EdTechSR Ep 237 Fixing Social Media

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!

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. How to Fix Social Media (Wall Street Journal, 29 Oct 2021)
  9. Facebook’s Lost Generation (The Verge; 25 October 2021)
  10. Facebook changes its company name to Meta (CNN; 29 October 2021)
  11. Mark Zuckerberg Sets Facebook on Long, Costly Path to Metaverse Reality (WSJ, 26 Oct 2021)
  12. Snap, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube lose nearly $10bn after iPhone privacy changes (Financial Times, 31 Oct 2021)
  13. You can now ask Google to remove images of under-18s from its search results (The Verge; 27 October 2021)
  14. macOS Monterey is now available to download (The Verge; 25 October 2021)
  15. You Don’t Need the New MacBook Pro (LifeHacker; 19 October 2021)
  16. Google Drive for desktop updated with full Apple M1 Mac support (9 5o 5 Google; 22 October 2021)
  17. iMovie no longer supports sharing to iMovie Theater (Apple Support)
  18. Google will make it easier to separate your work and personal life on Android (The Verge; 21 October 2021)
  19. Google Calendar will let you schedule ‘Focus time’ to work uninterrupted (9 to 5 Google; 20 October 2021)
  20. Adobe Photoshop officially comes to the web today w/ public beta, works on Chromebooks (9 5o 5 Google; 26 October 2021)
  21. Image Editing Tools on “Student Authors” page maintained by Wes
  22. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Meet Artemis Team Member Kayla Barron (3 min NASA video) and “Online Influencers and Social Media”
  23. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Mindful Schools

EdTechSR Ep 236 Shame on Canon

Welcome to episode 236 (“Shame on Canon”) of the EdTech Situation Room from October 20, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the biggest announcements from Apple’s Monday “Unleashed” event, The Apple Music Voice plan, Google’s Pixel 6 Event announcements, and the forthcoming launch of Chrome OS 94 with better human sounding voices. Other topics included MacOS’ forthcoming update to “Monterey” on October 25th, the Google Assistant’s updated code to stand up to profane users, and Canon’s distasteful choice to disable all-in-one scanning features for users when they run out of ink. A counter-point to last week’s article about a former Pentagon official declaring the US has already lost the AI race with China, the mental and physical health costs of TikTok, and Facebook’s concerns about Instagram losing youth marketshare were also discussed. Possibilities for “an effective social media regulator,” Facebook’s secret blacklist of prohibited people, organizations and topics, Donald Trump’s announced “Truth Social” platform, and some miscellaneous articles about drones saving dogs from volcanoes, Russian space snafus and the confused Missouri governor who thinks “view HTML source” is criminal hacking were final article topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included SortMyList.com, a podcast about Charles Babbage by Steven B. Johnson, a whimsical videoconferencing platform in beta (ooo for web) and the New York Times’ new invite-only audio app experiment. 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. The 8 biggest announcements from Apple’s Unleashed event (The Verge; 18 October 2021)
  9. Trying to Understand Why The Apple Music Voice Plan Exists (MacObserver, 20 Oct 2021)
  10. The biggest announcements from Google’s Pixel 6 event (The Verge; 19 October 2021)
  11. macOS Monterey is officially launching on October 25th (The Verge; 18 October 2021)
  12. Support For Chrome Apps On Chrome Os Has Been Extended Through 2025 (ChromeUnboxed; 15 October 2021)
  13. Chrome OS 94 Introduces More Human-Sounding Voices For Select-To-Speak (ChromeUnboxed; 15 October 2021)
  14. Google Assistant Is Tired Of Being Cursed Out, Asks Politely To Be Treated Better (ChromeUnboxed, 18 Oct 2021)
  15. Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink (Bleeping Computer; 16 October 2021)
  16. Sorry former Pentagon expert, but China is nowhere near winning the AI race (The Next Web, 15 Oct 2021)
  17. Teen Girls Are Developing Tics. Doctors Say TikTok Could Be a Factor (Wall Street Journal; 19 October 2021)
  18. Instagram Struggles With Fears of Losing Its ‘Pipeline’: Young Users (NY Times, 16 Oct 2021)
  19. What would an effective social-media regulator look like? (Columbia Journalism Review, 13 Oct 2021)
  20. Revealed: Facebook’s Secret Blacklist Of “Dangerous Individuals And Organizations (The Intercept, 12 Oct 2021)
  21. Trump Plans to Regain Social Media Presence With New Company (Bloomberg, 20 Oct 2021)
  22. Confused governor says looking at webpage’s HTML is criminal hacking (Mashable, 14 Oct 2021)
  23. Drone operator will try to rescue dogs from Spanish volcano (Reuters, 19 Oct 2021)
  24. A Russian spaceship pushed the space station out of position again (Business Insider, 15 Oct 2021)
  25. Third-party health apps are vulnerable to hacks, report finds (The Verge; 18 October 2021)
  26. Jason’s Geek of the Week: sortmylist.com
  27. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Wes: Babbage and the Dancer (Or, Can You Fall in Love With a Robot?) (Wonderland Podcast, 16 Aug 2016) and ooo for Web and NYT Invite Only Audio app

EdTechSR Ep 233 Privacy Protection Prescriptions

Welcome to episode 233 (“Privacy Protection Prescriptions”) of the EdTech Situation Room from September 29, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Apple updates to its productivity software suite, iPhone 13 stress tests and reviews, and strategies to avoid a Facebook hack. An important new guide to “resetting privacy controls” on your devices from the Washington Post, the NSA and CIA’s behavioral endorsement of ad blockers in our “dangerous” advertising environment, and the inability of anyone to “escape Facebook tracking” today were also discussed. Lithuania’s extreme request to people to throw away Huawei (Chinese made) smartphones, the EFF’s positive announcement that secure website connections (https) have finally been normalized in all popular web browsers, and a questionable password security website were highlighted topics. Jason’s recommendation of the Darknet Diaries podcast, the a data breach in Canada by a vaccine verification app (Portpass), EU warnings to Russia over possible election cyberattacks in Germany, the new Amazon device announcements, and the power of teen influencers on TikTok to disrupt scientific research were articles rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s recent interview on “How AI Shapes Our Human Future” (aka “Misinformation Is About to Get So Much Worse”) and the power of “pocket notebooks” (like Field Notes) to boost personal productivity. 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. Apple updates free Keynote, Pages and Numbers iWork apps to take on Microsoft Office (CNet; 28 September 2021)
  9. iPhone 13 Pro Max sets record in smartphone battery stress test, with almost ten hours of continuous use (9 to 5 Mac; 24 September 2021)
  10. Apple iPhone 13 Review: The Most Incremental Upgrade Ever (The New York Times; 21 September 2021)
  11. How to Avoid a Facebook Hack – with a personal password audit (Wes Fryer’s SubStack, 27 Sept 2021)
  12. Privacy Reset: A guide to the important settings you should change now (Washington Post, 23 Sept 2021)
  13. The NSA and CIA Use Ad Blockers Because Online Advertising Is So Dangerous (Motherboard; 23 September 2021)
  14. There’s no escape from Facebook, even if you don’t use it (Washington Post, 29 August 2021)
  15. Lithuania urges people to throw away Chinese phones (BBC News, 22 Sept 2021)
  16. Electronic Frontier Foundation will deprecate HTTPS Everywhere plugin (ArsTechnica, 27 Sept 2021)
  17. Not sure about the safety of this site: www.xposedornot.com
  18. Darknet Diaries (podcast recommendation from Jason)
  19. Portpass app may have exposed hundreds of thousands of users’ personal data (CBC News, 28 Sept 2021)
  20. EU warns Russia over cyberattacks ahead of German elections (AP, 24 Sept 2021)
  21. Everything to know about 3 new Amazon devices unveiled on Tuesday (Fortune, 28 Sept 2021)
  22. A teenager on TikTok disrupted thousands of scientific studies with a single video (Verge, 24 Sept 2021)
  23. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: [VIDEO] How AI Shapes Our Human Future (Eric Schmidt, 19.5 min) – Transcript titled “Misinformation Is About to Get So Much Worse” and NASA’s Artemis Rover to Land Near Nobile Region of Moon’s South Pole (2:45 video)
  24. Jason’s Geek of the Week: A Pocket Notebook Is the Best Productivity Booster (LifeSavvy; 20 September 2021) – Field NotesMuch Cheaper Alternative

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 226 Big YouTube EDU Changes

Welcome to episode 226 (“Big YouTube EDU Changes”) of the EdTech Situation Room from August 4, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed news articles on Microsoft Office running on Chromebooks, PWAs (progressive web apps), emojis, cloud-based Windows 365 computers for rent, and the near-disaster on the International Space Station involving the new Nauka module from Russia. Problems with M1 MacBook displays, “The Day the Good Internet Died,” improvements to Google’s native office document editing, and substantial changes to the way YouTube can be used by students under 18 in schools were also highlighted. The security dangers of password autofill in browsers, the reliability of “Have I Been Pwned,” the influencer army hired by the White House to battle COVID disinformation, and the battle over remote work at large companies were also topics discussed in this week’s show. Several app options for “proving” your COVID vaccine status digitally were highlighted as well. Geeks of the Week included the online flight simulator Geo FS, Wes’ presentation for faculty at his school, “Google Classroom August 2021: Updates and Tips,” and Wes’ recent blog post, “More YouTube Restriction Options for Schools.” 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 is pushing Chromebooks to run Office on web? Not exactly. (About Chromebooks; 29 July 2021)
  9. Turn any website into a real Mac app with Fluid
  10. Jason’s favorite Emoji website: getemoji.com
  11. Microsoft is ready to rent Windows 365 cloud PCs for as little as $20 per month (The Verge; 2 August 2021)
  12. It Was His Day Off. Then the Space Station Went for a Spin (NY Times, 2 Aug 2021)
  13. Nauka module’s near miss raises concerns about future of space station (ArsTechnica, 2 Aug 2021)
  14. M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Displays Randomly Cracking for Users (iPhone Hacks; 30 July 2021)
  15. Google Meet is now a simple PWA on Mac, Windows, and Chrome OS (9 to 5 Google; 30 July 2021)
  16. The Day the Good Internet Died (The Ringer; 21 July 2021)
  17. Google’s Native Office Editing Becomes More Native – Directly Opens Links, Skips The Preview (Chrome Unboxed; 2 August 2021)
  18. Google introduces new Chrome, YouTube defaults for education accounts (The Tribune, 30 June 2021)
  19. Safer learning with Google for Education (Google Education Blog, 29 June 2021)
  20. Control access to Google services by age (Google Support article)
  21. Manage your organization’s YouTube settings (Google Support article)
  22. Add YouTube video approvers for your organization (Google Support article)
  23. Don’t let your browser autofill your passwords — here’s why (Tom’s Guide; 29 July 2021)
  24. Can You Trust Have I Been Pwned? (Make Use Of, 24 July 2021)
  25. To Fight Vaccine Lies, Authorities Recruit an ‘Influencer Army’ (NY Times via Yahoo News, 2 Aug 2021)
  26. Big tech companies are at war with employees over remote work (ArsTechnica, 1 Aug 2021)
  27. You’re going to be asked to prove your vaccination status. Here’s how to do it. (Washington Post, 3 Aug 2021)
  28. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Geo FS — online flight simulator
  29. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: “Google Classroom August 2021: Updates & Tips” (Slides 18 & 19 on YouTube access restrictions for students) and “More YouTube Restriction Options for Schools”

EdTechSR Ep 223 Windows 11 Underwhelms

Welcome to episode 223 (“Windows 11 Underwhelms”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 14, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the plethora of proposed “big tech regulations” in the U.S. Congress (our ongoing “tech correction,”) the underwhelming and somewhat confusing release of Windows 11 by Microsoft, AI content filtering by TikTok, and some articles about educational technology lessons school leaders should heed after our experiences during COVID with remote and hybrid learning models. Google and ChromeOS news including the release of the desktop version of the Opera browser for Android (and now ChromeOS) in the Google Play Store, and the sad change in Audacity Software (an open source project) into the “surveillance capitalism” fold with user data tracking. Geeks of the Week included SimpleNote by Automattic and a great new video from Veritasium YouTuber (Derek Muller) titled, “The Biggest Myth in Education,” focusing on learning styles and the complete LACK of educational research support for this theory. 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. France fines Google $593 million for not negotiating ‘in good faith’ with news publishers. (NY Times, 13 July 2021)
  9. Is This the Big Tech Breakup We’ve Been Waiting For (NYT Sway Podcast, 17 June 2021)
  10. What Trump’s Facebook, Google and Twitter lawsuits really mean for his campaign (MSNBC, 9 July 2021)
  11. YouTube recommendations serve up most videos viewers wish they’d never seen, study says (CNet; 7 July 2021)
  12. The Pentagon cancels its $10 billion JEDI cloud-computing contract (NYTimes, 6 July 2021)
  13. Microsoft announces Windows 11, with a new design, Start menu, and more (24 June 2021)
  14. Here’s everything Microsoft is removing from Windows 11 (The Verge; 24 June 2021)
  15. Windows 11 will create heaps of needless trash (Noah Bailey Blog; 27 June 2021)
  16. Did Microsoft make the right choice with Amazon’s Appstore for Windows 11? (Android Police; 27 June 2021)
  17. TikTok will automate video removals for nudity and violence (Engadget, 9 July 2021)
  18. 6 Things About Remote Learning Teens Actually Loved (and Should Be Here to Stay) (Parents, 8 July 2021)
  19. The post-COVID stickiness of hybrid school (Axios, 8 July 2021)
  20. Is Audacity Really Spyware? (Lifehacker; 6 July 2021)
  21. Opera becomes first alternative Android browser optimized for Chromebooks (ZDNet; 4 July 2021)
  22. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Simple Note (@simplenoteapp)
  23. Wes’ Geek of the Week: [VIDEO] The Biggest Myth In Education (@veritasium)

EdTechSR Ep 222 Ransomware Canary Speaks

Welcome to episode 222 (“Ransomware Canary Speaks”) of the EdTech Situation Room from June 9, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed our ongoing computer chip shortage and likely impacts, the FCC-managed $7 billion connectivity fund for U.S. schools, and tech reviews on Lon.TV. Media recommendations from Wes’ middle school students, Apple’s WWDC 2021 announcements (just a few of them, there were a TON of newly announced features) and Apple’s forthcoming AirTag improvements were also highlighted. A clever video of AirTag tracking sent to North Korea, Tim Cook and Elon Musk, Amazon Prime Day June 21-22, the password breach behind the Colonial Pipeline hack, and the FBI Director’s Ransomware 9-11 warning / comparison were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included ArcGIS StoryMaps, River Runner, a permanent Minecraft enchantment, and the Digital Learning Annual Conference. 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. Note we will be on a 4 week summer break starting next week! Our next show will be Wednesday, July 14, 2021. 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. Cisco says computer chip shortage to last six months (BBC; 25 April 2021)
  9. FCC Finalizes $7 Billion Connectivity Fund: What Districts and Vendors Need to Know (EdWeek Market Brief, 12 May 2021)
  10. Lon.TV (great video reviews)
  11. Media Recommendations (including YouTube videos) from Casady School 5th & 6th Graders
  12. Everything Apple announced in its WWDC 2021 keynote: iOS 15, macOS Monterey, more (9 to 5 Mac; 7 June 2021)
  13. Apple announces AirTag privacy improvements, Android app coming this year (9 to 5 Mac; 3 June 2021)
  14. VIDEO: I sent an AirTag to North Korea, Tim Cook and Elon Musk!
  15. Amazon Prime Day set for June 21 and 22 (CNBC; 2 June 2021)
  16. Hackers Breached Colonial Pipeline Using Compromised Password (Bloomberg; 4 June 2021)
  17. FBI Director Compares Ransomware Challenge to 9/11 (WSJ; 4 June 2021)
  18. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: ArcGIS StoryMapsRiver Runner (via @cogdog) – Minecraft “Curse Binding Enchantment”
  19. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Digital Learning Annual Conference, Next Week… Online!
 by steve p2008, on Flickr
” (CC BY 2.0) by steve p2008

EdTechSR Ep 220 The Big Lebowski

Welcome to episode 220 (“The Big Lebowski”) of the EdTech Situation Room from May 26, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Jason’s increasing resemblance to Jeff Bridges, lots of updates to Google Workspace (formerly known as Google Suite,) Google I/O 2021 updates, and Google’s apparent rediscovery of RSS. The less-than-perfect ways people are using password managers, the forthcoming retirement (in 2022) of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, malware on MacOS, and the malware dangers faced by remote workers were also highlighted. Additional Google show topics included the Google Teacher Center and Google Educator Certifications. On the security front, Joe Biden’s secret Venmo account was discussed. On the social media / “tech correction” front, a Florida law to punish “politician deplatforming” online, a new Russian law pushing Google to delete “offending” content within 24 hours, and the “empty promise” of Facebook’s new feature to “hide likes” were explored. On the hardware front, a recent Verge article evaluating “best student laptops” (which didn’t mention Apple laptops, interestingly) and the announcement that USB-C is moving from 100W to 240W were mentioned. Geeks of the Week were in abundant supply this week, including the DLAC 2021 conference, the DigLitCon conference, Canva Pro (free for teachers,) Apple’s new privacy ad and wheelofnames.com. 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. “The Big Lebowski” on IMDB
  9. 12 Google Workspace updates for better collaboration (Google Workspace Blog, 18 May 2021)
  10. Create and import documents that contain images above or behind text in Google Docs (Google Workplace Update Blog; 24 May 2021)
  11. Google rediscovers RSS: tests new feature to ‘follow’ sites in Chrome on Android (The Verge; 20 May 2021)
  12. Google Keynote (Google I/O ‘21) – American Sign Language (18 May 2021)
  13. Password Managers: You’re Doing It Wrong (PC Magazine, 21 May 2021)
  14. Google is officially releasing its Fuchsia OS, starting w/ first-gen Nest Hub (9to5 Google; 25 May 2021)
  15. Google Certified Educator Bootcamp is coming July 2021!
  16. Google Teacher Center
  17. Google Educator Certifications Overview
  18. Microsoft is finally retiring Internet Explorer in 2022 (The Verge; 19 May 2021)
  19. Apple’s head of software admits Macs have an unacceptable amount of malware (CNBC, 19 May 2021)
  20. Why Are Remote Workers More Likely to Fall for Viruses and Scams? (Make Use Of; 23 May 2021)
  21. We Found Joe Biden’s Secret Venmo. Here’s Why That’s A Privacy Nightmare For Everyone (BuzzFeed News; 14 May 2021)
  22. Florida governor signs law to block ‘deplatforming’ of Florida politicians (The Verge; 24 May 2021)
  23. Russia gives Google 24 hours to delete banned content (Reuters, 24 May 2021)
  24. Facebook’s empty promise of hiding “Likes” (Recode; 26 May 2021)
  25. What’s the best student laptop? We asked students (The Verge; 21 May 2021)
  26. USB-C is about to go from 100W to 240W, enough to power beefier laptops (The Verge; 25 May 2021)
  27. Security Now 817: The Ransomware Task Force (@TWiT Podcast by Steve Gibson @sgGRC)
  28. Jason’s Geeks of the Week: Canva Pro is Free for Teachers and DLAC 2021 (Digital Learning Conference)
  29. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Apple’s new Privacy advertisement (YouTube) and wheelofnames.com and DigLitCon (June 4 – $25)

EdTechSR Ep 219 Ransomware Threats Abound

Welcome to episode 219 (“Ransomware Threats Abound”) of the EdTech Situation Room from May 12, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the Emotet botnet takedown, ransomware evolution, and the importance of evolving your own MFA (multi-factor authentication) from SMS / text messaging to a more secure option. Microsoft’s abandonment of Windows 10X, rumors about next week’s Google I/O event, faster Google Docs on the way, and the death of Nuzzle (at the hands of Twitter, no less) were also highlighted topics. A bizarre social media story involving FaceApp and an older Japanese Twitter user, testimony in an Irish court about Facebook content moderator nightmares, Amy Klobachar’s new book to usher in the “Tech Correction,” and OneDrive’s overdue casting support were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included a recorded webinar for language teachers by Wes, and an NCCE Live session on amazing Minecraft lessons. 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. Security Now 817: The Ransomware Task Force (@TWiT Podcast by Steve Gibson @sgGRC)
  9. Emotet malware nukes itself today from all infected computers worldwide (Bleeping Computer, 25 April 2021)
  10. Ransomware demands up by 43% so far in 2021, Coveware says (CyberScoop News, 27 April 2021)
  11. The Chromebook at 10: How this ‘browser in a box’ became the perfect pandemic laptop (CNET, 11 May 2021)
  12. Apple’s Ransomware Mess Is the Future of Online Extortion (wired, 23 April 2021)
  13. The Perfect Weapon Documentary on HBO by David Sanger (@SangerNYT)
  14. There’s a better way to protect yourself from hackers and identity thieves (ReCode; 6 May 2021)
  15. Google will soon switch on two-factor authentication by default (The Verge; 6 May 2011)
  16. Microsoft reportedly shelves Windows 10X, its Chrome OS competitor (The Next Web)
  17. What to expect from Google I/O 2021: Assistant, Android 12, and ‘Material NEXT’ (9 to 5 Google; 10 May 2021)
  18. Google Is Rolling Out A Big Update To Speed Up Google Docs Rendering For Everyone (Chrome Unboxed; 12 May 2021)
  19. Twitter is killing Nuzzel and it’s ok if you have no idea what that means (Android Police, 6 May 2021)
  20. A ‘beautiful’ female biker was actually a 50-year-old man using FaceApp. After he confessed, his followers liked him even more. (Washington Post, 11 May 2021)
  21. Facebook moderator: ‘Every day was a nightmare’ (BBC News; 12 May 2021)
  22. Why Amy Klobuchar just wrote 600 pages on antitrust (ArsTechnica, 9 May 2021)
  23. OneDrive is getting long overdue casting support (Android Police; 9 May 2021)
  24. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Lesson Ideas and Tips for Language Teachers using Scratch, Minecraft and more!
  25. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Amazing implementation of Minecraft: Good Trouble Lessons Live @ NCCE with Felisa Ford and Natasha Rachell

EdTechSR Ep 171 – This Week in Pandemics

Welcome to episode 171 of the EdTech Situation Room from April 1, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) continued to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers, students, and parents, but also highlighted some recent technology headlines involving security, media literacy, and other issues. Those included the completion of the T-Mobile and Sprint merger, PBS Learning Media Resources for Home Learning integrating with Google Classroom, the recent FBI warning to teachers and school administrators to avoid “Zoom-jacking,” and some helpful articles / tips about videoconferencing from home, including updating your home WiFi access points. (Wes recommends Google Nest!) Access archived MP3 audio and smaller 360P video archives of this and past shows on edtechSR.com. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com. Thanks to everyone who joined us live and shared comments in our live chat! 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) – blog: speedofcreativity.orgClass websiteRemote Learning Support Resources
  8. Microsoft Edge is becoming the browser you didn’t know you needed (ArsTechnica, 1 April 2020) – note the ‘password monitor’ feature
  9. Hackers Trick Thousands Into Downloading Dangerous ‘Google Chrome Update’ (Forbes, 26 March 2020)
  10. T-Mobile completes merger with Sprint, John Legere steps down as CEO (The Verge; 1 April 2020)
  11. PBS LearningMedia Resources (integrates with Google Classroom)
  12. FBI issues warning about ‘hijacking’ of online classes by intruders after schools report serious disruptions (Washington Post; 31 March 2020)
  13. Trolls exploit Zoom privacy settings as app gains popularity (The Guardian; 27 March 2020)
  14. Google Mesh Home WiFi Makes our Internet Access MUCH faster (Wes Fryer, 31 March 2019)
  15. Sharing Audio From Videos During a Videoconference (Wes Fryer, 31 March 2020)
  16. How to Look Your Best on a Webcam (NYTimes, 25 March 2020)
  17. Exclusive: Zoom CEO Eric Yuan Is Giving K-12 Schools His Videoconferencing Tools For Free (Forbes, 13 March 2020)
  18. COVID Deniers: How shadowy social media groups are spreading myths and conspiracy about coronavirus (The Telegraph, 26 March 2020)
  19. COVID-19 & what platforms are doing to limit the spread of misinformation: Facebook (Mozilla Blog, 25 March 2020)
  20. Start-Ups Are Pummeled in the ‘Great Unwinding’ (The New York Times; 1 April 2020)
  21. Montana Masks’ pop up all over the world, move from 3D printers to injection molds (Billings Gazette; 31 March 2020)
  22. Jason’s Geek of the Week 1: Pomodoro Technique
  23. Jason’s Geek of the Week 2: Online voice recorders: recordit.co and online-voice-recorder.com
  24. Jason’s Geek of the Week 3: NCCE Upcoming Webinar / Live Events
  25. Wes’ Geek of the Week 1: PDFCandy (@pdfcandy) via @cyndidannerkuhn
  26. Wes’ Geek of the Week 2: Connect WalMart Grocery App to Google Home
  27. Wes’ Geek of the Week 3: Webinar archive: Protecting Yourself and Your Family Online (by Wes)