EdTechSR Ep 194 – Yes Another New iPhone

Welcome to episode 194 (“Yes Another New iPhone'”) of the EdTech Situation Room from October 14, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Apple’s new announcements about iPhone12 and HomePod Mini, actions taken by social media companies to curb election-related misinformation and malinformation, and some proposals by tech correction advocates for technology company anti-trust legislation advocates. Developments in fast battery charging technology, the CRISPR / CAS9s discovering female scientists recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the promises of faster bandwidth over both cellular 5G and residential cable modems, and the mindblowing power of the average smartphone today were topics rounding out this week’s show. Geeks of the Week included a call to audit your own autopay subscriptions, a great opportunity for high school students to learn about AI from Stanford alums and grad students, and the podcast “In Machines We Trust” from journalist Jennifer Strong of the MIT Tech Review. 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) – blog: speedofcreativity.orgShared Media Literacy Lessons & Curriculum
  8. iPhone 12 (MacRumors; 13 October 2020)
  9. The 14 Juiciest Quotes From the House Antitrust Report (Wired; 8 October 2020)
  10. Former Facebook manager: “We took a page from Big Tobacco’s playbook” (Ars Technica; 24 September 2020)
  11. Google Chrome could be sold off in US government break-up plans (11 October 2020)
  12. Twitter, Facebook face blowback after stopping circulation of NY Post story (ArsTechnica, 14 Oct 2020)
  13. How to Deal With a Crisis of Misinformation (NY Times, 14 Oct 2020)
  14. Engineering a battery fast enough to make recharging like refueling (Ars Technica; 11 October 2020)
  15. Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to 2 Scientists for Work on Genome Editing (NY Times, 7 Oct 2020)
  16. Comcast says gigabit downloads and uploads are now possible over cable (ArsTechnica, 8 Oct 2020)
  17. iPhones Have 100,000 Times More Processing Power Than Apollo 11 Computer (Mac Observer, 17 Jul 2019)
  18. Verizon “nationwide” 5G ready for iPhone 12—don’t expect a big speed boost (ArsTechnica, 13 Oct 2020)
  19. Jason’s Geek of the Week: It’s Time to Audit Your Autopay Subscriptions (Lifehacker; 9 October 2020)
  20. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: AI Scholars 2020 (Intensives for high school students by Stanford PhD students) and PODCAST “In Machines We Trust” by @StrongReporter of @techreview

EdTechSR Ep 182 – Awash in Digital News

Welcome to episode 182 (“Awash in Digital News”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 1, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed our need for media literacy and information filtering strategies, and our ongoing “technology correction” reflected in advertiser protest pressure on Facebook for content moderation. The exciting announcement by Microsoft to offer a public beta of Minecraft Education Edition on Chromebooks, significant announcements by Apple at WWDC 2020 last week, Google’s privacy changes for new users, and potential dangers of CRISPR human genome editing were other topics addressed in the show. Wes’ Geeks of the Week included a support article about providing handwritten feedback on Google Docs via an iPad and Google Classroom, Google Meet tips and tricks, and Kast (a software program for watching web videos together). Jason’s Geek of the Week was a new “undelete” utility for Windows10 users. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com. 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.

  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 – Media Literacy resources: medialiteracy.wesfryer.com
  8. Our Ability to Process Information Is Reaching a Critical Limit (One Zero; 28 June 2020)
  9. You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our Polluted Media Landscape by Whitney Phillips (@wphillips49) and Ryan M. Milner (@rmmilner) – free online book – fantastic perspectives on media literacy
  10. Summer Institute on Digital Literacy by @MedEduLab
  11. Journalists believe news and opinion are separate, but readers can’t tell the difference (The Conversation; 22 June 2020)
  12. Facebook Groups Are Destroying America (Wired, 17 June 2020)
  13. YouTube bans Stefan Molyneux, David Duke, Richard Spencer, and more for hate speech (Verge, 29 June 2020)
  14. The Making of a YouTube Radical (NY Times, Kevin Roose, 8 June 2019) – also see the “Rabbit Hole” Podcast
  15. Advertisers are running from Facebook. What’s next? (Engadget, 30 June 2020)
  16. Join the Minecraft: Education Edition Chromebook Beta (Minecraft EE, 29 June 2020)
  17. Apple will let you port Google Chrome extensions to Safari (TechCrunch, 25 June 2020)
  18. Marques Brownlee’s Video: WWDC 2020 Impressions: Widgets and The Great Transition! (22 June 2020)
  19. Google just announced it will automatically delete your location history by default (Verge, 24 June 2020)
  20. Google Will Delete Your Data by Default—in 18 Months (Wired, 24 June 2020)
  21. CRISPR gene editing in human embryos wreaks chromosomal mayhem (Nature 25 June 2020)
  22. Help Students Fight Misinformation One Click at a Time (KQED Education, 30 June 2020)
  23. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: Google Classroom – Draw or  Annotate on Student Work and Google Meet Tips and Tricks (Carrie Lopez, MSON Conference) and Kast (share videos live)
  24. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Windows New Undelete File Utility

EdTech Situation Room Episode 142

Welcome to episode 142 of the EdTech Situation Room from July 24, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed why data privacy is complicated, the FTC’s $5 billion fine of Facebook, the limitations of SMS for 2 factor authentication (2FA) / multi-factor authentication (MFA), and exciting recent Apollo 11 50 year anniversary moon landing media coverage. Updates to Google’s smartwatch software (WearOS) as well as ChromeOS, Apple’s expected announcement of its new $3000 MacBook portable, the return of MDM-powered parental control apps like MyPact to the iOS App Store, and Apple’s pleas to avoid 25% tariffs on Chinese manufactured electronic components were also highlighted. The increasingly fractured landscape of podcasting (sadly coming to a walled garden paid app near you,) the prospect of “Peak Podcast” time, and Jason’s recent experiences with the wild world of urban electric scooters (where “the repo man” now thrives) were discussed with a remarkable tone of clarity laced with humor. Geeks of the Week included the DarkNet Diaries podcast (@darknetdiaries) and the “Timeline” tool from the Knight Foundation. 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. 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) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
  8. Why You Can’t Just Ask Social Media To Forget You (Mind Matters, 1 July 2019)
  9. F.T.C. Approves Facebook Fine of About $5 Billion (New York Times; 12 July 2019)
  10. Judge allows suit against AT&T after $24 million cryptocurrency theft (ArsTechnica, 23 July 2019)
  11. MOON LANDING: Apollo 11 Had a Hidden Hero: Software (Wall Street Journal; 14 July 2019)
  12. Wear OS in 2019: Here’s where it is, and where it needs to be [Video] (9 to 5 Google; 23 July 2019)
  13. This Latest Addition Makes Virtual Desks In Chrome OS 76 My Favorite New Feature (Chrome Unboxed, 21 July 2019)
  14. LTE Chromebooks Could Soon Be Far More Common (Chrome Unboxed, 24 July 2019)
  15. 16-inch MacBook Pro rumored to launch in October with ~$3000 starting price (9 to 5 Mac; 23 July 2019)
  16. OurPact returns to App Store, reviving debates about Apple’s impartiality (ArsTechnica, 12 July 2019)
  17. Apple asks Trump administration to exclude Mac Pro parts from tariffs (ArsTechnica, 23 July 2019)
  18. How podcasts grew into a multimillion-dollar industry (The Verge; 19 July 2019)
  19. Have We Hit Peak Podcast? (New York Times; 18 July 2019)
  20. Apple Plans to Bankroll Original Podcasts to Fend Off Rivals (Bloomberg; 16 July 2019)
  21. They Said You Could Leave Electric Scooters Anywhere — Then The Repo Men Struck Back (The Verge; 24 July 2019)
  22. Jason’s Geek of the Week: DarkNet Diaries podcast (@darknetdiaries)
  23. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Timeline by Knight Lab (@knightfdn) (Example: Fryer Family Media Timeline)
Fryer Family Media Timeline

EdTech Situation Room Episode 140

Welcome to episode 140 of the EdTech Situation Room from June 26, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed options for live webinars like ours when YouTube’s “Hangouts on Air” goes away later this year, exciting updates to ChromeOS, Google’s addition of media literacy lessons to its free digital citizenship curriculum, and the theoretical cost of an advertisement-free Internet. Additional topics included privacy protecting web browser options, Bill Gates regrets concerning Microsoft’s mobile phone operating system, journalism lobbyists pandering Congress for protective legislation from Google and Facebook, and the perils of public referendums on complicated economic and political issues. Geeks of the week included the “Bunk 1” app which utilizes impressive (and somewhat creepy) facial recognition for summer camp students, and the benefits of following app / service hashtags on Twitter. 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. 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) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
  8. Hangouts on Air livestreaming on YouTube ‘going away’ later this year (9 to 5 Google; 20 June 2019)
  9. OBS: Open Broadcaster Software
  10. Wirecast Encoding Software
  11. For LiveStreaming Zoom requires $15/month Pro account AND $40/month webinar add-on
  12. Facebook Live streaming via Open Broadcaster Software
  13. Chrome OS 75 Stable version arrives: Here’s what you need to know (About Chromebooks; 26 June 2019)
  14. Chrome OS 75 mounts third-party Android cloud storage to the native Files app on Chromebooks (About Chromebooks; 22 June 2019)
  15. Google Drive Offline Access Expands to All File Types (PC Magazine; 25 June 2019)
  16. No new Google-branded tablets; Pixel Slate is now a collector’s item (About Chromebooks; 20 June 2019)
  17. New (Old) Kid On The Block: Promethean Launches First Chromebox Ahead Of ISTE (ChromeUnboxed; 21 June 2019)
  18. Google’s new media literacy program teaches kids how to spot disinformation and fake news (TechCrunch, 24 June 2019)
  19. Apple Watch shipments grew 22% in 2018, thanks to popularity of the Series 4 (9 to 5 Mac; 25 June 2019)
  20. The cost of an ad-free internet: $35 more per month (Vox; 24 June 2019)
  21. It’s Time to Switch to a Privacy Browser (Wired, 16 June 2019)
  22. Microsoft missed out on $400B by letting Android take on Apple – Bill Gates (9 to 5 Google; 24 June 2019)
  23. Newspapers’ Embarrassing Lobbying Campaign (Politico, 10 June 2019)
  24. Richard Dawkins: Ignoramuses should have no say on our EU membership—and that includes me (Prospect Magazine, June 2016)
  25. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Bunk1 app (@/bunk1camps)
  26. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Follow App/Service Hashtags on Twitter

EdTech Situation Room Episode 127

Welcome to episode 127 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 6, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Google’s new Chromebook App Hub website, OpenAI’s decision to NOT share a new AI text generator, and Microsoft’s forthcoming “Windows Lite” operating system. Dipayan Ghosh & Ben Scott’s advocacy to promote intelligent regulation of Facebook and other Silicon Valley companies enabling “precision propaganda” was also highlighted, along with ways outrage over common threats can hijack parents’ common sense. Facebook’s declining US user base, Facebook’s announcement to emphasize point-to-point “ephemeral” messaging, and SpaceX’s recent success launching its Dragon crew module were also discussed. The future of “the technology correction” and our prospects for changing the “Surveillance Capitalism” model of many Silicon Valley companies, implications of the Huawei CFO extradition controversy, and the importance of media literacy in our age of fake news were additional topics. Updates to the PocketCasts app for Android, the addictive math-focused multiplayer app Prodigy, the gloomy prospects for BotNet death in the near future, the importance of unlimited data plans in the forthcoming 5G data environment, and the importance of carefully using “freemium” software platforms at school rounded out the show. Geeks of the week included an 18,000 mAh battery powered Android phone from Energizer, a fantastic video from Linda Yollis (@lindayollis) on improving student blogging quality, and Wes’ planned ATLIS 2019 bootcamp workshop “Filtering the ExoFlood”. 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. 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) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
  8. Find ideas and activities on the new Chromebook App Hub (Google Blog; 4 March 2019)
  9. OpenAI Won’t Release AI Text Generator, Branding it Too Dangerous (Digit)
  10. Microsoft is creating Windows Lite for dual-screen and Chromebook-like devices (The Verge; 4 March 2019)
  11. This Week in Tech (TWiT) Podcast
  12. How to make technology a force for good (CNN, 26 Sept 2018)
  13. Fake news is part of a bigger problem: automated propaganda (Columbia Journalism Review, 22 Feb 2019)
  14. “Digital Deceit: The Technologies Behind Precision Propaganda on the Internet” (New America, 23 Jan 2018)
  15. Wes’ GigaOM Vets Twitter List
  16. How outrage over relatively uncommon threats can hijack parents’ common sense (Washington Post, 5 March 2019)
  17. Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will shift to emphasize encrypted ephemeral messages (The Verge; 6 March 2019)
  18. Facebook’s US user base declined by 15 million since 2017, according to survey (The Verge; March 6, 2019)
  19. Why You Should NOT Quit Facebook or Twitter (Wesley Fryer, 15 January 2019)
  20. Book: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff (@shoshanazuboff)
  21. SpaceX launches Crew Dragon on its way to the space station (ArsTechnica, 1 March 2019)
  22. Tim Cook touts Apple’s commitment to education in meeting with President Trump & others (9 to 5 Mac; 6 March 2019)
  23. iPhone sales are falling, and Apple’s app fees might be next (AP; 6 March 2019)
  24. Pocket Casts 7 for Android exits beta w/ Material Theme, improved queuing (9 to 5 Google; 5 March 2019)
  25. What You Need to Know About the Huawei Court Case in Canada (NY Times, 6 March 2019)
  26. Huawei CFO suing Canada over December arrest (Reuters⁩, 3 March 2019)
  27. What is a botnet? And why they aren’t going away anytime soon (CSO Online, 27 Feb 2019)
  28. Mirai (malware) (English WikiPedia)
  29. The Ethically Questionable Math Game Taking Over U.S. Schools (Jeff Wise on Medium, 27 Feb 2019)
  30. Movie: Ready Player One (2018)
  31. 5G will be crazy fast, but it’ll be worthless without unlimited data (Mashable; 28 February 2019)
  32. How I Fell Out of Love with the Internet – And how you will too (Avery Erwin, 14 Feb 2019)
  33. Wes’ Geeks of the Week: “Tips to Ensure Quality Blogging” by @lindayollis and “Filtering the ExoFlood: Strategies for Media and Information Literacy” (ATLIS 3 hour Bootcamp, 14 April 2019, Dallas, Texas)
  34. Jason’s Geek of the Week: Energizer 18,000 mAh smartphone

EdTech Situation Room Episode 115

Welcome to episode 115 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 21, 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 the recent outages of cloud services including Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory and LastPass Password Manager, and multiple signs of “The Technology Correction.” These included calls for regulating Facebook, surveys showing many young computer scientists do not want to work for Facebook, and Facebook’s apparent inability to regulate / fix itself. Processor upgrades to the Samsung Chromebook Plus, the enduring value of Google Pixelbooks, and Black Friday week deals on Pixelbooks were also discussed. On the security front, a new, stealthy Russian hacking tool, a phishing test tool, the first amendment and Facebook, and student protests over Facebook’s sponsored learning management system “Summit Learning” were also discussed. The use of streetlight concealed cameras by US security agencies and the viability of the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the week included T-Mobile’s One Plus Plan (great for international travel) and a technique for bypassing news website free article limits with browser incognito mode. 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. 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) – blog: speedofcreativity.org
  8. Office 365, Azure users are locked out after a global multi-factor authentication outage (TechCrunch, 19 Nov 2018)
  9. LastPass Knocked Offline, Freezing Out Password Users (Tom’s Guide, 20 Nov 2018)
  10. Microsoft and Google working on Chrome for Windows on ARM (The Verge; 21 November 2018)
  11. From Mark Zuckerberg to George Soros, here’s everything you need to know about Facebook’s latest crisis (The Verge; 19 November 2018)
  12. Facebook ads urge its staff to leak secrets (BBC News; 21 November 2018)
  13. ‘I Don’t Really Want to Work for Facebook.’ So Say Some Computer Science Students. (New York Times; 15 November 2018)
  14. The Messy Fourth Estate (danah boyd, 20 June 2018)
  15. It’s time to start regulating Facebook (Washington Post OpEd by Nina Jankowicz, 15 Nov 2018)
  16. Facebook won’t fix itself (Vox OpEd by Emily Stewart, 15 Nov 2018)
  17. With A Core m3, The Samsung Chromebook Plus v2 Gets A Massive Upgrade (21 November 2018; Chrome Unboxed; 21 November 2018)
  18. The Google Pixelbook After A Year: 5 Reasons It’s Still Worth Your Money (Chrome Unboxed; 19 November 2018)
  19. $300 Off Any Pixelbook From Amazon!
  20. Technical error exposes Amazon users’ names, email addresses (CNet, 21 November 2018)
  21. Russian hacking tool gets extra stealthy to target US, European computers (CNet, 20 November 2018)
  22. Phishing Test Tool: https://www.knowbe4.com/
  23. Should the First Amendment apply to Facebook? It’s complicated. (Recode; 19 November 2018)
  24. Students protest Zuckerberg-backed digital learning program and ask him: ‘What gives you this right?’ (Washington Post, 17 Nov 2018)
  25. The DEA and ICE are hiding surveillance cameras in streetlights (Quartz, 9 Nov 2018)
  26. Writing with iPad Pro: The first 48 hours away from Mac (9to5Mac, 9 Nov 2018)
  27. Almost 50% of the world is online. What about the other 50%? (The Guardian, 18 October 2018)
  28. Jason’s Geek of the Week: T-Mobile’s One Plus Plan
  29. Wes’ Geek of the Week: Use Incognito Mode to Read Articles Exceeding Website Quotas