Welcome to episode 320 (“Privacy and Platform Shifts”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 21, 2024, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week, Dr. Jason Neiffer and Dr. Wesley Fryer, joining from their diverse locales of Montana and North Carolina, dove into a rich dialogue exploring the evolving landscape of digital privacy, the shift in platforms due to new technological integrations, and the profound implications for educators and learners. In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, the co-hosts unpacked the potential of AI in revolutionizing not just educational practices but also the broader societal interactions, drawing attention to the pressing issues of digital droughts affecting agricultural economies and the potential for wildfire risks. The discussion ventured into the realms of policy, with insights into legislation aimed at protecting youth online, and the innovative strides in virtual reality, highlighting the quest for immersive learning environments. As digital citizenship continues to be a pivotal theme, Fryer and Neiffer emphasized the importance of navigating the complexities of tech integration with foresight and ethical consideration. “Geeks of the Week” included an exploration of perplexity AI as a tool for enhancing research and the groundbreaking developments in virtual reality, pointing towards a future where education transcends traditional boundaries. Our show was live-streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as Facebook Live via StreamYard.com. Please follow our @EdtechSR page on Facebook, mastodon.education/@edtechsr on Mastodon for updates, subscribe to us on Substack, and join LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can. All shownotes are available on edtechSR.com/links. AI Disclosure: An initial draft of this episode summary was generated using youtubetranscript.com and a custom GPT on ChatGPT, as well as options for our show title! Stay savvy and safe!
Welcome to episode 237 (“Fixing Social Media”) of the EdTech Situation Room from November 3, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed an amazing Wall Street Journal article featuring 12 Internet and cultural visionaries on “How to Fix Social Media.” Other articles on the social media / “tech correction” topic included “Facebook’s Lost Generation,” Facebook’s name change to “Meta,” the impact of Zuckerberg’s dream to transform the web into a “Ready Player One” VR playground. The financial impact of Apple’s iPhone privacy changes, Google’s policy to remove under-18 photos from search results, the debut of MacOS Monterey, and reasons you do NOT need the new MacBook Pro were also topics of discussion. The long awaited (for Jason) arrival of MacOS M1 processor native Google Drive for Desktop, the death of iMovie Theater, Google’s facilitation of work/life separation on Android devices, and Google Calendar’s option to schedule “Focus Time” were also highlighted. The arrival of Adobe PhotoShop on the web for Chromebook users, powerful, web-based image editing tools, and Geeks of the Week including a new NASA astronaut bio video, a “Parent University” slideshow about online influencers, and the “Mindful Schools” website as “geeks of the week” rounded out this weeks’ show. 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 143 of the EdTech Situation Room from July 31, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s proposed “SMART Act” (the Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act), the state of adblocking online in mid-2019, and amazing developments in the world of eSports with a recent Fortnight payout of over $30 million for a single tournament. Apple’s quarterly announcements including its continued transition to services for revenue, the implications of those trends for Apple portable hardware in schools, and ChromeOS updates including facial recognition “face unlock” as well as continued changes to default Flash support were also highlighted. Additional headlines analyzed during the show included FaceApp’s terms of service and privacy implications for users, the FTC’s class action lawsuit settlement against Equifax, Google’s banning of certain DIY advertisements for iFixIt, continued calls for smartphone backdoor encryption by the US Department of Justice, and an incredible “classified artificial brain” project underway by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in the United States. Geeks of the Week included the “Unreal Mobile” smartphone service, the new website “”Hack the Moon,” and the podcast “Your Undivided Attention.” With the impending demise of “Google Hangouts on Air” for YouTube Live, this was our first show to use StreamYard.com as well as Restream.io to both live stream and archive our show simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as Facebook Live. 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 120 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 3, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed 2018 “Tech Report Cards” from the Verge on Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft. The proliferation of bots and fake content online, and the challenges this presents for online media metrics as well as media literacy, was highlighted. The release of thousands of works into the public domain in the United States, thanks to the non-renewal of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, and an instance of ground-breaking brain surgery rounded out topics for the show. Geeks of the week included an article sharing tips for getting the most out of your Amazon Kindle eReader, and the open source software Burn for MacOS. 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 113 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 7, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Jason Kern (@jasonmkern) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Topics for the show included virtual reality in the classroom, the use of social media worldwide to radicalize politics, hardware updates from Apple’s special event last week, and our need for media literacy everywhere. Anya Kamenetz’ excellent response article, “What the Times got wrong about kids and phones” was also highlighted. Professional courtesy with cell phones at meetings and in the classroom, the NetFlix documentary “The Eighties,” and Flickr’s important announcement about free and pro accounts rounded out the show. Geeks of the week included free “Unity” software licenses for schools, Raspberry Pi projects, the browser extension “OneTab,” and the “Pulse” SMS app on Android. 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.
Welcome to episode 112 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 24, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Jennifer Carey (@thejencarey) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included data privacy, the “hackability” of the human mind, the recent FBI warning on student data privacy, and Tim Cook’s recent criticism of Silicon Valley over privacy. Additional topics included a U.S. cyberoperation against Russia aimed at protecting U.S. elections, the book “Algorithms of Oppression” by Safiya Umoja Noble, and fake news surrounding the death of Jamal Khashoggi. Geeks of the week included CoSpaces Edu, “PD in the Privy” by Cyndi Kuhn, Digital Citizenship presentations for students by Wes, and tips from the Family Online Safety Institute for cleaning up your digital footprint. Check out our shownotes on edtechSR.com/links. 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. Note we will not have a show next week on Halloween, but will be back on November 7th with special guest, Jason Kern!
Welcome to episode 111 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 17, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Beth Holland (@brholland) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens, as well as a variety of educational issues relating to digital citizenship and digital equity. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included algorithmic literacy, privacy, digital equity, digital citizenship, media literacy, digital literacy, Internet safety, digital citizenship week, and more. Other topics included the National Educational Technology Plan, the ongoing code wars between nation states, and the power of social networks / human connections in unlocking opportunity and innovation. The digital divide in rural America, the perils of IoT cameras in our homes, the Media Education Lab’s Mind over Media Project, Imagineering in Storytelling, and geomaps of Lewis and Clark’s journey of discovery rounded out the week’s topics. Check out our shownotes on edtechSR.com/links. 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. Note we will be starting earlier than usual occasionally to accommodate guest schedules in upcoming weeks, so please check Twitter for those updates.
Welcome to episode 109 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 3, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Tye Campbell (@TyeJCampbell) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included the recent “Presidential Emergency Text Alert,” paging and alert messaging at school, and Apple’s latest iOS 12 which brings improved performance at the price of faster battery consumption. The new screentime monitoring tools in iOS12, school conversations on digital citizenship relating to character education, and school partnerships with “The Social Institute” helping students, faculty and parents embrace a balanced approach to social media an technology were also discussed. A shout out to ATLIS (The Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools) and their upcoming conference in April 2019 in Dallas, net neutrality in light of new European legislation relating to “the right to be forgotten” and the GDPR, protection of personal information / privacy, and digital identity verification via Yubikey were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the week included iOS 12 Screen Time Controls (Tye) and recommended actions for scholars who are victims of online trolling (Wes). 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 (normally) at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. Note we will be starting earlier than usual occasionally to accommodate guest schedules in upcoming weeks, so please check Twitter for those updates.
“Suggested Discussion Questions” for our Upper and Middle Division teachers at Casady School addressing our revised Responsible Use Policy with students during advisory time.
Welcome to episode 108 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 26, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and special guest Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Co-host Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was on special assignment. Topics highlighted in this week’s show included Microsoft’s MakeCode resources, the crooked path of a YouTube star to fan fame on new media platforms, and the emergence of “deep fake” videos. If we had a show title based on the show conversations, it would likely be Miguel’s comment, “The boy turned away from Linux, I thought he was doomed!” Miguel and Wes also discussed the importance of students learning how to effectively and responsibly create video today, the recent European Human Rights Court ruling finding the mass surveillance of Great Britain’s GHCQ intelligence organization illegal that was originally highlighted by Edward Snowden, and the prospect of worldwide surveillance through drone monitoring. The Australian government’s new anti-encryption legislation, an FBI alarm on student data privacy, the launch of FireFox’s “Privacy Monitor,” and the feared demise of Evernote as a notetaking cloud platform were also discussed. Miguel set a new global record for podcast “Geek of the Week” shares, including Paranoia Works for personal encryption of data, the book Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez, Glary Utilities for WindowsOS management, an Amazing 1Note Link from Microsoft, the TCEA TechNotes Blog, and Joplin Notes. Wes’ Geek of the Week was “Learning Creative Learning,” a Free online course by MIT Media Lab starting 9 Oct 2018. 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 (normally) at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. Note we will be starting earlier than usual occasionally to accommodate guest schedules in upcoming weeks, so please check Twitter for those updates.
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.
