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EdTechSR Ep 303 Happy Birthday Google!

Welcome to Episode 303 (“Happy Birthday Google!”) of the EdTech Situation Room from August 30, 2023, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week, Dr. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Dr. Wesley Fryer (wesfryer.com/after) discussed a range of technology topics, analyizing the latest news at the intersection of education and technology. They covered the 25th Birthday of Google, developments in artificial intelligence, including Google’s new image generation tool in Google Slides, a watermarking technique from Google to help track AI-generated images, and Ideogram, a powerful new free AI image generation tool Neiffer discovered. Fryer shared insights on military AI, highlighting the US Air Force’s plans to use autonomous drone “wingmen” alongside human pilots. The hosts also talked about upcoming Apple announcements, anticipating the likely release of the iPhone 15. They weighed the potential benefits of switching to USB-C charging and the need for schools to adapt. Social media topics included Facebook’s staff cuts impacting content moderation, lawsuits against tech companies related to student mental health, and the risks of election misinformation with weakened oversight. In other news, hosts highlighted the new US Cybersecurity Trustmark for IoT devices and Google’s plans to integrate AI writing assistance across Chromebooks. For their “Geeks of the Week,” Fryer shared a tutorial on using Voice Memos for student oral history projects, and Neiffer highlighted a deal on the MacBook Air M1, praising its speed and value. The show was live-streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as Facebook Live via StreamYard.com. Please follow @edtechSR on Twitter and @edtechsr@mastodon.education on Mastodon for updates, and join LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can. All shownotes are available on edtechSR.com/links. AI Disclosure: An initial draft of this episode summary was generated using youtubetranscript.com and claude.ai, as well as options for our show title!

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 – wesfryer.com/after
  9. OMG APPLE EVENT
  10. Google is 25 Years Old!!! (Android Police; 8 August 2023)
  11. AI images are getting harder to spot. Google thinks it has a solution (The Washington Post; 29 August 2032)🎁Link
  12. Guy Puts Artist Back Into AI System After He Begs to Be Removed (Futurism , 2 Aug 2023)
  13. Stephen Wolfram on Computational Thinking (Wes’ blog post from 7 Aug 2023)
  14. A.I. Brings the Robot Wingman to Aerial Combat (NY Times, 27 Aug 2023) 🎁Link
  15. AI Image Generation in Google Slides is Here (Flipped Classroom via YouTube)
  16. Google’s “Help Me Write” AI is coming to Chromebooks on a system-wide level (Chrome Unboxed; 25 August 2023)
  17. Following Elon Musk’s lead, Big Tech is surrendering to disinformation (Washington Post, 25 Aug 2023) 🎁Link
  18. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education sues social media companies over mental health impacts (25 Aug 2023) 
  19. The ‘US Cyber Trust Mark’ finally gives device makers a reason to spend big on security (TechCrunch, 23 Aug 2023)
  20. Jason’s Geek of the Week: MacBook Air M1 on Sale! 
  21. Wes’ Geek of the Week: [VIDEO] Sharing Voice Memos (Family Oral History Project) – full lesson
“Google Birthday Box!” (CC BY 2.0) by clevercupcakes

EdTechSR Ep 289 Arkansas Social Media

Welcome to episode 289 (“Arkansas Social Media”) of the EdTech Situation Room from April 12, 2023, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer@mastodon.cloud) discussed the ongoing controversy over Twitter’s labeling (and mis-labeling) of media companies (like NPR) as “state propaganda,” the sweeping minimum age limit for social media use in Arkansas, and a series of AI related podcast episode recommendations. These included Hard Fork, In Machines We Trust, and the Cortex Podcast. The New York Police Department’s announcement about its embrace of robotic police assistants, predicted job impacts for AI, and the prospect of AI moving from generative art creation platforms to world destruction. New subscription fees for Google and ADT home security systems and slumping Apple hardware sales were also discussed. Geeks of the Week included the AI note taking platform Memoable, the Podcast series “The Last Soviet,” the Media Education Lab’s “AI in Education” series, and Amy Webb’s SXSW 2023 Emerging Tech presentation. (No AI generated video summary this week!) 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. This edited video / podcast summary was initially generated by AI using www.summarize.tech. 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. Elon Musk Decides NPR Is Not State Propaganda After All (Gizmodo, 9 Apr 2023)
  10. NPR quits Twitter after being falsely labeled as ‘state-affiliated media’ (NPR; 12 April 2023)
  11. Arkansas governor signs sweeping bill imposing a minimum age limit for social media usage (CNN Business; 12 April 2023)
  12. PBS Joins NPR in Quitting Twitter Over State-Backed Label (Bloomberg, 12 Apr 2023)
  13. NYPD robocops: Hulking, 400-lb robots will start patrolling New York City (ArsTechnica, 12 Apr 2023)
  14. A.I. Vibe Check With Ezra Klein + Kevin Tries Phone Positivity (Hard Fork; 7 April 2023)
  15. Generating creativity (In Machines We Trust; 5 April 2023)
  16. Jobs lost, jobs gained: What the future of work will mean for jobs, skills, and wages (McKinsey & Company; 28 November 2017)
  17. #134: AI Art Will Make Marionettes Of Us All Before It Destroys The World (Cortex Podcast, 19 Oct 2023)
  18. Google and ADT have a new security system with lots of subscription fees (ArsTechnica, 29 March 2023)
  19. Analysts say Mac sales are down 40% as post-pandemic PC sales slump continues (ArsTechnica, 10 April 2023)
  20. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Memoable
  21. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Podcast series: “The Last Soviet” – “AI in the Classroom” webinar series from the Media Education Lab – Amy Webb Launches 2023 Emerging Tech Trend Report | SXSW 2023
“Arkansas” (CC BY 2.0) by Gamma Man

EdTech Situation Room Episode 107
Welcome to episode 107 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 12, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the days announcements from Cupertino at the special Apple Event including Apple Watch 4 and 3 new iPhone models. The forthcoming iOS 12 and the benefits of the new Apple watch providing ECG / EKG data which is FDA approved was highlighted. Under the heading of “Social Media Correction,” Jason and Wes discussed an fascinating and in-depth article from the New Yorker focusing on the challenges faced by Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook in moderate content for 2.2 billion people worldwide, and specifically the impact that is having on democratic processes and institutions. The banning of Alex Jones by both Apple and Facebook, and the devastating impacts of false rumors spread via social media in Myanmar, India and Brazil were also discussed. The public availability of mind-blowingly high resolution maps of Antarctica, The FCC’s “pause” of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, the ongoing exploration of our “Red Planet” by robots amidst the challenge of a summer planet-wide dust storm, and Twitter’s release of audio-only broadcasting options rounded out the articles in this week’s shortened show. Check out edtechSR.com/links for all shownotes, including those listed below. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific or 3 am UTC.

Shownotes:

  1. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  2. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  3. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  4. Video version on YouTube
  5. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  6. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  7. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
  8. Apple announces 3 new iPhones, a new watch, not much else (CNN, 12 September 2018)
  9. Why an Apple Watch with EKG matters (Verge 12 Sept 2018)
  10. iOS 12 is coming on September 17th, but here’s how to install it today (The Verge; 12 September 2018)
  11. Apple research continues on combining iPhone, iPad with MacBook-style accessory (AppleInsider, 11 Sept 2018)
  12. Can Mark Zuckerberg Fix Facebook Before It Breaks Democracy? (New Yorker, 17 Sept 2018)
  13. After Multiple Provocations, Twitter Has Banned Alex Jones And Infowars (BuzzFeed; 6 September 2018)
  14. Facebook followed Apple’s lead on Alex Jones purge, Zuckerberg (AppleInsider, 10 Sept 2018)
  15. Vicious Rumors Spread Like Wildfire On WhatsApp — And Destroyed A Village (BuzzFeedNews, 9 Sept 2018)
  16. These fact-checkers were attacked online after partnering with Facebook (Poynter, 10 Sept 2018)
  17. Google Wants to Kill the URL (Wired 4 Sept 2018)
  18. Reddit has banned the QAnon conspiracy subreddit r/GreatAwakening (The Verge; 12 September 2018)
  19. New Antarctica Map Is Like ‘Putting on Glasses for the First Time and Seeing 20/20’ (NYTimes, 7 Sept 2018)
  20. FCC pauses review of Sprint and T-Mobile merger (AppleInsider, 11 Sept 2018)
  21. NASA’s Opportunity Rover on Mars Still Silent 2 Months into Epic Dust Storm (Space.com, 17 Aug 2018)
  22. Twitter and Periscope now offer audio-only live broadcasts (Engadget, 7 Sept 2018)
  23. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: The Internet of Garbage by Sarah Jeong (@sarahjeong) – free eBook and Algorithms of Oppression – How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Noble @safiyanoble
  24. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Take Better Naps By Drinking Coffee First (Lifehacker)

EdTech Situation Room Episode 82
Welcome to episode 82 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 17, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wes Fryer (@wfryer) discussed upcoming changes to the Facebook news feed, the performance impact of software patches for Meltdown and Spectre, our human tendency to anthropomorphize technologies, and new highlights from CES 2018. Geeks of the week included Google’s Art App (Jason), the Microsoft Launcher for Android and the YouTube Safety Center (Wes). Check out all our links and shownotes, including many articles we didn’t have time to address in this week’s show, on http://edtechSR.com/links – Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edtechSR to stay up to date on upcoming shows. Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes and anywhere else you find us! Remember you can listen to our latest episode on Google Home by simply saying, “Hey Google, play the latest episode of The EdTech Situation Room podcast!”

Shownotes:

  1. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  2. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  3. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  4. Video version on YouTube
  5. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  6. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  7. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
  8. One Website’s Facebook Apocalypse Is Another’s Opportunity to Shine (Wall Street Journal, 12 Jan 2018)
  9. Facebook’s Adam Mosseri On Why You’ll See Less Video, More From Friends (Wired, 13 Jan 2018)
  10. Facebook is done with quality journalism. Deal with it. (The Monday Note, 15 Jan 2018)
  11. Google Chrome extensions with 500,000 downloads found to be malicious (ArsTechnica, 16 Jan 2018)
  12. Here’s how much the Meltdown and Spectre fix hurt my Surface Book performance (PC World, 13 January 2018)
  13. Meltdown, Spectre, and CloudReady (Neverware blog, 9 January 2018)
  14. Have you experienced Google Home- or Chromecast-related Wi-Fi outages? [Poll] (9 to 5 Google, 16 January 2018)
  15. [Update] Google’s Chromecast and Home devices can cause temporary Wi-Fi outages, here’s why (9 to 5 Google, 15 January 2018)
  16. Could You Kill a Robot? Can Robots Teach Us What It Means To Be Human? (NPR Hidden Brain, 10 July 2017)
  17. Another country has banned boiling live lobsters. Some scientists wonder why. (Washington Post, 13 Jan 2018)
  18. I used the Google Pixelbook as my only laptop at CES – and it completely converted me (Android Police, 16 January 2018)
  19. Razer & Project Linda: A Glimpse of What Chrome OS and Android Could Be (Chrome Unboxed, 16 January 2018)
  20. Extensity Extension for Chrome
  21. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Google Arts & Culture for iOS and for Android
  22. Google’s art app is now top of iOS and Android download charts thanks to its viral selfies (Verge, 17 January 2018)
  23. People love Google’s new feature that matches your selfie to a famous painting (Verge, 14 January 2018)
  24. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: YouTube Safety Center and Microsoft Launcher for Android (h/t @tommy_snider)

EdTech Situation Room Episode 62
Welcome to episode 62 of the EdTech Situation Room from August 23, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wes Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the new Google operating system “Oreo,” the rising costs of new smartphones in the United States, whether or not Facebook poses a threat to democracy, and Wired magazine’s Internet Troll map. Additional topics included “How info overload robs us of creativity,” the militarization of computing via autonomous killer robots and the forthcoming independence of US CyberCommand. Geeks of the week touched on interactive annotation tools like Hypothes.is and tips for public wifi hotspot security. Check out the podcast shownotes for links to a post about that incident and all the referenced articles / resources from the show. Follow us on Twitter @edtechSR to stay up to date about upcoming shows. Please try to join us LIVE online if you can, normally on Wednesday nights at 10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific.

Shownotes:

  1. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  2. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  3. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  4. Video version on YouTube
  5. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  6. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  7. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
  8. Google Officially Unveils Next-Generation ‘Android Oreo’ (MacRumors, 21 Aug 2017)
  9. Why does Samsung think you’d be willing to spend nearly $1,000 on a Galaxy Note 8? (The Verge, 24 August 2017)
  10. Apple reportedly planning $999 price for new iPhone (The Verge, 24 August 2017)
  11. 10000mAh Extended Battery Case for Samsung Galaxy Note 3 by @zero_lemon
  12. Wired’s Internet Troll Map (Wired, August 2017)
  13. Jon Snow: Facebook a threat to democracy (BBC, 24 August 2017)
  14. How Information Overload Robs Us of Our Creativity: What the Scientific Research Shows (Open Culture, 5 Aug 2017)
  15. Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self (forthcoming book)
  16. WNYC Note to Self Series: Bored and Brilliant
  17. Online disinhibition effect (English WikiPedia)
  18. A Cyber Norms Hypothetical: What If the USS John S. McCain Was Hacked? (Council on Foreign Relations, 23 Aug 2017)
  19. Trump orders U.S. Cyber Command receive new authority to conduct cyberwarfare (CyberScoop, 18 Aug 2017)
  20. Elon Musk leads 116 experts calling for outright ban of killer robots (The Guardian, 20 Aug 2017)
  21. VIDEO: Thoughts on Killer Robots (by IES STEM Students in 2015)
  22. The Power of Nonprofit Acquisitions: Curriculet Rises from the Dead (@EdSurge , 27 June 2017)
  23. Jason’s Geek of the Week: 14 Tips for Public Wi-Fi Hotspot Security (PC Magazine, 16 August 2017)
  24. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Hypothes.is (collaborative web annotation – video intro – video demo – h/t @dogtrax) – #edtechSR tagged annotations in Hypothes.is 

EdTech Situation Room Episode 56
Welcome to episode 56 of the EdTech Situation Room from June 19, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wes Fryer (@wfryer) were back after several weeks apart, which included some international travel for Jason to Sweden. This week discussion topics included the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on “a right to social media access” as part of 1st Amendment rights, and recent announcements from Apple at WWDC including new iPads, the iMac Pro and HomePod speakers. The proposed purchase of Whole Foods by Amazon, the degree to which we can societally prepare for job displacement from automation, and efforts by Amazon and Google to address offensive content as well as terrorist-related media using human moderators were also discussed. An amazing (but apparently true) event in Ethiopia was also discussed, in which the nation shut down the entire Internet for several days to prevent cheating on high school student end-of-year exams. Several surveillance and security related news articles were also addressed. Geeks of the Week included the Podcast App, 60db (by Jason) and two from Wes: SiteSucker for macOS and the Eclipse Megamovie Project. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @edtechSR to stay up to date on upcoming shows! Next week we’ll attempt a live show from ISTE in San Antonio on Monday evening, June 26th.

Shownotes:

  1. EdTech Situation Room Listener Survey: wfryer.me/edtechsr
  2. Follow @edtechSR on Twitter!
  3. Audio podcast feed (Subscribe with iTunes or Stitcher)
  4. Video version on YouTube
  5. Check out our video podcast feed and subscribe to our YouTube Channel (episodes also in this YouTube playlist)
  6. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) – blog: blog.ncce.org
  7. Wes Fryer (@wfryer) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
  8. Survey finds 1/3 of people interested in Apple’s HomePod, still more likely to buy Amazon Echo (AppleInsider, 13 June 2017)
  9. The Supreme Court Just Protected Your Right To Facebook (Wired; 19 June 2017)
  10. [VIDEO] How many jobs will robots actually take? (2 min, 30 sec – @axios, 5 June 2017)
  11. Amazon buys Whole Foods for $13.7 billion (ArsTechnica, 16 June 2017)
  12. John McCain at Senate hearing: We’re living an ‘Orwellian existence’ (CNBC @jacobpramuk, 7 June 2017)
  13. Activists and Journalists in Mexico Complain of Government Spying (New York Times, 19 June 2017)
  14. Why I won’t recommend Signal anymore (@VenemaSander, Nov 2016) 
  15. Weapons of Mass Surveillance (BBC World Service, 17 June 2017)
  16. Revealed: Facebook’s internal rulebook on sex, terrorism and violence (Guardian, 21 May 2017)
  17. Facebook sics AI on terrorist posts, but humans still do the dirty work (ArsTechnica, 16 June 2017) 18 June 2017)
  18. Four steps we’re taking today to fight online terror (@Google, 18 June 2017)
  19. Microsoft releases additional updates 4 older platforms to protect against potential nation-state activity (Microsoft TechNet, 13 June 2017)
  20. Defence Secretary unable to deny Trident nuclear submarines run on same outdated software hackers exploited to cripple NHS systems [Windows XP] (@montaukian @Independent, 14 May 2017)
  21. Ethiopia turns off internet nationwide as students sit exams (@guardian, 31 May 2017)
  22. President Trump wants a ‘sweeping transformation’ of government tech, he says at a White House meeting with execs (Re/code, 19 June 2017)
  23. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Podcast App, 60db, https://60db.co/  
  24. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: SiteSucker for macOS (make static HTML versions of WordPress & other websites!) via @cogdog and Eclipse Megamovie Project (more info from Newsweek)