Welcome to episode 162 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 15, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Microsoft’s new Edge Chromium web browser, Instagram’s new policy to hide ‘faked’ images, ‘Techlash” against the big tech companies on college campuses, and new research about blue light and sleep with our digital screens. More U.S. states mandating media literacy education, the arrival of WiFi 6 at last, the NSA’s laudable decision to share a zero day exploit with Microsoft, and an update on recent drone formation sightings at night in eastern Colorado were also highlighted topics. On the security front, terrible password advice from the South China Morning Post and an update emergency for FireFox highlighted by U.S. Homeland Security officials were discussed. Boeing employees provided a good case study and reminder for us all about email retention with recently revealed “FAA mocking” messages, SpaceX as the world’s top satellite operator, and a recent critical article in Oklahoma City news about the Norman Public Schools’ laptop initiative rounded out the show. Geeks of the Week included Luke Miani’s YouTube Channel (amazing hacks and repurposing of older MacOS and iOS devices), Twinkly, and the “No Dumb Questions” podcast episode 72 on “How Did Humans Find Hawaii?” Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com. 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. 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) – blog: speedofcreativity.org – Wes’ Media and Digital Literacy Curriculum / Classroom Website
8. Microsoft’s new Edge Chromium browser launches on Windows and macOS (The Verge; 15 January 2020)
9. Instagram is hiding faked images, and it could hurt digital artists (The Verge; 15 January 2020)
10. ‘Techlash’ Hits College Campuses (New York Times; 11 January 2020)
11. Forget What You Think You Know About Blue Light and Sleep (Time; 10 January 2020)
12. More States Say They’re Teaching Media Literacy, But What That Means Varies (Education Week, 8 Jan 2020)
13. Wi-Fi 6 is finally here (The Verge; 11 January 2020)
14. The NSA Could’ve Used This Major Windows Security Flaw for Intel Work. Instead, It Told Microsoft About it (Time; 14 January 2020)
15. Theories Persist About Mystery Drones Seen in Rural Region (AP via Snopes, 15 Jan 2020)
16. Terrible Password Security Advice: How to protect your smart home devices from hackers: smart speakers, robotic vacuums, video doorbells – all are vulnerable (South China Morning Post, 14 Jan 2020)
17. The U.S. Government Says You Need to Update Firefox Right Now (Digital Trends, 10 Jan 2020)
18. Boeing Employees Mocked FAA Privately In Emails Before 737 Max Disasters (NPR, 10 Jan 2020) – Good email retention case study and reminder
19. SpaceX is now the world’s largest satellite operator (ArsTechnica, 6 January 2020)
20. ‘They want them gone’: Norman parents complain of school devices (The Oklahoman, 14 Jan 2020)
21. Thoughts on Content Filtering, Parent Education, and School Laptop Initiatives (Wes Fryer, 14 Jan 2020)
22. Most U.S. teens who use cellphones do it to pass time, connect with others, learn new things (PEW Research, Aug 2019)
23. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Luke Miani YouTube Channel
24. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Twinkly and How Did Humans Find Hawaii? – No Dumb Questions Podcast Episode 72 (@nodumbqs) – reddit discussion thread)

"the iOS family pile (2015)" (CC BY 2.0) by blakespot