EdTechSR Ep 242 Birds Are Real

Welcome to episode 242 (“Birds Are Real”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 15, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the Log4j security flaw, bluetooth security risks, Apple AirTags used in harmful ways, changes for LastPass as it becomes an independent company (sold by LogMeIn), Life360’s announced purchase of Tile and the possible privacy implications, and the fascinating (and admittedly false) Gen Z conspiracy theory “Birds Aren’t Real.” Adobe’s launch of “Creative Cloud Express” to replace Adobe Spark Post, Pixlr’s enhancements for stylus users, and a possible solution to solve the rural-urban digital divide were also discussed topics. The security (or insecurity) of a Chromebook post-ChromeOS updates, the “snooping detection” included in ChromeOS 98, and reasons to update to iOS 15.2 were security related articles rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included the National Geographic “Storytellers Summit” January 26-28, 2022, the Google Canvas web-based drawing platform (free!), and the New York Times Best of 2021 lists. 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 NOT HAVE A SHOW ON DECEMBER 22, but will be back on December 29th. 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 Internet Is on Fire’ – Java framework security flaw / issue (Wired, 10 Dec 2021) – Daily Mail clickbait
  9. Kamala Harris is right to be wary of Bluetooth headphones (cNet; 8 December 2021)
  10. Apple AirTags become useful tool for Canadian carjackers (cNet; 8 December 2021)
  11. Apple releases Android app to help find sneaky AirTags (The Verge; 12 December 2021)
  12. LastPass working on a ‘delightful’ mobile app as it becomes an independent company (9 to 5 Google; 14 December 2021)
  13. Life360 makes millions selling location data, and it’s about to buy Tile (The Verge; 9 December 2021)
  14. Birds Aren’t Real, or Are They? Inside a Gen Z Conspiracy Theory (New York Times; 9 December 2021)
  15. Adobe launches Creative Cloud Express, a new app that simplifies its powerful editing tools (The Verge; 13 December 2021)
  16. Pixlr Photo Editing Web App Gains Pen Pressure, More Exciting Features For 2022 (Chrome Unboxed; 7 December 2021)
  17. How to solve the rural-urban digital divide (High Country News; 6 December 2021)
  18. How secure is a Chromebook after it stops getting Chrome OS updates? (About Chromebooks; 14 December 2021)
  19. Chrome OS 98 adds Chromebook snooping detection to watch your back (About Chromebooks; 8 December 2021)
  20. Here’s why you should update your iPhone to iOS 15.2 (9 to 5 Mac; 13 December 2021)
  21. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Storyteller’s Summit by National Geographic: Jan 26-28, 2022 and Google Canvas
  22. Jason’s Geek of the Week: New York Times Best of 2021