Welcome to episode 235 (“TikTok is Huge”) of the EdTech Situation Room from October 13, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Epic’s ongoing court battles over third party smartphone app payment processors with both Apple and Google, as well as upcoming tech events next week by Apple, Google and Samsung. Options for editing PDF files in a web browser (including on Chromebooks) included a new Acrobat extension from Adobe, the Squid app from the Google Play Store and DocHub. The incredible growth and reach of TikTok (which is somehow slipping under the radar now for would-be Congressional regulators and regulation advocates) was highlighted, along with the alleged futility of US military efforts to develop robust artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities relative to China. Lastly, an article highlighting the Internet ignorance of many U.S. citizens was discussed. Geeks of the Week included an eye opening article by a high school student who successfully prank hacked his school district (and provided a comprehensive analysis for his IT department to use afterward) and the bill cutting service, AskTrim.com. 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 234 (“Regulate Facebook Please”) of the EdTech Situation Room from October 6, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Microsoft news including how to update to Windows 11 without waiting in line, recommended preparatory steps to take BEFORE upgrading to Windows 11, and positive reviews of the new Surface Pro 8 computer. In Google news, the forthcoming Chromebook launcher with smaller icons and folders, the option to create meeting notes directly connected to a Google Calendar event, and YouTube Germany’s suspension of Russia Today’s (RT’s) misinformation plagued channel, were highlighted. Facebook’s mysterious global service outage from this week and the impact of the related WhatsApp’s outage on small businesses were also addressed. Several articles summarizing Frances Haugen’s testimony this week before Congress about the knowing malicious acts of Facebook to favor profits over safety or ethics were discussed. Google’s quest to imagine and invent “the next phase of online search” was the final article discussed in this weeks’ show. Geeks of the Week for Wes included the new app Audm for listening to longform audio versions of news articles, the Project N95 website for ordering COVID masks, and Hope Haley’s (an 8th grade YouTuber at Dr. Fryer’s school) YouTube channel. Jason’s Geek of the Week was the TMobile Google Drive Plan, free for subscribers. 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!
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!
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!
Welcome to episode 225 (“Beware Video Embeds”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 28, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed media literacy, privacy, changing iOS app icons, Microsoft Edge’s latest version, Google news, social media updates from Clubhouse, Twitter and Facebook, and a cautionary tale from a defunct video sharing site. 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!
Welcome to episode 224 (“Stores Watch You”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 21, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the extent of retail facial recognition and why it matters, Automattic’s acquisition of PocketCasts, the recent FTC ruling supporting the “Right to Repair,” and ongoing proposals for “Big Tech Regulation” / “The Tech Correction.” Additional topics highlighted included useful iOS apps for sketchnoting, Chromebook advice, improvements in Zoom for ChromeOS, the increased national focus on vaccine disinformation and more. 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!
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!
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.
I'm back from a week at my mom's house and now I'm getting ads for her toothpaste brand, the brand I've been putting in my mouth for a week. We never talked about this brand or googled it or anything like that.
As a privacy tech worker, let me explain why this is happening. 🧵
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.
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.
