Edtech Situation Room By @techsavvyteach & @wfryer

Welcome to episode 189 ("Hack the Nook") of the EdTech Situation Room from September 2, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed COVID-19 impacts and predicted impacts on schools in 2020-21 and beyond, and Apple's App store fights with Epic Games (over Fortnite) and WordPress, New Android updates for latest Samsung devices, Jason's love for Android E Ink tablets and desire to "hack the nook," updates about the U.S. military's new "Starlink style" space network in the work, and SpaceX's efforts to qualify Starlink for FCC grants were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included the forthcoming documentary, "The Social Dilemma," the superb Oct 2019 article by Joan Donovan, "How memes got weaponized: A short history," a free W3C Web Accessibility course, a helpful article about accessible typefaces, and FiveThirtyEight's statistical election forecasts. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously o

Welcome to episode 188 ("Hong Kong in Crisis") of the EdTech Situation Room from August 26, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed surveillance, privacy and security force crackdowns in Hong Kong, a Kansas teacher's crowdsourced use of Google Sheets to track COVID-19 school closures, and Google's recent "Future of the Classroom" report. Forthcoming updates to Google Meet and Google Classroom, forthcoming upgrades to Google's home video casting technology, and the apparent loss of simplicity for Chromebooks amidst dual-boot and other options were also discussed. The alarming rise of "fruit loop conspiracy theory" advocates including winning candidates in U.S Congressional primary elections, the rise of political extremists in the United States on the wings of conspiracy theories, and the impact of sustained remote work mandates by tech companies on the Silicon Valley housing marked were highlighted. The dark side o

Welcome to episode 187 ("Embrace CloudReady in Our Pandemic") of the EdTech Situation Room from August 12, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Russia's announcement to skip phases 2 and 3 in rushed vaccine trial, Chromebook and device shipment delays for schools and individuals, and the wonders of Neverware's CloudReady software for running ChromeOS on older Intel-based computer hardware. Microsoft's new Surface Duo laptop, changes to Google Play Music, and screentime for kids (and adults) during the pandemic were also discussed. Additional topics included the limits of home connectivity bandwidth, the importance of "filtering the exoflood" of polluted information around us, and recent government initiated interruptions in Internet connectivity and social media platform access in Belarus following a contested election. Tips for upgrading a 2020 iMac, a recent webinar on "Know Your Power: Know Your Rights" (share

Welcome to episode 186 ("Don't TINKER with Students' Free Speech Rights") of the EdTech Situation Room from August 5, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed teenage Twitter hackers and zoombombing, tips for remote workers, and illegal school restrictions on student social media use in Georgia amidst pandemic response controversy. Microsoft's possible purchase of TikTok, reason's to still purchase a MacOS Intel-based computer instead of waiting for Apple Silicon, a recent podcast highlighting the prominent role of conspiracy theories in shaping politics throughout history, and the ways people are fighting disinformation in our COVID-19 era were also discussed. Geeks of the week included the Oregon State Open Text Project on Romeo and Juliet, an instructional support module on 'live teaching tools' including Wooclap (which is free for K-12), the awesome scheduling platform Doodle, and the private beta for the videogr

Welcome to episode 185 ("The Speed You Need") of the EdTech Situation Room from July 29, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed home Internet speeds and connectivity best practices for remote learners and workers. Coronavirus planning and announcements for the fall 2020 academic term, Congressional testimony by CEOs from Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple, and the importance of "reverse image search" skills and media literacy in our propaganda-filled information environment were also highlighted and analyzed. Resurfacing disinformation videos ("Plandemic" from May 2020) on social media, censorship of disinformation by social media tech firms, a great BBC video uncovering the QAnon conspiracy cult, and Google's new "for context" links were discussed in the context of media literacy and the ongoing "tech correction." Topics rounding out the show included ongoing tech shortages during the COVID-19 global pandemic, An

Welcome to episode 184 ("Remote Learning Looms Large") of the EdTech Situation Room from July 22, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed announcements by many school districts nationwide starting the 2020-21 academic year at home in "remote learning" mode. The "Vaccine Trust Problem," Twitter's crackdown on conspiracy / disinformation QAnon accounts, Eric Schmidt's advice about government regulation of social media companies, and news articles about Internet trolls stoking the fires of political polarization were also discussed. A looming ban of the TikTok app by U.S. government officials, the new GMail experience for GSuite users, and updates in ChromeOS version 84 were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included the "Mote" extension for voice comments in Google Docs via the Chrome browser, the new Google Certified Coach program, and the upcoming NCCE/TeacherCast “Beyond the Bootcamp” free webinar. Ou

Welcome to episode 183 ("Back To School Planning During COVID-19") of the EdTech Situation Room from July 8, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the upcoming Mountain Moot virtual conference, and the enormous challenges facing school administrators planning for safe K-12 learning in schools this fall amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Updates from ChromeOS world were shared by Jason, including a forthcoming "clipboard history manager," worthy "cheap Chromebooks," and Amazon issues with inaccurate Chromebook spec headlines. Updates from the ongoing Facebook advertiser boycott and protest movement and challenges around 5G infrastructure build-outs and standards specifications between China and the United States were also explored. Homework for our episode was to follow Peggy George on Twitter (@pgeorge) and subscribe to Peggy's super-helpful Nuzzel newsletter (nuzzel.com/pgeorge). Geeks of the Week included the Archive

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

Welcome to episode 181 ("Starlink Dreaming") of the EdTech Situation Room from June 17, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed virtual and face-to-face summer camps for students and teachers during our present pandemic, ChromeOS news, the "technology correction" and social media developments involving political advertisements, and the dynamics of content moderation of political speech. The beta phase of Starlink provided satellite connectivity by SpaceX and COVID-19's impact on movie theaters and college admissions testing were also discussed. Geeks of the Week included an upcoming June 30th KQED free webinar, "Help Students Fight Misinformation One Click at a Time," and Paul Anderson's (of Bozeman Science) updated video, "How I Make Screencasts." 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 upd

Welcome to episode 180 ("Read Before You ReTweet") of the EdTech Situation Room from June 10, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the intersection of privacy and smartphones during civic protests, the spread of false rumors and doctored images during the D.C. protests, and our societal need for media literacy education and media mentors. Liability lawsuits for Amazon over the sale of fake N95 masks, disinformation sharing on Twitter by national leaders, and official encouragement from Twitter support to "read before you retweet" were highlighted. On the Apple front, plans to use Apple chips in MacOS computers (instead of Intel processors) for the first time, and the forthcoming death (in 2020) of iTunesU in favor of Apple Classroom and Schoolwork apps was explored. Rounding out the show, news of a famous 23 year old Chinese gamer announcing his retirement from eSports due to health concerns, and a lawsuit over

Welcome to episode 179 ("Harbinger of the Tech Correction") of the EdTech Situation Room from May 27, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the intersection of safety, security, medical needs and privacy when it comes to COVID-19 contact tracing. Developments around Twitter's attempts to counter U.S. Presidential misinformation, "the human cost of misinformation" in the age of neo-coronavirus, and the challenge to mainstream media credibility posed by news outlets republishing Amazon press releases repackaged as "news" were also highlighted. A recent Forbes article on Chrome browser security was also discussed, along with the opportunity articles like this provide to practice web literacy / media literacy strategies like SIFT. (s/o @holden) The escalating battle over 5G infrastructure between China / Huawei and the United States was also discussed, along with reported issues relating to Apple iOS software updates

Welcome to episode 178 ("Anticipating a Fluid Future") of the EdTech Situation Room from May 20, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Microsoft's revolutionary "Fluid" Office document format, privacy and surveillance in the COVID-19 era, and a new Mozilla VPN service. Passwords for sale on the dark web, Equifax's failure to provide consumer compensation payments for the 2017 data breach, and conspiracy theory psychology were also highlighted. Rumors of forthcoming Apple Glasses for AR/.VR, tips for. addressing slow Internet speeds at home, SpaceX's promises for low latency satellite connectivity, and tips for better videoconferencing were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included the Unsplash Images GSuite Marketplace App, the Rabbit Hole Podcast from the New York Times, and a DIY hack to breathe new memory life into an old iPod Classic. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on Yo

Welcome to episode 177 ("COVID-19 May Change Colleges and Schools Forever") of the EdTech Situation Room from May 13, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed predictions for how the COVID-19 pandemic may significantly disrupt higher education to the benefit of "top tier" universities, the glaring inequities in educational opportunities laid bare by mandated "remote learning" / learning at home today, and Congressional initiatives to expand broadband funding. The impact of paranoia of cheating on remote learning, and the "teachable moment" provided by the disinformation video "Plandemic" for media literacy, were discussed. On the security front, a major security flaw involving "Thunderbolt" computer ports, National Password Day, and an unfortunate disruption of an Oklahoma college graduation by a racist troll were highlighted. Privacy issues with smartphones in the COVID-19 pandemic was briefly discussed, and will be

Welcome to episode 176 ("Choose Your Digital Platform Investments Carefully") of the EdTech Situation Room from May 7, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed updates from Apple including more predicted "opening" to third party platforms on iOS and MacOS, FaceID and masks, and prescient words from Tim Cook in the latest Apple earnings call. On the Microsoft front, Windows 10X progress as as a Chromebook competitor, Slack and Microsoft teams as collaboration tools were mentioned. On the Google side of platforms, the outstanding "Teach from Home" Google resource website, PewDiePie's exclusive live-streaming deal with YouTube, the spike in user-created "everyday with me" videos, and excellent screenshot improvements for ChromeOS as well as Chromeshot extensions were discussed. On COVID-19 related issues, the challenge of engaging social media followers and friends over disinformation videos / articles, a very insightfu

Welcome to episode 175 ("Don't Close Your Streamyard Tab") of the EdTech Situation Room from April 29, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed several Google Updates: the availability of Google's Hangouts Meet videoconferencing platform for consumer Google accounts, a way to extend the life of your Chromebook's browser, and updates to GSuite's sharing dialog. An amusing rant by a judge over a lawyers' poor attire choices during a trial by videoconference, the psychology of lifting the lockdown, the growth of telemedicine during COVID19, and the proliferation of stimulus check scams were also highlighted. Recommended media literacy books on "information pollution" and dives into the world of online radicalization, the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to prevent annotations to Georgia's state laws by state officials from remaining behind a paywall, and reported productivity challenges for remote working rounded out the sh

Welcome to episode 174 ("The Eye of Sauron Briefly Appears") of the EdTech Situation Room from April 22, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Tab Groups in Google Chrome, disinformation stories inspired is that the right word?!) by the neo-coronavirus, updates to videoconferencing tools WhatsApp and Hangouts Meet, digital divide realities made more visible by the COVID-19 pandemic, and announcements for Montana and Oklahoma that the states will be "opening for business" again soon after weeks of lock down. Renamed Office365 (now just "Microsoft365,") inspiring stories of 3D printing collaborative efforts to build COVID-19 PPE (personal protective equipment,) and the ongoing radicalization potential of YouTube were also discussed. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com. Thanks to everyone who joined us live and shared comments in

Welcome to episode 173 ("Skip That Facebook Quiz") of the EdTech Situation Room from April 15, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the ongoing impact of the neo-coronavirus pandemic on schools, Google Chrome Tab Groups, Google Drive Workspaces, and a free extension which can "Zoomify" Google Hangouts Meet videoconferences (in one way). Apple's announcements of the more-affordable iPhone SE and a pretty amazing keyboard with integrated trackpad for the iPad Pro, why taking Facebook quizzes is a bad idea, dangerous VPN apps, and password manager comparisons were also discussed in the show. Geeks of the Week included software to turn your smartphone into a webcam, ways to control multiple computers with one keyboard and mouse, "DownDetector" to find out the extent of an Internet service outage, Google's "Teach from Home" resource hub, the "Jumbo" privacy setting assistant app, and a list of recommended "live teachi

Welcome to episode 172 ("Don't Jack with My Zoom") of the EdTech Situation Room from April 8, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) continued to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers, students, and parents, but also highlighted some recent technology headlines involving zoomjacking, remote learning, disinformation, YouTube influencers in the neo-coronavirus era, and "the technology correction." They also brainstormed "Best Tools and Strategies for Live Teaching" and software for "Virtual Backgrounds for Videoconferencing." If you have any options which should be included on these lists, please reach out to Jason or Wes on Twitter! Access archived MP3 audio and smaller 360P video archives of this and past shows on edtechSR.com. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com. Thanks to everyone who joined us live and shared comment

Welcome to episode 171 of the EdTech Situation Room from April 1, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) continued to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on teachers, students, and parents, but also highlighted some recent technology headlines involving security, media literacy, and other issues. Those included the completion of the T-Mobile and Sprint merger, PBS Learning Media Resources for Home Learning integrating with Google Classroom, the recent FBI warning to teachers and school administrators to avoid "Zoom-jacking," and some helpful articles / tips about videoconferencing from home, including updating your home WiFi access points. (Wes recommends Google Nest!) Access archived MP3 audio and smaller 360P video archives of this and past shows on edtechSR.com. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page via StreamYard.com. Thanks to everyone who joine

Welcome to episode 170 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 25, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) welcomed Eric Langhorst (@elanghorst) back as a special guest. Topics for the show included ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on schools, teachers and students, new product announcements from Apple, a discussion on whether or not home workers should leave smart speakers turned on, and more. Helpful and practical suggestions for remote teaching / online teaching for K-12 as well as university instructors / faculty from Carl Hooker (@mrhooker) and Jose Bowen (@josebowen) were highlighted. Geeks of the Week included Masterclass courses (including an AMAZING one about Space by Commander Chris Hadfield, Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance resources for remote teaching during the COVID-19 crisis, the CloudReady from Neverware ChromeOS operating system (free for home use.) Additional Geeks of the Week were an ongoing blog post seri