EdTech Situation Room Episode 67

Welcome to episode 67 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 27, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wes Fryer (@wfryer) discussed prison time given to a Volkswagon engineer who wrote the emissions test dodging car code, updates to Google Slides, Team Drives for G Suite users, and G Suite’s new File Stream app for offline file access. Additional topics included the recent war of words between Donald Trump and Mark Zuckerberg, Doug Belshaw’s post about why he deleted all his past Twitter likes/favorites as well as most of his tweets, and an alleged $5 million purchase by Mexico of Israeli technology which permits monitoring of anyone’s cell phone location, text messages and phone calls by just using their phone number or phone IMEI number. (This article prompted Wes’ tin foil hat for part of the show.) The possible risks of biometric smartphone security was discussed, along with a slew of new product announcements from Amazon bring the menu of Alexa-powered devices to eight. (Wes is still not ready to purchase any of them for home use, however.) It’s Happy Birthday time for Google, and apparently time for the U.S. Congress to fire the current chairman of the FCC,Ajit Pai. Geeks of the week included Gazelle (a smartphone reseller to consider using when upgrading), the free iPad app “TextingStory Chat Story Maker,” and the upcoming “Google Camp OKC” $25 PD event on Saturday, November 4, 2017 in Oklahoma City (@googlecampOKC). Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and reach out to us if you listen to the show! If a particular article or topic is especially thought provoking or interesting to you, please let us know. The EdTech Situation Room is produced live each week (almost) on Wednesday nights at 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain time. Thanks for tuning in. Stay safe and stay savvy!

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
  8. Tin Foil Hat (English WikiPedia)
  9. VW engineer sent to the clink for three years for emissions-busting code (The Register, 25 Aug 2017)
  10. Happy Birthday, Google! Here are 19 random facts about Google on its 19th anniversary (ReCode, 27 Sep 2017)
  11. Present like a pro: these new updates in Slides are designed to make you look good (GSuite Blog, 27 Sep 2017)
  12. Copyright for Educators (from 2009 by Wes)
  13. Team Drives for G Suite!  What Can You Do with Team Drives?
  14. Google File Stream Released at last for GSuite Users! Choose and deploy a sync solution –  Install Google File Stream
  15. Using Google Team Drives to Create and Share Lesson Plans (by @NKeithBlend, 24 Aug 2017)
  16. Mark Zuckerberg hits back at President Trump’s claim that Facebook is against him (Verge, 27 Sept 2017)
  17. Why I just deleted all 77.5k tweets I’ve sent out over the last 10 years (by Doug Belshaw, connect with him on Mastodon – subscribe to his co-hosted Today in Digital Education – TIDE podcast @TIDEpodcast with Dai Barnes @daibarnes)
  18. Fav Cleaner by Twoolbox (Delete Twitter likes / favorites)
  19. Did Mexico Drop $5 Million On This ‘Unlimited’ Uber-Stealth Spy Tech? (Forbes, 25 Sep 2017)
  20. Why you shouldn’t unlock your phone with your face (@ossia, 12 Sep 2017)
  21. Average iPhone user unlocks device 80 times per day, 89% use Touch ID, Apple says (AppleInsider, April 2016)
  22. Here’s everything Amazon announced today (TechCrunch, 27 Sep 2017)
  23. Amazon’s Echo and Echo Plus are hiding a lot of new tech (The Verge, 27 September 2017)
  24. Amazon announces new Fire TV with 4K and HDR for only $70 (The Verge, 27 September 2017)
  25. Comparing all 8 Amazon Echos (TechCrunch; 27 September 2017)
  26. EFF Resigns From W3C After DRM In HTML Is Approved In Secret Vote (TechDirt, 18 Sep 2017)
  27. An open letter to the W3C Director, CEO, team and membership (@EFF and @doctorow, 18 Sep 2017)
  28. It’s time for Congress to fire the FCC chairman (The Verge, 27 Sept 2017)
  29. Geek of the Week from Jason: Upgrading? Check out Gazelle!
  30. Geeks of the Week from Wes: TextingStory Chat Story Maker (free for iPad) and Google Camp OKC Sat Nov 4, 2017 (@googlecampOKC)