EdTechSR Ep 291 Refresh That Chromebook

Welcome to episode 291 (“Refresh That Chromebook”) of the EdTech Situation Room from April 26, 2023, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer@mastodon.cloud) discussed a variety of topics such as the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in education, AI-powered presentations, and music production, while addressing artists’ rights, online platform dangers for young people, and the importance of device durability. They also covered the recent iPhone 14 incident where its satellite connectivity helped save two stranded individuals and mentioned their “Geek of the Week” features like Scratch day and a new Google search feature. Additionally, the hosts promoted the upcoming Innovation Symposium in Montana, discussed high fees charged by Twitter and Facebook for verification checks, and invited listeners to join their live podcast. The episode encouraged educators and listeners to stay current with technology, carefully consider AI usage, and remain safe and tech-savvy. (AI Attribution: This podcast / video summary was initially generated with summarize.tech and slightly edited.) The 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 @edtechSR on Twitter and @edtechsr@mastodon.education on Mastodon for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights (normally) if you can at 9 pm Eastern / 8 pm Central / 7 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 and on Mastodon!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube – AI generated summary
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (Mastodon: @neif@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (Mastodon: @wfryer@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @wfryer ) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Discord member details how documents leaked from closed chat group (Washington Post, 12 April 2023) gift link
  10. From DrakeGPT to Infinite Grimes, AI-generated music strikes a chord (Tech Crunch; 26 April 2023)
  11. Google will reportedly release new AI-powered search tools next month (The Verge; 17 April 2023)
  12. iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite saves the day for Utah college kids trapped in 500-foot deep canyon (9to5Mac, 24 Apr 2023)
  13. Chinese Company Ditches Human Creatives for ChatGPT-Style AI (PC Magazine, 15 Apr 2023)
  14. OpenAI will let you turn off your chat history in ChatGPT (The Verge; 25 April 2023)
  15. [VIDEO] AI Required: Teaching in a New World with Ethan Mollick (YouTube: ASU+GSV 2023, 23 April 2023)
  16. Padlet-generated art to accompany student poetry
  17. Schools bought millions of Chromebooks in 2020 — and three years later, they’re starting to break (The Verge; 21 April 2023)
  18. Google may stop forcing Android apps on Chromebooks out of the box (Chrome Unboxed; 3 April 2023)
  19. We’s Geeks of the Week: Scratch Day – 13 May 2023!Google Search “3 Dots Trick”
  20. Jason’s Geeks of the Week: Eightify AI and Innovation Runs Through It
Chromebook Cart Setup” (CC BY 2.0) by Wesley Fryer

EdTechSR Ep 286 Mom Isn’t Calling

Welcome to episode 286 (“Mom Isn’t Calling”) of the EdTech Situation Room from March 22, 2023, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer@mastodon.cloud) discussed the ongoing impacts of artificial intelligence / AI including ChatGPT, the release of Minecraft for Chromebooks by Microsoft, the challenges to actors and voice actors posted by corporate contracts in the age of AI-powered voice creation, and the pending copyright / intellectual property case involving the Internet Archive and publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Wiley, and Penguin Random House. AI-faked images of Donald Trump’s arrest, a new interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and AI voice scams tricking people into believing their loved ones are calling in crisis and need help were also explored. The fate of the pirate eBook site Z-Library and the resignation of an FCC appointee because of a deluge of personal attacks on social media were discussed. Geeks of the Week included the uber-powerful package tracking website 17Track, and a wonderful new post by Steven B Johnson about lessons to be learned from historical innovation mistakes. (ChatGPT and other AI tools were NOT used for this week’s podcast summary, btw!) 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 9 pm Eastern / 8 pm Central / 7 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 and on Mastodon!
  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 (Mastodon: @neif@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (Mastodon: @wfryer@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @wfryer ) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Now for sale: Data on your mental health (Washington Post; 13 February 2023) – 🎁Link
  10. AI-faked images of Donald Trump’s imagined arrest swirl on Twitter (ArsTechnica, 21 March 2023)
  11. Sam Altman (English WikiPedia)
  12. Sam Altman Interview Video: OpenAI CEO, CTO on risks and how AI will reshape society
  13. Transcending Political Polarization (Wes Fryer, 21 March 2023)
  14. Google’s new AI chatbot seems boring. Maybe that’s the point. (Vox, 22 March 2023)
  15. “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models,” ARXIV/Cornell University; 23 March 2023
  16. Chat-GPT Pretended to Be Blind and Tricked a Human Into Solving a CAPTCHA (Gizmodo; 16 March 2023)
  17. Thousands scammed by AI voices mimicking loved ones in emergencies (ArsTechnica, 6 March 2023)
  18. Technology Fear Therapy | Wesley Fryer | TEDxUCO
  19. Stop Source-Shaming: Acknowledge Wikipedia in the research process (American Libraries, 1 Sept 2021)
  20. ‘Disrespectful to the Craft:’ Actors Say They’re Being Asked to Sign Away Their Voice to AI (Motherboard by Vice; 7 February 2023)
  21. Microsoft releases Minecraft for Chromebooks. Who needs the metaverse? (About Chromebooks / Kevin C Toefel, 15 March 2023)
  22. Hachette v. Internet Archive (EFF, date unclear?)
  23. Pirate e-book site Z-Library is back from the dead (Silicon Republic, 14 Feb 2023)
  24. Biden FCC nominee withdraws, blaming cable lobby and “unlimited dark money“ (ArsTechnica, 7 March 2023)
  25. Jason’s Geek of the Week: 17 Track
  26. Wes’ Geek of the Week: “The Brilliant Inventor Who Made Two of History’s Biggest Mistakes” by #stevenbjohnson #GiftLink http://wfryer.me/43w 
New Phone” (CC BY 2.0) by Willy D

EdTechSR Ep 280 LastPass Security Breach

Welcome to episode 280 (“LastPass Security Breach”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 11, 2023, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week’s topics include the recent breach of password manager LastPass and what that means for users, as well as security best-practices overall. (Spoiler: Keep using a recommended password manager!) Additional security articles discussed included leaked addresses of millions of Twitter users, and a Supreme Court decision allowing the NSO iPhone hacking (Pegasus spyware) case to move forward. On the Google front, the 2022 Chromebook of the year, enhanced spam prevention in Google Voice, and a review of the “Framework Chromebook” were highlighted and analyzed. Lastly, a variety of articles on the artificial intelligence / AI front were explored. These included articles highlighting the ability of ChatGPT to write malware, a college student’s software program to “detect” AI-authored essays, and others. Geeks of the Week included the search engine Neeva, youtubetranscript.com, and a free Chrome extension which facilitates summarization of YouTube video transcripts using ChatGPT. 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 and Mastodon (@edtechsr@mastodon.education) for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights (normally) if you can at 9 pm Eastern / 8 pm Central / 7 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 and on Mastodon!
  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 (Mastodon: @neif@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (Mastodon: @wfryer@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @wfryer ) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. LastPass users: Your info and password vault data are now in hackers’ hands (Ars Technica; 22 December 2022)
  10. Hackers reportedly leak email addresses of more than 200 million Twitter users (The Guardian; 5 January 2023)
  11. Supreme Court declines to block WhatsApp lawsuit over NSO phone hacking (TechCrunch, 9 Jan 2023)
  12. A New Chat Bot Is a ‘Code Red’ for Google’s Search Business (NY Times, 21 Dec 2022, Gift Link)
  13. A college student created an app that can tell whether AI wrote an essay (NPR; 9 January 2023)
  14. Microsoft’s new AI can simulate anyone’s voice with 3 seconds of audio (ArsTechnica, 9 Jan 2023)
  15. Controversy erupts over non-consensual AI mental health experiment (ArsTechnica, 10 Jan 2023)
  16. ChatGPT is enabling script kiddies to write functional malware (ArsTechnica, 6 Jan 2023)
  17. My pick for 2022 Chromebook of the Year (About Chromebooks; 2 January 2023)
  18. Google Voice Can Now Flag Suspected Spam Calls (CNET; 30 December 2022)
  19. Review: Framework Chromebook is what enthusiasts have been waiting for (9 to 5 Google; 10 January 2023)
  20. The best Chromebooks for work (ZDnet, 9 Jan 2023)
  21. Jason has moved to… 1password.com
  22. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Search Engine neeva.com
  23. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: youtubetranscript.com and YouTube Summary with ChatGPT (Example)
Anonymous computer hacker over abstract” (CC BY 2.0) by focusonmore.com

EdTechSR Ep 266 AI for Excel

Welcome to episode 266 (“AI for Excel”) of the EdTech Situation Room from August 10, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed features in ChromeOS 104 and 105, an AI bot for Excel formulas, and an increased price for Twitter Blue. Google’s warrantless video permissions for police, survey results about political violence in the U.S., and GenZ search preferences for TikTok over YouTube were also highlighted topics. Additionally, subscription based cars, and latest Meta’s chatbot fail were explored Geeks of the Weeks included Kible and Ad Observatory. 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. ChromeOS 104 rolling out and introducing new features (Chrome Unboxed; 5 August 2022)
  10. Chrome OS 105 partial split windows and multitasking button details (About Chromebooks; 11 July 2022)
  11. Game-changer for Excel: Free AI bot creates any Excel formula you need (Boy Genius Report; 31 July 2022)  https://excelformulabot.com/
  12. ​​Twitter raises its Blue subscription price (MS PowerUser; 29 July 2022)
  13. Google, like Amazon, will let police see your video without a warrant (Verge, 27 July 2022)
  14. He surveyed 8,600 Americans about political violence. The results are beyond scary (LA Times, 21 July 2022)
  15. Nearly half of Gen Z is using TikTok and Instagram for search instead of Google, according to Google’s own data (Insider; 13 July 2022)
  16. The future of cars is a subscription nightmare (The Verge; 13 July 2022)
  17. Meta’s New AI Chatbot Loves Anti-Racism and Mean Girls (Gizmoto; 6 August 2022)
  18. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Kible
  19. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Ad Observatory (details)

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 256 Library Chromebook Connectivity

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!

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. What US libraries let you borrow Chromebooks with internet hotspots? (9 to 5 Google; 4 April 2022)
  10. Who are the teens suddenly choosing Android over iPhone? (ZDNet; 7 April 2022)
  11. YouTube announces new “Subtitle Editor” role to collaborate on video captions (Chrome Unboxed; 12 April 2022)
  12. HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook Enterprise shows up with a $2,165 price tag (About Chromebooks; 10 April 2022)
  13. T-Mobile resurrects Google Photos’ unlimited storage, with a catch (Engadget, 12 April 2022)
  14. DuckDuckGo’s privacy-centric browser arrives on Mac (The Verge; 12 April 2022)
  15. You agreed to what? Tax sites want your data for more than filing (The Washington Post; 12 April 2022)
  16. TurboTax and H&R Block have spent years making Tax Day miserable (MSNBC; 15 April 2021)
  17. How War in Ukraine Roiled Facebook and Instagram (NY Times, 31 March 2022)
  18. Photographer Maksim Levin’s work in Ukraine – in pictures (Guardian, 3 April 2022)
  19. New Adobe Creative Cloud Express Perk lets you create logos, flyers, and more on your Chromebook (Chrome Unboxed; 3 April 2022)
  20. The New York Times would really like its reporters to stop scrolling and get off Twitter (at least once in a while) (Nieman Labs, 7 April 2022)
  21. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Canva Design Skills for Students (Canva)
  22. Wes’ Geek of the Week: [VIDEO] tutorial: Using Jamboard with Google Classroom (14 min)

EdTechSR Ep 253 Vimeo Pivots

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!

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. I prefer the phone version: The underwhelming state of Google’s first-party tablet apps on Android (9to5Google, 14 March 2022)
  10. How to Make Your Android Tablet a Laptop Replacement (How to Geek; 10 March 2022)
  11. Lacros in Chrome OS 100 is a pretty capable Chromebook experience (About Chromebooks; 1 March 2022)
  12. Google will test letting Android developers use their own billing systems, starting with Spotify (The Verge; 23 March 2022)
  13. Mac Studio teardown reveals potentially upgradeable SSD storage (The Verge; 19 March 2022)
  14. 40+ iOS 15.4 changes and features – hands-on with everything new for iPhone and iPad [Video] (9to5Mac, 15 March 2022)
  15. Apple iPad Air (2022) Review: It’s The Nice One (The Verge; 16 March 2022)
  16. Updated Mac Mini Still Coming With M2 and M2 Pro Chips (Mac Rumors; 9 March 2022)
  17. Vimeo is telling creators to suddenly pay thousands of dollars — or leave the platform (Verge, 15 March 2022)
  18. Vimeo: “We are a B2B solution, not the indie version of YouTube.” (YM Cinema Magazine, 17 March 2022)
  19. TechScape: want to ‘be your own boss’ online? Here’s why it’s not so simple (The Guardian; 16 March 2022)
  20. T-Mobile’s new prepaid $10 per month Connect plan is its cheapest yet (The Verge; 23 March 2022)
  21. How Wikipedia gets to define what’s true online (Prospect, 3 March 2022)
  22. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: How to Fix the Internet with EFF and What Does Scratch Mean To You?
  23. Jason’s Geek of the Week: How to Use Google Drive’s New Search Tools (Wired, 6 March 2022)

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 230 Don’t Shame WikiPedians

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!

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. Microsoft Brings Reading Progress to Teams (Thurrott; 24 August 2021)
  9. Google’s note taking web app, Cursive, can be used on any Chromebook (XDA Developers, 6 Sept 2021)
  10. How to install and use Google’s new Cursive app for Chromebooks (About Chromebooks; 31 August 2021)
  11. Microsoft is threatening to withhold Windows 11 updates if your CPU is old (The Verge; 28 August 2021)
  12. Stop Source-Shaming: Acknowledge Wikipedia in the research process (American Libraries Magazine, 1 Sept 2021)
  13. Germany reportedly pushing EU to require 7 years of updates on Android, iOS devices (9 to 5 Google; 5 September 2021)
  14. Opinion: Google Needs To Fix Android App Auto-installs When Logging Into A New Chromebook (Chrome Unboxed; 25 August 2021)
  15. Racism, Islamophobia and conspiracy theories among extremist views witnessed in classrooms, study (Independent, 6 Sept 2021)
  16. Facebook apologises after algorithm puts ‘primates’ label on video of black men (Sky News, 4 Sept 2021)
  17. Twitter opens Super Follow subscriptions for some creators (Engadget, 1 Sept 2021)
  18. Cost of $499 Starlink terminal set to plunge (MS Power User; 29 August 2021)
  19. Starlink currently makes 5000 dishes a week, plans to boost this by “multiples” later this year (MS Power User, 8 Sept 2021)
  20. Logitech’s Bolt USB dongle bolsters encryption for its new wireless mice and keyboards (The Verge; 1 September 2021)
  21. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Angry Planet Podcast: Space: Final Frontier or Billionaires Playground and how-i-experience-web-today.com
  22. Jason’s Geek of the Week: SleepWatch

EdTechSR Ep 221 iPad as Laptop NO

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.

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. iPadOS 15 wish list for improving iPad quality of life sans Mac (9 to 5 Mac; 30 May 2021)
  9. Should you buy the Apple Watch Series 3 in 2021? Here’s how it stacks up (9 to  5 Mac, 2 June 2021)
  10. The next Mac mini: Smaller, speedier, and more expansive (MacWorld; 31 May 2021)
  11. Apple iMac M1 Review: The All-in-one For Almost Everyone (The Verge; 18 May 2021)
  12. Donald Trump has shut down his blog (The Verge; 2 June 2021)
  13. Twitter Confirms Plans for ‘Twitter Blue’ $2.99 Monthly Subscription Service (Mac Rumors; 27 May 2021)
  14. SEC struggling to rein in Elon Musk’s tweets, letters reveal (ArsTechnica, 2 Jue 2021)
  15. Help us reimagine Nuzzel within Twitter! (via @pgreorge)
  16. Excellent Twitter thread by Robert G Reeve about why so may people think (incorrectly) that their smartphone is listening to their conversations
  17. Amazon devices will soon automatically share your Internet with neighbors (Ars Technica; 29 May 2021)
  18. Jason’s Geek of the Week: The best MacOS utility apps: 6 amazing tools and tweaks (Digital Trends; 31 May 2021)
  19. Wes’ Geek of the Week: “New Laptop Without Tears” tutorial video (part 1 of 2)

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