Welcome to episode 67 of the EdTech Situation Room from September 27, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wes Fryer (@wfryer) discussed prison time given to a Volkswagon engineer who wrote the emissions test dodging car code, updates to Google Slides, Team Drives for G Suite users, and G Suite’s new File Stream app for offline file access. Additional topics included the recent war of words between Donald Trump and Mark Zuckerberg, Doug Belshaw’s post about why he deleted all his past Twitter likes/favorites as well as most of his tweets, and an alleged $5 million purchase by Mexico of Israeli technology which permits monitoring of anyone’s cell phone location, text messages and phone calls by just using their phone number or phone IMEI number. (This article prompted Wes’ tin foil hat for part of the show.) The possible risks of biometric smartphone security was discussed, along with a slew of new product announcements from Amazon bring the menu of Alexa-powered devices to eight. (Wes is still not ready to purchase any of them for home use, however.) It’s Happy Birthday time for Google, and apparently time for the U.S. Congress to fire the current chairman of the FCC,Ajit Pai. Geeks of the week included Gazelle (a smartphone reseller to consider using when upgrading), the free iPad app “TextingStory Chat Story Maker,” and the upcoming “Google Camp OKC” $25 PD event on Saturday, November 4, 2017 in Oklahoma City (@googlecampOKC). Please follow us on Twitter @edtechSR for updates, and reach out to us if you listen to the show! If a particular article or topic is especially thought provoking or interesting to you, please let us know. The EdTech Situation Room is produced live each week (almost) on Wednesday nights at 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain time. Thanks for tuning in. Stay safe and stay savvy!
Welcome to episode 55 of the EdTech Situation Room from June 7, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week while Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was out on assignment in Sweden, special guest Dr. Scott McLeod (@mcleod) joined Wes Fryer (@wfryer) to discuss cyberattacks in Qatar and the Middle East, new iPad features announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in California, and the possible legal limits on public figures to block followers on social media platforms like Twitter. They also discussed a new book by CRISPR co-inventor Jennifer Doudna, insights into the rise of our artificial intelligence golden age from Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt, and students admitted to Harvard denied admission over inappropriate Internet memes shared over social media. Geeks of the Week included Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends 2017 presentation (355 slides!) by Scott and Story Map (including a Story Map of 2017 Terrorist attacks) by Wes. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @edtechSR to stay up to date on upcoming shows!
Welcome to episode 31 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 30, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show (as well as some we didn’t have time to discuss.) This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Martin Horejsi discussed the implications of President-elect Trump’s use of Twitter and first direct use of YouTube to communicate with the U.S. electorate instead of calling a traditional press conference. They also discussed implications of our social media dominated news and information landscape, especially as it pertains to journalism and the historic role of journalists to be the “news reporters” and not necessarily the “new analyzers.” They discussed Apple’s recent announcement that “air pods are coming soon” as well as new rumors of an iPad Air 3, and what upgrades or improvements are even possible now in the iPad line beside speed bumps. Jason and Martin also discussed Netflix’ announcement about offline downloads being available for certain shows, and what this might mean for cord cutters at home as well as travelers. Geeks of the week included Amazon’s facial recognition system “Rekognition” (from Jason) and the FLIR Infrared Camera for iOS/Android (from Martin). Check out the shownotes below for links to referenced articles and websites from the show. Also please fill out our listener survey if you have not already!
Welcome to episode 30 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 22, 2016, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit https://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show (as well as some we didn’t have time to discuss.) This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the challenges of “fake news” continuing to be shared in the aftermath of the U.S. election, and the responsibilities we have to vet and verify articles before passing them on to others. The future of net neutrality in the Trump administration, the rumored end to development of Apple’s AirPort routers, and the impact of both robotics and artificial intelligence on global labor markets were also addressed. As always, Jason and Wes focused on the impact and relevance of these stories for teachers. Please follow @edtechSR for updates on Twitter http://twitter.com/edtechsr as well as on Facebook. If you listen to the show, please submit our listener survey using the shortened link http://wfryer.me/edtechsr which forwards to a Google Form. You can also reach out to Jason and Wes on Twitter to share feedback, questions, or just let them know you’re tuning into the show! If you’re in the United States on holiday this week, have a restful and joy-filled Thanksgiving break!
