gift Link
  18. Twitter tests ‘notes’ feature with 2,500 word limit (BBC News; 23 June 2022)
  19. Twitter Write: Notes (Official Twitter support page)
  20. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Project Hail Mary
  21. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Reflections on Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy (Part 1) and Primecuber (video)

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 255 Facebook Hates TikTok

Welcome to episode 255 (“Facebook Hates TikTok”) of the EdTech Situation Room from April 6, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Twitter news, BigTech / the “Technology Correction,” Microsoft news, Google news, some “tales from family IT support,” and what we might learn from Flat Earther conspiracy theorists. Geeks of the Week included web-based alternatives to popular software applications and a tutorial video on creating print-on-demand paperback books from BookCreator.com eBooks. 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. Twitter is adding an edit button (The Verge; 5 April 2022)
  10. Elon Musk giving ‘serious thought’ to build a new social media platform (Reuters, 26 March 2022)
  11. Trump’s Truth Social app branded a disaster (BBC News, 3 April 2022)
  12. Elizabeth Warren’s plan to break up Big Everything (Recode; 5 April 2022)
  13. Get your facts straight with new Google Search fact-checking features (Chrome Unboxed; 31 March 2022)
  14. How Activists Use Social Media for Good — and You Can Too (cNet; 5 April 2022)
  15. Your Digital Footprint: It’s Bigger Than You Realize (cNet; 4 April 2022)
  16. Opinion: Enough failures. We need a federal privacy law. (Washington Post, 30 March 2022)
  17. Facebook paid GOP firm to malign TikTok (Washington Post, 30 March)
  18. Windows 11’s refreshed File Explorer gets tabs, favorites, and a new homepage (The Verge; 5 April 2022)
  19. Windows 11’s new meeting features improve eye contact, framing, and background blur (The Verge; 5 April 2022)
  20. You can finally set Chrome as your default browser on Windows 11 with one click again (Chrome Unboxed; 1 April 2022)
  21. Google Docs will start nudging some users to write less dumbly (The Verge; 1 April 2022)
  22. Google Docs to get Grammarly-like features in selected Workspace and EDU tiers (Chrome Unboxed; 1 April 2022)
  23. Google Docs gets expanded Markdown autocorrect support (Chrome Unboxed; 30 March 2022)
  24. Chrome’s Side Panel receiving private notes, Reader Mode to be renamed “Read Anything” (Chrome Unboxed; 5 April 2022)
  25. Google Meet will open the flood gates later this year with new YouTube live streaming feature (Chrome Unboxed; 31 March 2022)
  26. New Google ‘highly cited’ label focuses on tackling misinformation, highlighting original reporting (Mashable, 31 March 2022)
  27. Changes to how file downloads are handled in Firefox version 98 (Mozilla Support Blog)
  28. What we can learn from people who take the Flat Earth theory seriously (Grid News, 4 April 2022)
  29. Jason’s Geek of the Week: 30+ Web-Based Alternatives to Traditional Desktop Apps for Chromebooks and PCs (HowToGeek)
  30. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Preparing Book Creator eBooks to Print on Lulu.com (19 min)

EdTechSR Ep 254 ChromeOS Oh My

Welcome to episode 254 (“ChromeOS Oh My”) of the EdTech Situation Room from March 30, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google / ChromeOS news, Microsoft news, Apple news, technology headlines from the ongoing war in Ukraine, BigTech / The “Tech Correction,” and one article about Space Force. Geeks of the Week included an excellent Ezra Klein interview with Margaret Atwood, and early bird pricing for NCCE 2022! 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 virtual desks are getting a useful upgrade (About Chromebooks; 24 March 2022)
  10. Cameyo introduces PWA Windows apps for Chrome OS (Chrome Unboxed; 23 March 2022)
  11. Chrome OS: “A better Linux than Linux” so you can forget about Windows (TechRadar, 18 March 2022)
  12. How to identify images in Chrome using Google Lens (Chrome Unboxed; 23 March 2022)
  13. Chrome for Mac, Windows, & CrOS add Side Panel for accessing bookmarks, Reading List [U] (9 to 5 Google; 25 March 2022)
  14. Windows 11 version 22H2: Everything we know about Microsoft’s next big OS update (Windows Central; 23 March 2022)
  15. Microsoft Surface Laptop Se Review: Just Get A Chromebook (The Verge; 25 March 2022)
  16. Apple is reportedly planning a 15-inch MacBook Air (The Verge; 25 March 2022)
  17. Russia is risking the creation of a “splinternet”—and it could be irreversible (Technology Review; MIT Technology Review; 17 March 2022)
  18. How War in Ukraine Roiled Facebook and Instagram (NY Times, 30 March 2022)
  19. TikTok faces investigation into its impact on young people’s mental health (The Verge; 8 March 2022)
  20. Facebook paid GOP firm to malign TikTok (Washington Post, 30 March 2022)
  21. WithFed Up  Google, Conspiracy Theorists Turn to DuckDuckGo (The New York Times; 23 February 2022)
  22. The free speech search engine that never was (Recode; 16 March 2022)
  23. Space Force Gets Roughly 40% Increase in Biden Request (Defense One, 28 March 2022)
  24. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Margaret Atwood on Stories, Deception and the Bible (Ezra Klein Podcast)
  25. Jason’s Geek of the Week: NCCE 2022 Early Bird Pricing Ends THURSDAY!

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 documentaryControl-F Project
  33. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Vista Create

EdTechSR Ep 224 Stores Watch You

Welcome to episode 224 (“Stores Watch You”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 21, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the extent of retail facial recognition and why it matters, Automattic’s acquisition of PocketCasts, the recent FTC ruling supporting the “Right to Repair,” and ongoing proposals for “Big Tech Regulation” / “The Tech Correction.” Additional topics highlighted included useful iOS apps for sketchnoting, Chromebook advice, improvements in Zoom for ChromeOS, the increased national focus on vaccine disinformation and more. 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. 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. Popular Podcast App Pocket Casts Joins Automattic (The WordPress Blog; 21 July 2021)
  9. From Macy’s to Albertsons, facial recognition is already everywhere (Recode; 19 July 2021)
  10. Fight for the Future Database
  11. The MAGA-targeted “Freedom Phone” has a breathtaking amount of red flags (ArsTechnica, 20 July 2021)
  12. “Right wing apps” Newsmax, OANN, Parler, and Rumble
  13. New Florida law doesn’t require university students, faculty and staff to register political views (PolitiFact, 25 June 2021)
  14. Twitter suspends Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for spreading covid-19 misinformation (Washington Post, 20 July 2021)
  15. The Best iPad Drawing Apps (That Aren’t Adobe Fresco) (Lifehacker; 30 June 2021)
  16. FTC unanimously adopts Right to Repair policy to reduce restrictions from manufacturers like Apple (9to5Mac, 21 July 2021)
  17. YouTube will make Unlisted videos uploaded before 2017 private next month (9 to 5 Google; 23 June 2021)
  18. Here’s why I can’t pick the best Chromebook (About Chromebooks, 8 July 2021)
  19. Zoom will get a more functional app for Chromebooks next week; PWA will be in Play Store (9 to 5 Google; 26 June 2021)
  20. Twitter May Start Labeling Your Tweets Based on How Wrong You Are (Gizmodo, 31 May 2021)
  21. Right or Left, You Should Be Worried About Big Tech Censorship (EFF; 16 July 2021)
  22. Twitter for iOS begins testing dislike button for some users (9to5Mac, 21 July 2021)
  23. Alarming number of Americans think vaccines contain microchips to control people (The Hill, 19 July 2021)
  24. ‘Facebook isn’t killing people’: Biden softens his attack over vaccine misinformation. (NY Times, 19 July 2021)
  25. A federal judge upholds Indiana University’s vaccination requirement for students (NY Times,  20 July 2021)