Welcome to episode 256 (“Library Chromebook Connectivity”) of the EdTech Situation Room from April 13, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed libraries, Chromebooks and Internet hotspots, privacy and the information you’re likely agreeing to share with faceless data brokers when you file taxes electronically, and the digital faces of the ongoing Russian-instigated war in Ukraine. New features of Adobe CC Express on Chromebooks were also highlighted, along with the New York Times’ new guidelines for journalists on Twitter use. Geeks of the Week included “Canva Design Skills for Students” and a tutorial video on using Google Jamboard with Google Classroom. 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!
Welcome to episode 253 (“Vimeo Pivots”) of the EdTech Situation Room from March 23, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google news, Apple news, changes to Vimeo’s business model and pricing tiers, TMobile’s cheapest wireless plan, the challenges of being an independent creator / “creative” / creative entrepreneur, and how “WikiPedia gets to define what is true online.” Geeks of the Week included a “How to Fix The Internet” podcast episode, a Scratch Studio for Scratch’s 15th birthday, and a Wired tutorial on using Google Drive’s new search tools. 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!
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!
Welcome to episode 230 (“Don’t Shame WikiPedians”) of the EdTech Situation Room from September 9, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google’s new ChromeOS notetaking web app, Cursive, Microsoft’s addition of “Reading” to MS Teams, and Windows 11 CPU requirements for older computers. Apple’s upcoming September 14th iPhone event and Twitter powered notification service, a call to stop “source shaming” the use of WikiPedia in academic research, and the regulatory effort in Germany to required 7 years of smartphone operating system updates were highlighted. Also on the Google front, an op-ed advocating for a ‘fix’ to auto-installs on new Chromebooks, a UK study highlighting the high frequency of extremist views among students in schools, and a report revealing continued problems with AI-powered facial recognition for black men were discussed. Additional topics included the start of “Super Follower Subscriptions” on Twitter, the expected dramatic reduction in price for Starlink Internet connectivity, Starlink’s projected expansion of production, and Logitech’s new technology to improve security for wireless computer peripherals. Geeks of the Week included the recent Angry Planet podcast episode, “Space: Final Frontier or Billionaires Playground,” the web advertising and data harvesting demo site how-i-experience-web-today.com, and the subscription-based iOS / WatchOS app, SleepWatch. 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!
Welcome to episode 221 (“iPad as Laptop NO”) of the EdTech Situation Room from June 2, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the merits of the iPad as a potential, functional replacement for a MacOS laptop, a wishlist for iPadOS features, the risks of purchasing an Apple Watch Series 3 today, and the forthcoming, speedy Mac Mini. A positive review of the Apple iMac M1 rounded out this week’s Apple-related discussions. On the social media front, the abrupt self-termination of Donald Trump’s new blog website, Twitter’s plans for a subscription service, and ongoing challenges for the SEC posted by Elon Musk’s tweets were discussed. The death by buyout of Nuzzel by Twitter was mentioned, and an excellent Twitter thread by Robert G Reeve was reviewed which highlights the alarming (and creepy) ways social media apps and advertising algorithms powered by our modern surveillance state make uncanny content suggestions which cause many to think (falsely!) that “their phones are listening to them.” Amazon’s plan to share your network with your neighbors was the last topic rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included “The Best MacOS Utility Apps” and a “New Laptop Without Tears” tutorial video. 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.
I'm back from a week at my mom's house and now I'm getting ads for her toothpaste brand, the brand I've been putting in my mouth for a week. We never talked about this brand or googled it or anything like that.
As a privacy tech worker, let me explain why this is happening. 🧵
Welcome to episode 213 (“Order Chromebooks NOW”) of the EdTech Situation Room from March 31, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed remote work post-pandemic, continuing electronic component shortages, proliferating firmware attacks, and President Biden’s new nationwide infrastructure package. AT&T’s lobbying efforts to perpetuate the digital divide (prevent a nationwide fiber rollout and keep “high speed Internet” definitions low at 10 Mbps), pundit dreams of a widened scope for Facebook’s Oversight Board, and Facebook’s proposed regulatory changes of Section 230 were also highlighted. The surprisingly small number of people responsible for most of the global anti-vaccination disinformation, the promise of USI styluses for Chromebooks, improvements to Google Drive search, and the challenges of long-term Android updates on smartphones were discussed as well. Google’s plans to refrain from April Fools Day video pranking for a second consecutive year, controversy over Amazon’s new biometric mandates for delivery drivers, and Parler’s recent user lessons on legal free speech, and a delightful Twitter bracket for “the greatest product of all time” (won by Google search) were topics rounding on the show. Geeks of the week included an article about The Louvre’s digitization of 482,000 Artworks, and the disturbing (but important) article by Lyz Lenz, “When The Mob Comes.” 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.
Welcome to episode 136 of the EdTech Situation Room from May 29, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed school cybersecurity, a shocking iPhone security vulnerability for WhatsApp, NASA’s free media library, and copyright issues in Houston ISD as well as for YouTube Creators. Distorted political videos about Nancy Pelosi, Google’s disappointing move to disable ‘modern browser ad blocking extensions,’ and the new iPod Touch from Apple were also discussed. The availability of “Adobe Premiere Rush” for Android, Chromebook support expiration dates, and projected price increases for cheap Chromebooks were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included a Google Home podcast mystery, the killer robot documentary, “Slaughterbots,” and the “Against the Rules” podcast, from Michael Lewis. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can (normally) 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.
Welcome to episode 117 of the EdTech Situation Room from December 5, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Topics for the show included Microsoft’s embrace of Chromium for their Windows10 web browser, the death of the Edge Browser, best choices on Mac laptops for schools after October’s special Apple event, and the perils of YouTube networks for content creators. The recent unfortunate content filtering / inappropriate content access situation on a Chromebook in Ridgewood Schools, New Jersey, reasons most doctors seem to hate their computer systems at work, Rudy Giuliani’s recent demonstration of Twitter ignorance, and a recent, amazing robot video from Boston Dynamics rounded out the show. We did have some technical glitches for about two minutes in the middle of this show, but that portion has been edited out of the downloadable audio and video versions posted here. Geeks of the week included TechSoup for nonprofits and an excellent podcast series on “The Daily” by the New York Times, “What The West Got Wrong About China.” Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can (normally) 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. Next week’s show will our holiday “Technology Shopping Cart” episode, check our shownotes for a link to our publicly editable Google Doc so you can share your own holiday tech tips for Santa!
Please join us on Wed, December 12th for our special "Technology Shopping Cart" edition of the EdTech Situation Room! Add holiday gift ideas & suggestions to our collaborative Google Doc in advance (whether or not you can join live!): https://t.co/eYoTF2yTsk#edtechSR#edtechpic.twitter.com/XU8qx0zCAY
Nightmare for school officials in any 1:1 laptop or device take-home initiative: “Outcry For Alleged Sexual-Murder Video On Ridgewood School Laptop” #edtech via @KevinCTofel cc #edtechSRhttps://t.co/Db4QJuTkn6
Welcome to episode 106 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 5, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) reflected on the 20th anniversary of Google and the 10th anniversary of the Chrome web browser, and the long way we’ve come in the ensuing years. Other topics included “the technology correction” with an excellent article arguing for the breakup of Facebook based on current U.S. anti-trust law, proposed revisions to anti-trust law which could be applied to large technology companies including Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple, and this week’s Congressional testimony by technology leaders in Washington D.C. The ethical dimensions of corporate developed and sold spyware, the question of liability for developers when their spyware is used by governments against human rights advocates and political opponents, and the ongoing advocacy by Western governments for security “back doors” in technology platforms were also discussed. The threat posed by new European copyright laws to the open Internet, Apple’s upcoming event on September 12th and leaks suggesting new iPhone models and a 4th generation Apple watch, and the success of the Google Pixelbook in sparking the availability of higher end Chromebooks rounded out the show’s articles. Geeks of the Week included the GeoMap website and application Relive, and CloudReady by Neverware for breathing new Chrome life into older computers. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC.
Welcome to episode 105 of the EdTech Situation Room from August 29, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the challenges of filtering / censoring Internet content at school and now (in the U.K.) at a national level through ISPs. The privacy perils and potential subpoena conflicts relating to cell phone location tracking, the ethical challenges of “native advertising” in podcasts, rumors of Apple removing 3D touch in forthcoming iPhones, and the security danger of sideloading Fortnight software on Android devices were also discussed. Final topics included the monstrous challenges facing Facebook in moderating user generated content on its platform worldwide for 2 billion people and the way Facebook is adopting a trustworthy scale for users in its fight against fake news. Geeks of the week included the Stikbot Studio app for iOS, Google Assistant’s “Tell me something good” new feature, YouTube’s new built-in screen monitoring / management tools, and the keyboard shortcut Control/Command K in Google Docs to add links. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC.
