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
” (CC BY 2.0) by steve p2008

EdTechSR Ep 221 iPad as Laptop NO

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.

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. iPadOS 15 wish list for improving iPad quality of life sans Mac (9 to 5 Mac; 30 May 2021)
  9. Should you buy the Apple Watch Series 3 in 2021? Here’s how it stacks up (9 to  5 Mac, 2 June 2021)
  10. The next Mac mini: Smaller, speedier, and more expansive (MacWorld; 31 May 2021)
  11. Apple iMac M1 Review: The All-in-one For Almost Everyone (The Verge; 18 May 2021)
  12. Donald Trump has shut down his blog (The Verge; 2 June 2021)
  13. Twitter Confirms Plans for ‘Twitter Blue’ $2.99 Monthly Subscription Service (Mac Rumors; 27 May 2021)
  14. SEC struggling to rein in Elon Musk’s tweets, letters reveal (ArsTechnica, 2 Jue 2021)
  15. Help us reimagine Nuzzel within Twitter! (via @pgreorge)
  16. Excellent Twitter thread by Robert G Reeve about why so may people think (incorrectly) that their smartphone is listening to their conversations
  17. Amazon devices will soon automatically share your Internet with neighbors (Ars Technica; 29 May 2021)
  18. Jason’s Geek of the Week: The best MacOS utility apps: 6 amazing tools and tweaks (Digital Trends; 31 May 2021)
  19. Wes’ Geek of the Week: “New Laptop Without Tears” tutorial video (part 1 of 2)

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EdTechSR Ep 218 Facebook’s Doom Looms

Welcome to episode 218 (“Facebook’s Doom Looms”) of the EdTech Situation Room from May 5, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the decision of the Facebook Oversight Board to maintain (for now) Donald Trump’s ban on the platform, Section 230 and possible tech company regulation by the US Congress, and “the normalization of deviance” on Facebook. Twitter’s AI bot flagging ‘mean tweets,’ Facebook’s plea to users to allow life tracking on iOS 14.5, Signal’s jarring (and revealing) advertisement campaign on Facebook, and China’s efforts to dominate the global electric car market were also discussed. A new CRISPR-challenger for gene editing, a decade old Dell security flaw, AirTags and privacy, and news from the ongoing Apple vs. Epic lawsuit were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included some recommended Star Wars videos on YouTube and Hacker News. 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. Facebook ban on Trump upheld by Facebook Oversight Board, but decision opens door to his possible return (USA Today, 5 May 2021)
  9. Trump ban: Republicans threaten to break up Facebook after Oversight Board decision (Fox News, 5 May 2021)
  10. Video: ‘Nightmare situation for Facebook’: What the Trump ruling means (CNN, 5 May 2021)
  11. Good Riddance, Donald Trump? (OpEd by Kara Swisher, NYT, 5 May 2021) – via @pgeorge
  12. Section 230 (English WikiPedia)
  13. Facebook and the Normalization of Deviance (New Yorker, 2 May 2021)
  14. Twitter begins to show prompts before people send ‘mean’ replies (NBC News, 5 May 2021)
  15. Donald Trump’s ‘social media platform’ has launched and it’s just a blog (The Verge; 4 May 2021)
  16. Facebook encourages iOS 14.5 users to enable tracking so its apps remain ‘free of charge’ (9 to 5 Mac; 2 May 2021)
  17. Signal Tries to Run the Most Honest Facebook Ad Campaign Ever, Immediately Gets Banned (Gizmodo; 4 May 2021)
  18. As Cars Go Electric, China Builds a Big Lead in Factories (NY Times, 4 May 2021)
  19. Harvard scientists create gene-editing tool that could rival CRISPR (Engadget, 1 May 2021)
  20. Dell security flaw from 2009 affects ‘hundreds of millions’ of PCs: How to fix it (PC Magazine; 5 May 2021)
  21. How to Set Up Every iOS 14.5 Feature Worth Knowing About (LifeHacker; 5 May 2021)
  22. AirTag review: An easy-to-use item tracker empowered by a network of a billion iPhone users (9 to 5 Mac; 4 May 2021)
  23. I tracked my kid with Apple’s Airtags to test its privacy features (CNN; 5 May 2021)
  24. The Epic vs. Apple Hearing Is Already a Disaster (Gizmodo, 3 May 2021)
  25. As Epic case begins, senior Google engineer undermines one of Apple’s arguments (9 to 5 Mac; 3 May 2021)
  26. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Celebrating May the 4th in a Galaxy Far, Far Away and Star Wars 1978 Remix (Lubbock, Texas)
  27. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Hacker News

EdTechSR Ep 215 Advertising is Complicated

Welcome to episode 215 (“Advertising is Complicated”) of the EdTech Situation Room from April 14, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google’s new advertisement targeting technology initiative, privacy and advertisement-opt out tools, and Google search’s new product review prioritization changes. Slowdowns with AMD Ryzen Chromebooks. videoconferencing improvements in Chrome 90, and Google Lens OCR capabilities coming to the desktop were also highlighted. The continued advance of Moore’s Law and artificial intelligence, Apple’s upcoming “Spring Loaded” event predictions, Tim Cook’s “flea market” opinion of Epic Games’ lawsuit, and the new FCC speed test app were discussed. The importance of a ‘digital will’ and 23 year old coder who kept QAnon online were articles rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included a video on selecting a backyard BBQ smoker and the image background removal tool, remove.bg. 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. Google Is Testing Its Controversial New Ad Targeting Tech in Millions of Browsers. Here’s What We Know. (EFF, 20 March 2021) and amifloced.org
  9. Google’s FLoC Is a Terrible Idea (EFF, 3 March 2021)
  10. Google Ad Personalization Settings
  11. Jumbo Privacy
  12. YourAdChoices Advertising Opt Out (be sure to disable ad blockers before visiting / running this)
  13. Digital Advertising Alliance’s Self-Regulatory Principles
  14. Google Search now prioritizing in-depth research when ranking product reviews (9 to 5 Google; April 8 2021)
  15. AMD Ryzen Chromebooks Suffering Massive Slow-downs When Not Plugged In (ChromeUnboxed; 14 April 2021)
  16. Chrome 90 Should Make Your Video Calls A Bit Smoother (ChromeUnboxed; 14 April 2021)
  17. Google Lens expands beyond mobile and comes to desktop web with OCR in Google Photos (9 to 5 Google; 11 April 2021)
  18. A new era of innovation: Moore’s Law is not dead and AI is ready to explode (SiliconAngle; 10 April 2021)
  19. Apple officially announces Spring Loaded event for April 20th (The Verge; 13 April 2021)
  20. Tim Cook: Epic wants to turn the App Store into a ‘flea market’ (9 to 5 Mac; 12 April 2021)
  21. The FCC wants you to test your internet speeds with its new app (The Verge; 12 April 2021)
  22. Who will deal with your online presence when you die? How to create a ‘digital will’ (Guardian, 10 April 2021)
  23. A 23-Year-Old Coder Kept QAnon Online When No One Else Would (Bloomberg, 14 April 2021)
  24. Wes’ Geek of the Week: [VIDEO] Which Backyard BBQ Smoker / Grill Should I Buy?! (37 min)
  25. Jason’s Geek of the Week: www.remove.bg – Quick and Dirty Background Eraser for Images