EdTech Situation Room Episode 114

Welcome to episode 114 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 14, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the past week’s technology news through an educational lens. Topics for the show included college students at UC Berkeley developing browser extensions to identify political bot accounts on social media, prospects for liberal democracy portrayed in PBS Frontline’s recent series “The Facebook Dilemma,” and issues of both trust and due process involving Facebook, content takedowns and smart assistants like Alexa and Google Home. Microsoft’s problems with recent Windows10 updates and its new crowdsourced feedback process for updates, and new research on the value of doodling for learning and retention were also discussed with a shout out to Sylvia Duckworth’s (@sylviaduckworth) new book on sketchnoting. The “Shift Happens” video series 10 years later, problems with drone videos and wildlife harassment, Google’s pleas to content creators to help oppose new copyright legislation in Europe, and a Mozilla report identifying the “creepiest” tech gifts this holiday season from a privacy / surveillance standpoint rounded out the show. Geeks of the week included FFWorks / FFMpeg for video encoding, Thankful Bot from the Noun Project, a funny U.S. election meme on Twitter, and the virtual keyboard project CopyChar. Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and join us LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can (normally) 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. The College Kids Doing What Twitter Won’t (Wired, 1 Nov 2018)
  9. BotCheck.me
  10. The Facebook Dilemma Part 1 and Part 2 (PBS Frontline, 29 & 30 Oct 2018)
  11. Facebook Is the Least Trusted Major Tech Company When it Comes to Safeguarding Personal Data, Poll Finds (Fortune; 8 November 2018)
  12. Human rights groups want Facebook to offer ‘due process’ for takedowns (The Verge; 14 November 2018)
  13. Instagram starts rolling out dashboard that shows how much time you spend on it (Verge, 14 Nov 2018)
  14. Alexa, Should We Trust You? (The Atlantic, November 2018)
  15. Microsoft re-releases Windows 10 October 2018 Update today after pulling it offline (The Verge; 13 November 2018)
  16. Microsoft to focus on Windows 10 quality after a buggy year (The Verge; 13 November 2018)
  17. Drawing Is the Fastest, Most Effective Way to Learn, According to New Research (Inc Magazine, 31 Oct 2018)
  18. The Surprisingly Powerful Influence of Drawing on Memory (Sage Journals, 30 Aug 2018)
  19. “How to Sketchnote: A Step-by-Step Manual for Teachers and Students” by Sylvia Duckworth @sylviaduckworth
  20. Has ‘Shift’ Happened? Revisiting a Viral Video From 2008 (EdSurge, 6 Nov 2018)
  21. That Cute Baby-Bear Video Reveals a Problem With Drones (The Atlantic, 6 Nov 2018)
  22. A Final Update on Our Priorities for 2018 (YouTube Creator Blog, 22 Oct 2018)
  23. Google CEO’s China argument doesn’t hold water (Columbia Journalism Review, 9 Nov 2018)
  24. Mozilla Releases Creepy Gift Report (Mozilla Foundation)
  25. Wes’ Geeks of the Week:  FFWorks (backstory), “Thankful Bot” by @nounproject and the Twitter meme – “me voting in 2016 vs. me voting in 2018”
  26. Jason’s Geek of the Week: CopyChar.CC – Virtual Keyboard

EdTech Situation Room Episode 85

Welcome to episode 85 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 7, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wes Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Chrome blocking autoplay videos, Smartwatch privacy issues, amazing LIDAR discoveries in Guatemalan jungles, work by the Center for Humane Technology, and changing norms with Smartphone memory capacity. Additional topics included Apple’s HomePod release and Apple’s AI lag behind Google and Amazon, new smart glasses from Intel, Best Buy discontinuing CD sales, expected impacts of 5G cellular wireless, and recommendations for home mesh routers. Geeks of the week included the Common Voice Project by Mozilla (from Wes) and “Android Lite” apps for situations with poor connectivity (Jason). Note we will NOT have a show next week on February 14th / Valentine’s Day, but will return on our regular schedule February 21st, Check out all our shownotes (including articles we did not have time to discuss this week) on http://edtechSR.com – Stay safe and stay savvy, friends!

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 Chrome now lets you permanently mute annoying websites (Verge, 25 Jan 2018)
  9. Facebook should shut down Messenger Kids, child advocates say (30 January 2018)
  10. Laser Scans Reveal Maya “Megalopolis” Below Guatemalan Jungle (National Geographic, 2 February 2018)
  11. Center for Humane Technology (@HumaneTech_)
  12. Apple Homepod Review: Locked In (The Verge, 7 February 2018)
  13. 64GB phones aren’t big enough for me anymore (The Verge, 29 January 2018)
  14. Shout out to TIDE Podcast 95 (@TIDEpodcast) and the Amazfit Bip smartwatch ($60)
  15. LG Urbane Urbane Smartwatch
  16. Pentagon reviews policy after fitness app reveals military locations (Engadget, 29 January 2018)
  17. Pebble is dead and hardware buttons are going with it (The Verge, 27 January 2018)
  18. ProHDR App for Android and Pro HDR X App for iOS
  19. Intel Made Smart Glasses That Look Normal (The Verge, 5 February 2018)
  20. Google Glass (English WikiPedia)
  21. Best Buy will stop selling CDs — good riddance (The Next Web, 5 February 2018)
  22. How 5G could change everything from music to medicine (CNN, 5 February 2018)
  23. The Best Wi-Fi Mesh-Networking Kits for Most People (Wirecutter by NYT, 22 Jan 2018)
  24. Windows 10 S becoming a mode, not a version, as Microsoft shakes up its pricing (Arts Technica, 5 February 2018)
  25. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Common Voice Project by Mozilla
  26. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Bad Network? These Lite Android Apps Will Still Work (Make Use Of, 5 February 2018)

EdTech Situation Room Episode 83

Welcome to episode 83 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 24, 2018, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wes Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the Montana governor’s announcement to require net neutrality respect from ISPs with state contracts, the Hawaii governor’s Twitter password gaffe during the recent false ICBM alert incident, and a series of new Google announcements relating to an IT certification program and cybersecurity spinoff company. Additional topics included new affordable laptops from Lenovo, Acer, and Microsoft targeting the education market, wifi issues with Chromecast and Google Home devices, and some Apple updates on battery throttling, HomePod, and the Siri Assistant who can new read daily news briefings like Google Home and Alexa. The show rounded out with a discussion of new YouTube changes to channel monetization eligibility, the issues raised around “YouTube pranking culture” by the Logan Paul Japan suicide video, and a shout out to Ben Wilkoff’s new “Educator and Student Youtube 1000 List.” Please follow us on Twitter for updates and links to our live shows on Wednesday night on YouTube. Check out the full list of links, including some we did not cover in this episode, 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) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
  8. Montana governor signs executive order to keep net neutrality in the state (The Verge; 22 January 2018)
  9. Hawaii governor forgot Twitter password during false missile alert crisis (The Verge; 23 January 2018)
  10. Google Launches New IT Course, Offers Access to Jobs and Scholarships (Fortune, 16 Jan 2018)
  11. Google finds STEM skills aren’t the most important skills (Michigan Future, 5 Jan 2018)
  12. Alphabet’s Latest Moonshot Graduate Is Tackling Cybersecurity (Fortune, 24 Jan 2018)
  13. Graduation Day: Introducing Chronicle – Cybersecurity needs a moonshot (@AstroTeller, 24 Jan 2018)
  14. What is Google’s Fuchsia OS, anyway? (9 to 5 Google, 23 January 2018)
  15. Google teases I/O 2018 with a pineapple cake and a series of riddles (Verge, 24 Jan 2018)
  16. Over 90 percent of Gmail users still don’t use two-factor authentication (Verge, 23 Jan 2018)
  17. Lenovo Expands Educational Chromebook Lineup (Chrome Unboxed; 22 January 2018)
  18. Acer Announces A New Chromebox and 2 New Chromebooks (23 January 2018)
  19. Microsoft challenges Chromebooks with $189 Windows 10 laptops for schools (The Verge; 22 January 2018)
  20. [Update] Google’s Chromecast and Home devices can cause temporary Wi-Fi outages, here’s why (9 to 5 Google, 15 January 2018)
  21. Have you experienced Google Home- or Chromecast-related Wi-Fi outages? [Poll] (9 to 5 Google, 16 January 2018)
  22. Apple confirms iOS 11.3 will let you turn off controversial throttling of older iPhones (The Verge 24 January 2018)
  23. Apple’s Siri-equipped HomePod comes to your home on February 9 (ArsTechnica, 23 Jan 2018)
  24. Apple CEO Tim Cook Explains Why You’ll Want the HomePod (Fortune, 24 Jan 2018)
  25. iPhone users can now ask Siri to read daily news podcasts (Verge, 23 Jan 2018)
  26. Apple is adding a new Privacy icon to iOS and macOS to prevent iCloud password phishing (Verge, 24 Jan 2018)
  27. Jason’s Geek of the Week: The New York Times Podcast Club
  28. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: “The Secret of Tuxedo Park” (@AmExperiencePBS documentary) and Flixable (Flixable Helps You Find the Perfect Thing to Watch on Netflix – Lifehacker, 23 Jan 2018)

ICBM by nerd_gold, on Flickr
ICBM” (CC BY 2.0) by nerd_gold