Edtech Situation Room By @techsavvyteach & @wfryer

Welcome to episode 229 ("Podcast Platform Agnostics") of the EdTech Situation Room from August 25, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed back-to-school technology smart buys, tips for Windows 11 users wanting to do a clean install or switch default browsers, and Microsoft's push to Office web apps over Android apps for ChromeOS users. On the Google front, we highlighted the upcoming requirement for 2FA for monetizing YouTube creators, Google Meets new mic echo warning feature, the rather incredible income of YouTube creators over the past 3 years ($30 billion), and the superb recent video from Derek Muller (@veritasium) "Clickbait is Unreasonably Effective." On the Apple front, the launch of the "#MadeOniPad" challenges campaign, and a ridiculously expensive Steve Jobs signed Apple II manual were discussed. The demise of Joe Rogan's podcasting influence (relatively speaking) since he went exclusive on the Spotify

Welcome to episode 228 ("NFT Rock Bargains") of the EdTech Situation Room from August 18, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Microsoft "PrintNightmare Ransomware," T-Mobile's confirmed (and large) customer data breach, and the differences between Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts. An amazing podcast interview with Eswar Prasad about "Why Crypto Matters," a crazy article about free clipart of a cartoon rock becoming a $300K NFT, and Apple's problematic blunders offering paid podcast subscriptions were also discussed. The Facebook Transparency Center's Q2 2021 report, a Yale University research study showing "‘Likes’ and ‘shares’ teach people to express more outrage online," a powerful podcast interview with Roger McNamee on "Holding Tech Accountable," and the unfortunate amplification of anti-vax nurses were highlighted on the social media front. In Google news, Google's forthcoming "hardware campus" and upgrades

Welcome to episode 227 ("Facebook Bad Actor") of the EdTech Situation Room from August 11, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Facebook's shutdown of disinformation academic researchers, growing distrust of Facebook as a platform overall, and efforts by Facebook to re-engineer its advertisements to allegedly support more user privacy. The reality that purchased digital movies are really just leased, Microsoft Edge's "Super Duper Secure Mode" (yes, that's the actual title), and AT&T's supply chain fiber woes were also discussed. A recent hack involving $600 million of cryptocurrency and a bipartisan bill targeting Apple and Google app store dominance were articles rounding out this week's show. Geeks of the Week included Chirp Audio Books, a recent @veritasium video on “This is why we can’t have nice things," and the free app EasyRes for MacOS. Please see our shownotes for links to all these articles and resource

Welcome to episode 226 ("Big YouTube EDU Changes") of the EdTech Situation Room from August 4, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed news articles on Microsoft Office running on Chromebooks, PWAs (progressive web apps), emojis, cloud-based Windows 365 computers for rent, and the near-disaster on the International Space Station involving the new Nauka module from Russia. Problems with M1 MacBook displays, "The Day the Good Internet Died," improvements to Google's native office document editing, and substantial changes to the way YouTube can be used by students under 18 in schools were also highlighted. The security dangers of password autofill in browsers, the reliability of "Have I Been Pwned," the influencer army hired by the White House to battle COVID disinformation, and the battle over remote work at large companies were also topics discussed in this week's show. Several app options for "proving" your COVID va

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!

Welcome to episode 224 ("Stores Watch You") of the EdTech Situation Room from July 21, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the extent of retail facial recognition and why it matters, Automattic's acquisition of PocketCasts, the recent FTC ruling supporting the "Right to Repair," and ongoing proposals for "Big Tech Regulation" / "The Tech Correction." Additional topics highlighted included useful iOS apps for sketchnoting, Chromebook advice, improvements in Zoom for ChromeOS, the increased national focus on vaccine disinformation and more. 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 (

Welcome to episode 223 ("Windows 11 Underwhelms") of the EdTech Situation Room from July 14, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the plethora of proposed "big tech regulations" in the U.S. Congress (our ongoing "tech correction,") the underwhelming and somewhat confusing release of Windows 11 by Microsoft, AI content filtering by TikTok, and some articles about educational technology lessons school leaders should heed after our experiences during COVID with remote and hybrid learning models. Google and ChromeOS news including the release of the desktop version of the Opera browser for Android (and now ChromeOS) in the Google Play Store, and the sad change in Audacity Software (an open source project) into the "surveillance capitalism" fold with user data tracking. Geeks of the Week included SimpleNote by Automattic and a great new video from Veritasium YouTuber (Derek Muller) titled, "The Biggest Myth in Educat

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 li

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 whic

Welcome to episode 220 ("The Big Lebowski") of the EdTech Situation Room from May 26, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Jason's increasing resemblance to Jeff Bridges, lots of updates to Google Workspace (formerly known as Google Suite,) Google I/O 2021 updates, and Google's apparent rediscovery of RSS. The less-than-perfect ways people are using password managers, the forthcoming retirement (in 2022) of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, malware on MacOS, and the malware dangers faced by remote workers were also highlighted. Additional Google show topics included the Google Teacher Center and Google Educator Certifications. On the security front, Joe Biden's secret Venmo account was discussed. On the social media / "tech correction" front, a Florida law to punish "politician deplatforming" online, a new Russian law pushing Google to delete "offending" content within 24 hours, and the "empty promise" of Facebook'

Welcome to episode 219 ("Ransomware Threats Abound") of the EdTech Situation Room from May 12, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the Emotet botnet takedown, ransomware evolution, and the importance of evolving your own MFA (multi-factor authentication) from SMS / text messaging to a more secure option. Microsoft's abandonment of Windows 10X, rumors about next week's Google I/O event, faster Google Docs on the way, and the death of Nuzzle (at the hands of Twitter, no less) were also highlighted topics. A bizarre social media story involving FaceApp and an older Japanese Twitter user, testimony in an Irish court about Facebook content moderator nightmares, Amy Klobachar's new book to usher in the "Tech Correction," and OneDrive's overdue casting support were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included a recorded webinar for language teachers by Wes, and an NCCE Live session on amazing Minecraft less

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 articl

Welcome to episode 217 ("CryptoCurrency is realER") of the EdTech Situation Room from April 28, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed a new Supreme Court test of students' rights to freedom of expression on social media, the dark web marketplace of user data, and Apple's new iOS update (14.5) privacy features. Apple's App Store defense in the Epic Games trial and the potentnial antitrust broo-ha-ah over Apple AirTags were highlighted. In our "miscellaneous" category, meme subject "disaster girl's" NFT payout of almost half a million dollars and an inventive analog-vibe switchboard voice messaging DIY project using Telegram were also highlighted. On the Google front, rumored GoogleIO product updates and announcements, ChromeOS 90 new features, and the momentous performance improvements with the "Tiger Lake" Chromebook chip were discussed. The official announcement that Montana has the worst connectivity in the Unit

Welcome to episode 216 ("Luvin' Google Ain't Wrong") of the EdTech Situation Room from April 21, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the impending return of Parler to the Apple App Store, the amazing dynamics of WikiPedia following the January 6th U.S. Capitol Riot, and the tendency of negative political tweets to garner more user attention than others. The important role of Darnella Frazier in documenting the homicide of George Floyd with her smartphone, Apple's redesigned iMacs with Apple silicon chips, upgraded iPad Pros, and newly announced "Air Tags" by Apple at their marketing event this week. The start of "the podcast war" between Apple, Spotify and others reflected in Apple's announced changes to the Apple Podcasts feature of Apple Music, "performance mode" in the Microsoft Edge browser (similar to Chrome 'tab suspender' extensions minimizing browser user of computer memory), and new Chromebooks from Len

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.

Welcome to episode 214 ("Order Chromebooks NOW") of the EdTech Situation Room from April 7, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed a copyright/fair use victory for Google and software developers everywhere, Russia and China's plans to host an in-person conference in June to further develop their plans for a joint lunar robotic base, and the departure of LG from the ranks of Android phone hardware manufacturers. Also in Google related news, the announced return of Google I/O (in virtual form) this May, new autosave features in Google Forms for enterprise education users, and a storage extension deadline for Google Workspace users were discussed topics. Apple's forthcoming battery recalibration features in iOS 14.5 (for iPhone 11 and newer devices only,) the mechanics and carbon footprint of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in the art world, and exciting connectivity / infrastructure / digital divide related announcements

Welcome to episode 213 ("Order Chromebooks NOW") of the EdTech Situation Room from March 31, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed remote work post-pandemic, continuing electronic component shortages, proliferating firmware attacks, and President Biden's new nationwide infrastructure package. AT&T's lobbying efforts to perpetuate the digital divide (prevent a nationwide fiber rollout and keep "high speed Internet" definitions low at 10 Mbps), pundit dreams of a widened scope for Facebook's Oversight Board, and Facebook's proposed regulatory changes of Section 230 were also highlighted. The surprisingly small number of people responsible for most of the global anti-vaccination disinformation, the promise of USI styluses for Chromebooks, improvements to Google Drive search, and the challenges of long-term Android updates on smartphones were discussed as well. Google's plans to refrain from April Fools Day video pran

Welcome to episode 212 ("NCCE 2021 Rocked") of the EdTech Situation Room from March 24, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the 2021 NCCE Conference, Google and Microsoft's spat over Australian journalism row & payoff, and Twitter's new entity in Turkey complying with local social media laws. Thoughtful articles analyzing the possibility of Donald Trump launching his own social media platform, a shout out to Karla Swisher's January podcast interview with (now ousted) Parler CEO John Matze, the crowdsourcing website Sedition Hunter, and an excellent CNN article on preparing kids to use social media were also highlighted. Privacy issues with Clubhouse, Lenovo's new Chromebooks for the education market, updated Google Photos AI capabilities, and on-going development of Google's Fuchsia operating system were discussed. Updates to Google notifications, a costly Bitccoin scam, white hat hacker profits during the pande

Welcome to episode 211 ("Age of CyberWar") of the EdTech Situation Room from March 3, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed privacy issues raised by Clubhouse, Google's professed commitment to privacy, and the Duck Duck Go Privacy app. Additional discussed articles included a sobering prophesy by the FireEye CEO on future cyberwar, how the "Blacklight" tool can reveal the extent of website tracking of consumers, and (thanks to Peggy George) an article about 12 essential apps to protect your online privacy. An update on the Apple M1 SSD writing issue, an effort by Arizona legislators to change Apple's App Store payment policies, and the reopening of all 270 Apple stores in the United States were also highlighted. Chromebook and Google Family Link news and a new company promising to slash electric motor energy consumption rounded out the show. Geeks of the Week included a student eBook project from Casady School sen

Welcome to episode 210 ("Facebook Re-friends Australia") of the EdTech Situation Room from February 24, 2021, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the closure of Fry's Electronics Stores nationwide in the United States, and more details about updates and changes to "Google Workplace for Education" (the rebranded product suite formerly known as "Google Suite for Education" or GSFE.) Apple M1 processor SSD write woes, mysterious MacOS malware, "technology correction" updates from Australia involving major news publishers, Facebook and Google, and some other miscellaneous tech news stories. These included a more sophisticated procedure for using the gene editing tool CRISPR, contention between Canada and China over a vote on the "Uighur Genocide," and another chapter in the tragic story of Google firing AI ethicist and researcher Timnit Gebru. Geeks of the Week included the New York Public Library Digital Collections, and