EdTechSR Ep 292 AirTags for Everyone

Welcome to episode 292 (“AirTags for Everyone”) of the EdTech Situation Room from May 3, 2023, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer@mastodon.cloud) delved into various AI topics, including the potential benefits of AI writing assistants like Grammarly, and AI tutors like Mr. Reindeer, which allowed for customization and personalization of learning. They also discussed AI-powered tools like Canny and Summarize.tech. While acknowledging the ethical issues surrounding AI, such as concerns over privacy and the mass production of false information, the hosts expressed concerns about the implications of generative AI that could determine real-time thoughts with an 81% accuracy rate, potentially leading to mind-reading and dystopian outcomes. The conversation touched on the ongoing debate around ebooks versus physical books, the use of AirTag devices and smart thermostats, Twitter’s new verification process, and recent AI advancements, such as synthetic voices and groundbreaking studies that used AI to passively decode thoughts. The hosts shared their own travel experiences, recommended Rick Steves’ app for audio tours, and wrapped up the episode by thanking their viewers, inviting feedback, and encouraging interaction with chatGPT. (AI Attribution: This podcast / video summary was initially generated with summarize.tech and slightly edited.) The 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 @edtechSR on Twitter and @edtechsr@mastodon.education on Mastodon for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights (normally) if you can at 9 pm Eastern / 8 pm Central / 7 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. All shownotes are available on http://edtechSR.com/links. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter and on Mastodon!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube – AI generated summary
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (Mastodon: @neif@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (Mastodon: @wfryer@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @wfryer ) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Mr. Ranedeer: Your personalized AI Tutor! (JustBJJ via GetHub)
  10. GPT AI Enables Scientists to Passively Decode Thoughts in Groundbreaking Study (Artisana; 1 May 2023)
  11. Grammarly rolls out its generative AI tools with these limits (9 to 5 Google; 27 April 2023)
  12. AI-Generated Joe Rogan Chats Up Steve Jobs Over His Use of LSD, Spat With Gizmodo (Gizmodo, 11 Oct 2023)
  13. An A.I. Hit of Fake ‘Drake’ and ‘The Weeknd’ Rattles the Music World (NY Times, 19 April 2023) gift link
  14. Google Authenticator now syncs 2FA with your Google Account, gets new icon (9 to 5 Google; 24 April 2023)
  15. Google issuing Chromebooks to employees as part of cost-cutting measures  (9 to 5 Google; 3 April 2023)
  16. Google will shut down Currents, the work-focused Google Plus replacement (The Verge; 12 April 2023)
  17. CTL launches next-gen Chomebox CBX3 with a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 (Chrome Unboxed; 14 April 2023)
  18. Gen Z Prefers Print Books, Not E-Books (Good eReader; 29 April 2023)
  19. NYPD’s answer to TikTok car theft challenges: 500 free AirTags (Verge, 1 May 2023)
  20. Mastodon fixes “confusing” sign-up process to attract users fleeing Twitter (ArsTechnica, 2 May 2023)
  21. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Rick Steves Audio Tours
  22. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: canny.io (example) – summarize.techplay.htTikTok and Media Literacy (thread)
Elvis, Tucker and Frank now have Apple AirTags” (CC BY 2.0) by Tobyotter

EdTechSR Ep 283 AI Promises and Perils

Welcome to episode 283 (“AI Promises and Perils”) of the EdTech Situation Room from February 1, 2023, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer@mastodon.cloud) discussed topics including Internet censorship / content moderation, TikTok bans, “The Tech Correction,” artificial intelligence, free speech, and media literacy. They also shared their thoughts on the impact of technology on education, safety concerns related to installing apps, and the intersection of technology and performance-based assessments. Additionally, they mentioned some news articles, including Indian police detaining students over a banned BBC Modi documentary, a decades-old law obstructing a nationwide TikTok ban, the U.S. Air Force’s plan to install surveillance tools powered by AI technology in Central Command sites, and recent layoffs in the tech industry. The hosts shared their experiences with using AI tools like GPT-3 and discussed the potential implications of AI-generated content for student learning and assessment. They also mentioned some other articles related to AI, including one on the potential of AI to improve the accuracy of cancer diagnoses and another on the risks of bias in AI decision-making. Overall, the podcast offered a thoughtful and informative discussion on the latest trends and issues in the world of technology and education. (AI Disclosure: This show summary was initially created by ChatGPT. The show title was also influenced by ChatGPT queries.) 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 9 pm Eastern / 8 pm Central / 7 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. All shownotes are available on http://edtechSR.com/links. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes:

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter and on Mastodon!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (Mastodon: @neif@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (Mastodon: @wfryer@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @wfryer ) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Apple should be required to let iPhone users sideload apps, Biden admin says (ArsTechnica, 1 Feb 2023)
  10. White House goes after app store ‘gatekeepers’ Apple and Google (The Verge; 1 February 2023)
  11. Smartphone Shipments Are Imploding. Is Apple’s iPhone Next? (CNet, 31 Jan 2023)
  12. Apple beefs up smartphone services in “silent war” against Google (Ars Technica; 25 January 2023)
  13. Microsoft has laid off entire teams behind Virtual, Mixed Reality, and HoloLens (Windows Central; 20 January 2023)
  14. AI-powered surveillance sought for US Central Command (Defense News, 31 Jan 2023)
  15. Gmail creator says ChatGPT might ‘destroy’ Google within 2 years (BGR, 30 Jan 2023)
  16. The AI Ethics War Will Make the Content Moderation Debate Look Like a Picnic (Observer, 20 Jan 2023)
  17. Netflix stirs fears by using AI-assisted background art in short anime film (ArsTechnica, 1 Feb 2023)
  18. OpenAI announces ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month (The Verge; 1 February 2023)
  19. GPT Zero
  20. Scores of Stanford students used ChatGPT on final exams, survey suggests (Stanford Daily; 22 January 2023)
  21. ChatGPT passes MBA exam given by a Wharton professor (NBC News; 24 Janaury 2023)
  22. Decades-old law forms biggest obstacle to nationwide TikTok ban, lawmaker says (ArsTechnica, 30 Jan 2023)
  23. Indian police detain students over BBC’s Modi documentary (Deutsche Welle, 25 Jan 2023)
  24. When Fox entered the hen house (Robert Reich, 26 Jan 2023)
  25. Jason’s Geek of the Week: MidJourney
  26. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Top Gun: Maverick – Official Trailer IN LEGOArchive.Today (example) – new podcast: “Wes and Shelly Share”

EdTechSR Ep 277 Generative AI Alarms

Welcome to episode 277 (“Generative AI Alarms”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 22, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed artificial intelligence developments and controversies, the ongoing Twitter dumpster fire, TikTok security concerns, and a facial recognition headline from New York which sounds like a headline from China. Rumors of third party iOS app stores coming to Europe soon, and the punishment FTC fine of Epic games were also highlighted. Geeks of the Week included “Hotel Tonight” and #edtechSR tagged posts on Mastodon by Wes. 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 9 pm Eastern / 8 pm Central / 7 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC. All shownotes are available on http://edtechSR.com/links. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter and on Mastodon!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (Mastodon: @neif@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (Mastodon: @wfryer@mastodon.cloud – Twitter: @wfryer ) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Jason is collecting AI and Education Articles on Wakelet
  10. Canva Magic Write: https://www.canva.com/magic-write/ 
  11. Fotor AI Image Generator: https://www.fotor.com/features/ai-image-generator/ 
  12. AI writer: https://lex.page/
  13. Hate Speech’s Rise on Twitter Is Unprecedented, Researchers Find (NY Times, 2 Dec 2022) – #GiftLink
  14. Should You Leave Twitter for Mastodon? (Ethan Zuckerman, 7 Nov 2022)
  15. TikTok personality journalists continue to rise (Nieman Lab; December 2022)
  16. Warner: Parents should be ‘very concerned’ about TikTok (The Hill; 20 November 2022)
  17. Senate votes to ban TikTok use on government devices (The Hill; 14 December 2022)
  18. TikTok privacy and security – Is TikTok safe to use? (Kaspersky)
  19. Algorithm Warfare: How Elon Musk uses Twitter to control brains (George Lakeoff Substack, 14 Dec 2022)
  20. Mastodon 101 from Jeff Jarvis (YouTube)
  21. Mastodon Tips – 30 min screencast tutorial (Wes’ blog, 21 Dec 2022)
  22. “Facebook downranks content that links to other sites on the internet.” (via Cory Doctorow)
  23. Shadow Banning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_banning
  24. Face Recognition Tech Gets Girl Scout Mom Booted From Rockettes Show — Due to Where She Works (NBC New York; 19 December 2022)
  25. Apple is reportedly preparing to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone (The Verge; 13 December 2022)
  26. iPhone app sideloading? Developers can’t agree whether it’s a blessing or a disaster waiting to happen (iMore; 20 December 2022)
  27. Epic Games fined $520 million in FTC’s Fortnite privacy case (Axios, 19 Dec 2022)
  28. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Hotel Tonight
  29. Wes’ Geek of the Week: My #edtechSR tagged posts on Mastodon
Alarm” (CC BY 2.0) by chilliam.wen

EdTechSR Ep 268 Age of Bossware

Welcome to episode 268 (“Age of Bossware”) of the EdTech Situation Room from August 31, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed what to expect from Apple’s iPhone 14 event, the ongoing mystery of Apple’s “Self Repair Program,” and the impracticality of DIY repairing iOS and MacOS. Other topics included Google’s Chrome browser PWA store, the expansion of Google’s residential Fiber Internet service, and an announced partnership between T-Mobile and SpaceX for Starlink and 5G cellular service. The questionable Constitutionality of student digital test surveillance, the advent of “bossware” (workplace surveillance software,) and a terrible situation involving a father sending a photo of his young child to a doctor ending up losing all his Google account access forever were subjects rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included OpenCore Legacy Patcher (a free way to run latest MacOS on older Apple hardware,) software to bulk-edit Google Calendar events, NASA Artemis wallpaper, and a great “Land of the GIANTS” podcast episode on “The Facebook Election.” 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. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. What To Expect From Apple’s iPhone 14 Event (The Verge; 24 August 2022)
  10. Does Apple’s ‘Far out’ invite artwork hint at iPhone 14 features? Here are some guesses (9 to 5 Mac; 24 August 2022)
  11. Apple Self Service Repair program now extended to M1 MacBook models (9 5o 5 Mac; 22 August 2022)
  12. iFixit: Self Repair Program actually makes M1 MacBooks less repairable (9 to 5 Mac; 24 August 2022)
  13. Here’s an early look at Google’s Chrome browser PWA store (About Chromebooks; 22 August 2022)
  14. Google Fiber isn’t dead, it’s expanding (The Verge; 11 August 2022)
  15. Starlink and 5G joining forces? SpaceX and T-Mobile holding Starbase event Thursday (Space Explored; 24 August 2022)
  16. T-Mobile and SpaceX Starlink say your 5G phone will connect to satellites next year (The Verge; 25 August 2022)
  17. Scanning students’ rooms during remote tests is unconstitutional, judge rules (NPR, 26 Aug 2022)
  18. Workplace surveillance: how your boss is spying on you (NPR, 24 Aug 2022)
  19. A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal (NYTimes, 21 Aug 2022)
  20. Jason’s Geek of the Week: OpenCore Legacy Patcher (run latest MacOS on older Apple hardware)
  21. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Bulk Edit (Google) Calendar EventsNASA Artemis Wallpaper“The Facebook Election” on Land of the GIANTS Podcast

EdTechSR Ep 266 AI for Excel

Welcome to episode 266 (“AI for Excel”) of the EdTech Situation Room from August 10, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed features in ChromeOS 104 and 105, an AI bot for Excel formulas, and an increased price for Twitter Blue. Google’s warrantless video permissions for police, survey results about political violence in the U.S., and GenZ search preferences for TikTok over YouTube were also highlighted topics. Additionally, subscription based cars, and latest Meta’s chatbot fail were explored Geeks of the Weeks included Kible and Ad Observatory. Check out our shownotes for links to all the articles we discussed, and subscribe to our Substack to receive all the links we discussed and also didn’t have time to talk about in this week’s show in your email inbox! 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. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. ChromeOS 104 rolling out and introducing new features (Chrome Unboxed; 5 August 2022)
  10. Chrome OS 105 partial split windows and multitasking button details (About Chromebooks; 11 July 2022)
  11. Game-changer for Excel: Free AI bot creates any Excel formula you need (Boy Genius Report; 31 July 2022)  https://excelformulabot.com/
  12. ​​Twitter raises its Blue subscription price (MS PowerUser; 29 July 2022)
  13. Google, like Amazon, will let police see your video without a warrant (Verge, 27 July 2022)
  14. He surveyed 8,600 Americans about political violence. The results are beyond scary (LA Times, 21 July 2022)
  15. Nearly half of Gen Z is using TikTok and Instagram for search instead of Google, according to Google’s own data (Insider; 13 July 2022)
  16. The future of cars is a subscription nightmare (The Verge; 13 July 2022)
  17. Meta’s New AI Chatbot Loves Anti-Racism and Mean Girls (Gizmoto; 6 August 2022)
  18. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Kible
  19. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Ad Observatory (details)

EdTechSR Ep 254 ChromeOS Oh My

Welcome to episode 254 (“ChromeOS Oh My”) of the EdTech Situation Room from March 30, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google / ChromeOS news, Microsoft news, Apple news, technology headlines from the ongoing war in Ukraine, BigTech / The “Tech Correction,” and one article about Space Force. Geeks of the Week included an excellent Ezra Klein interview with Margaret Atwood, and early bird pricing for NCCE 2022! Check out our shownotes for links to all the articles we discussed, and subscribe to our Substack to receive all the links we discussed and also didn’t have time to talk about in this week’s show in your email inbox! 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. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Chrome OS virtual desks are getting a useful upgrade (About Chromebooks; 24 March 2022)
  10. Cameyo introduces PWA Windows apps for Chrome OS (Chrome Unboxed; 23 March 2022)
  11. Chrome OS: “A better Linux than Linux” so you can forget about Windows (TechRadar, 18 March 2022)
  12. How to identify images in Chrome using Google Lens (Chrome Unboxed; 23 March 2022)
  13. Chrome for Mac, Windows, & CrOS add Side Panel for accessing bookmarks, Reading List [U] (9 to 5 Google; 25 March 2022)
  14. Windows 11 version 22H2: Everything we know about Microsoft’s next big OS update (Windows Central; 23 March 2022)
  15. Microsoft Surface Laptop Se Review: Just Get A Chromebook (The Verge; 25 March 2022)
  16. Apple is reportedly planning a 15-inch MacBook Air (The Verge; 25 March 2022)
  17. Russia is risking the creation of a “splinternet”—and it could be irreversible (Technology Review; MIT Technology Review; 17 March 2022)
  18. How War in Ukraine Roiled Facebook and Instagram (NY Times, 30 March 2022)
  19. TikTok faces investigation into its impact on young people’s mental health (The Verge; 8 March 2022)
  20. Facebook paid GOP firm to malign TikTok (Washington Post, 30 March 2022)
  21. WithFed Up  Google, Conspiracy Theorists Turn to DuckDuckGo (The New York Times; 23 February 2022)
  22. The free speech search engine that never was (Recode; 16 March 2022)
  23. Space Force Gets Roughly 40% Increase in Biden Request (Defense One, 28 March 2022)
  24. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Margaret Atwood on Stories, Deception and the Bible (Ezra Klein Podcast)
  25. Jason’s Geek of the Week: NCCE 2022 Early Bird Pricing Ends THURSDAY!

EdTechSR Ep 244 Join our SubStack

Welcome to episode 244 (“Join our SubStack”) of the EdTech Situation Room from January 5, 2022, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the case of two California teachers secretly recorded talking about LGBTQ student outreach, who used student laptop monitoring software to identify prospective club members. The DuckDuckGo privacy desktop web browser and Americans’ distrust of social media companies were also discussed. On the Google front, the new capability to host up to 500 meeting participants in a Google Meet videoconference for paying Google Workspace customers, changes to the “Your News Update” for the Google Assistant, and the potential dangers (according to the EFF) of the Google Chrome “Manifest V3” user tracking standard were highlighted. UBlock Origin as a free ad-blocking extension for Chrome and FireFox was extolled / recommend, and Google’s announced “major improvements” to Android were explored. Lastly, some tales of algorithmic poor choices by automated podcast advertisement selection programs were discussed. Geeks of the week included MapCrunch, James Webb space telescope links, and a good (but troubling) podcast about fascism in America by Vox Conversations. 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. Please sign up for our NEW SubStack newsletter to receive all our show links each week in your inbox, including links we are not able to discuss on edtechsr.substack.com. Stay savvy and safe!

Shownotes

  1. Subscribe to our EdTechSR Substack Newsletter!
  2. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  3. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  4. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  5. Video version on YouTube
  6. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  7. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  8. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – wesfryer.com/after
  9. Two California teachers were secretly recorded speaking about LGBTQ student outreach. Now they’re fighting for their jobs (San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Dec 2021) – PDF version
  10. DuckDuckGo is working on a privacy-focused desktop browser (The Verge; 21 December 2021)
  11. Americans widely distrust Facebook, TikTok and Instagram with their data, poll finds (Washington Post, 22 Dec 2021 – gift link!)
  12. Host Google Meet meetings with up to 500 participants (Google Workspace Blog, 16 Nov 2021)
  13. Google Assistant gets rid of ‘Your News Update’ audio digest (9to5Google, 5 Nov 2021)
  14. Chrome Users Beware: Manifest V3 is Deceitful and Threatening (EFF, 9 Dec 2021)
  15. UBlock Origin for Chromefor FireFox
  16. Google Announces Major Improvements To Android Better Together At CES 2022 (Chrome Unboxed; 5 January 2022)
  17. Seriously, Affordable Chromebooks Are Getting Really Good [Video] (Chrome Unboxed; 19 June 2021)
  18. Podcasters Are Letting Software Pick Their Ads — It’s Already Going Awry (The Verge; 4 January 2022)
  19. Jason’s Geek of the Week: MapCrunch
  20. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: James Webb Telescope Wonder Links and Why fascism in America isn’t going away (Vox Conversations Podcast)

EdTechSR Ep 241 Twitter Upgrade Benefits

Welcome to episode 241 (“Twitter Upgrade Benefits”) of the EdTech Situation Room from December 8, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the monetization of user location data (including minors) by Life360 and other companies, Twitter’s new “Twitter Blue” upgrade service, and Instagram’s forthcoming chronological feed feature. The latest chapter in the Apple vs. Epic legal battle,Microsoft’s new Office UI, and a surprising discouragement by MS Windows to users downloading the Chrome browser. The story of Chinese superstar Peng Shuai’s courageous accusations of sexual assault against a high ranking government official was discussed, and her subsequent disappearance as part of a government campaign to silence her voice as well as others speaking out for women’s rights in China. Google’s foray into 3D telepresence and a backstory update on the Missouri governor’s mystifying accusation of a journalist as a hacker for viewing public webpage source code were discussed. The release of ChromeOS 96 and the developing “shadow war in space” between the United States, Russia and China were final topics in this week’s show. Geeks of the week included a great Scribble Maps tutorial from Richard Byrne, and an excellent Ezra Klein Show podcast about “superforecasters.” 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. Life360 reality tweet: “”You can watch where your kids are, and so can anyone who buys this information”
  9. The Popular Family Safety App Life360 Is Selling Precise Location Data on Its Tens of Millions of Users (The MarkUp, 6 Dec 2021)
  10. There’s a Multibillion-Dollar Market for Your Phone’s Location Data (The MarkUp, 30 Sep 2021)
  11. Twitter will now let you pay to undo tweets and read ad-free news in the US (The Verge, 9 Nov 2021)
  12. Instagram says it’s working a new chronological feed option, could launch in early 2022 (9to5Mac, 8 Dec 2021)
  13. Epic v. Apple ruling put on hold after appeals court grants a stay (The Verge, 8 Dec 2021)
  14. Microsoft’s new Office UI is now rolling out to everyone (The Verge, 2 Dec 2021)
  15. Microsoft’s new Windows prompts try to stop people downloading Chrome (The Verge, 2 Dec 2021)
  16. Why Peng Shuai Has China’s Leaders Spooked (NY Times, 2 Dec 2021)
  17. Beijing Silenced Peng Shuai in 20 Minutes, Then Spent Weeks on Damage Control (NY Times, 8 Dec 2021)
  18. Here’s how Google’s experimental 3D telepresence booth works (The Verge, 2 Dec 2021)
  19. Video: Gavin’s Holographic teleconference with Bighead – Silicon Valley (Beware of NSFW language)
  20. Emails show what happened before Missouri gov. falsely called journalist a “hacker” (ArsTechnica, 3 Dec 2021)
  21. Microsoft Makes Breakthrough in the Quest to Use DNA as Data Storage (Gizmodo, 2 Dec 2021)
  22. Chrome OS 96 rolling out: Camera tweaks, Nearby Share in Android apps, more (9to5Google, 20 Nov 2021)
  23. Opinion: A shadow war in space is heating up fast (Washington Post, 30 Nov 2021)
  24. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Scribble Maps – Draw on Google Maps and More Without an Account (Richard Byrne, 19 Nov 2021)
  25. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Predicting the Future Is Possible. ‘Superforecasters’ Know How (Ezra Klein Show on NY Times, 3 Dec 2021

EdTechSR Ep 225 Beware Video Embeds

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!

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. Majority of Covid misinformation came from 12 people, report finds (The Guardian, 17 July 2021)
  9. Disinformation for Hire, a Shadow Industry, Is Quietly Booming (NY Times, 25 July 2021)
  10. QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow (New York Times; 26 July 2021)
  11. This outed priest’s story is a warning for everyone about the need for data privacy laws (Recode, 21 July 2021)
  12. iOS 14.7 lets you change iPhone app icons. Here’s how to make your home screen ‘aesthetic’ (cNet; 25 July 2021)
  13. Microsoft Edge 92 starts rolling out to mainstream users (ZDNet; 22 July 2021)
  14. Classroom adapts for the future of learning and teaching (Google Blog; 22 July 2021)
  15. YouTube’s newest monetization tool lets viewers tip creators for their uploads (TechCrunch, 20 July 2021)
  16. Google is finally doing something about Google Drive spam (ArsTechnica, 23 July 2021)
  17. Google pushed a one-character typo to production, bricking Chrome OS devices (Ars Technica; 22 July 2021)
  18. Clubhouse is now out of beta and open to everyone you (TechCrunch, 21 July 2021)
  19. Twitter is shutting down Fleets on August 3, citing low usage (TechCrunch, 14 July 2021)
  20. How Facebook let fake engagement distort global politics: a whistleblower’s account (Guardian, 12 April 2021) via Your Undivided Attention (9 July 2021)
  21. Twitter for iOS begins testing dislike button for some users (9to5Mac, 21 July 2021)
  22. Twitter shares a first look at the ‘big overhaul’ coming to TweetDeck (The Verge; 20 July 2021)
  23. A Defunct Video Hosting Site Is Flooding Normal Websites With Hardcore Porn (Motherboard; 22 July 2021)
  24. Jason’s Geeks of the Week: Present at NCCE 2022!Gravy Podcast on Prison Food
  25. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Google’s Paint with Music and Digital Learning Activities with Google Drawings and Twitter Bookmarks

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
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