Edtech Situation Room By @techsavvyteach & @wfryer

Welcome to episode 169 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 18, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the exceptional week of neo-coronavirus / COVID-19 announcements, closures, and news we've experienced globally in the past seven days. We also discussed a few recent technology headlines, which (as usual) are linked in the shownotes, but most of our conversation focused on ways we can adapt and adjust as more people than ever are working from home, teaching from home, and learning from home. 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. 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

Welcome to episode 168 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 11, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the impact of the coronavirus / Covid-19 on schools, resources for teachers and students "learning at home," media literacy in the age of coronavirus, critical wellness / self-care tips when working and teaching from home, and more. Additional topics included a major security victory for white hat hackers led by Microsoft over botnets created by cybercriminals, the importance of wiping / resetting your computer and other Internet connected devices annually, efforts by technology companies to battle election and coronavirus misinformation, and forthcoming improvements to mouse cursor support in Apple's iOS 14. Amazon price gouging and efforts to stop it during the Covid19 crisis, the dangers of free VPN services, and poignant issues about educational equity (including digital equity) raised by Google's chief ed

Welcome to episode 167 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 4, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was out on assignment, so special guest Carl Hooker (@mrhooker) joined Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) to discuss the past week's technology headlines through an educational lens. Topics addressed included the impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on upcoming conferences and events, special upgrades and extended product trials offered by technology companies to schools to help meet possible online teaching demands brought on by the Coronavirus, as well as ongoing efforts to battle disinformation and information manipulation using social media platforms in the U.S. 2020 election season. Geeks of the week included Wakelet, a recent tweet by Evan Kirstel (@evankirstel) inspiring thoughts about the future of transportation, and an excellent Coronavirus GeoMap from Johns Hopkins using ArcGIS. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on

Welcome to episode 166 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 26, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was out on assignment, so special guest Susan Bearden (@s_bearden) joined Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) to discuss the past week's technology headlines through an educational lens. Topics addressed included the victory for Google Forms as a reliable information technology tool the Democratic Caucuses in Nevada and the malware dangers in "typosquatting," On the Google front, the expansion of Google Translate to include 108 languages, a lawsuit from the New Mexico Attorney General arguing Google is violating COPPA privacy laws by web-tracking minors, and the Linux app potential of Chromebooks via Flatpak were also discussed. In miscellaneous tech news, Apple's purported ban on movie villains using iPhones (they are reserved only for heroines and heroes, don't you know,) reports of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas now regretting his opinion reg

Welcome to episode 165 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 13, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed changes to "backup files" in Google Drive and the demise of Andy Rubin's "Essential" Android phone hardware company. After another consecutive week of shout outs to the "EdTech Takeout Episode 71," we discussed the requirement for YouTube creators to mark all videos "made for kids" which fit Google's guidelines, and provided some analysis on the demise of "branded accounts" on YouTube for GSuite for Education (GSFE) domains. On the topic of media literacy, the recent podcast episode "Breaking the Truth: A Conversation with Samuel Woolley" on the show "Power 3.0 Podcast: Authoritarian Resurgence, Democratic Resilience" was discussed, along with hesitation (on the part of some elementary teachers) to "turn students loose on Google" to research topics in school. On the Apple front, Siri's new ability to answer

Welcome to episode 164 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 6, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed technology and mobile app woes in this week's Iowa Primary party caucuses and election, a case study of 'what not to do" with regard to copyright and Disney movies shown for a school fundraiser in California, and the 15 year birthday of Google Maps. The largest article collection in this week's shownotes concern the distressing and horrific exponential growth in child sexual abuse media as documented by a four part New York Times article series from late 2019, as well as the related political debate today regarding impending encryption of Facebook owned mobile apps which accounted for 90 percent of all reported child sexual abuse cases in 2018 (according to the NY Times). In our show Wes explained how this article series, along with related EFF articles, are encouraging him to rethink an "absolutist position"

Welcome to episode 163 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 29, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed recent revelations that the Avast Antivirus software program is a dragnet for user browser history sold to interested buyers, Google's announced extensions to ChromeOS support updates, and Google's forthcoming AirDrop clone, "Fast Share." A bizarre but newly validated story of Saudi Arabia's crown prince (MBS) hacking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' cellphone via a video link shared privately with him through WhatsApp, controversy over Sonos legacy products and available security patches / software updates, and a variety of Election 2020 resources from a Paul Allison webcast (via Peggy George) were also highlighted. Quick headline shares included the new "Star Trek like" logo of the U.S. military's newest branch, Space Force, the release of more than 150,000 different art images from the Paris Museum into the public d

Welcome to episode 162 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 15, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Microsoft's new Edge Chromium web browser, Instagram's new policy to hide 'faked' images, 'Techlash" against the big tech companies on college campuses, and new research about blue light and sleep with our digital screens. More U.S. states mandating media literacy education, the arrival of WiFi 6 at last, the NSA's laudable decision to share a zero day exploit with Microsoft, and an update on recent drone formation sightings at night in eastern Colorado were also highlighted topics. On the security front, terrible password advice from the South China Morning Post and an update emergency for FireFox highlighted by U.S. Homeland Security officials were discussed. Boeing employees provided a good case study and reminder for us all about email retention with recently revealed "FAA mocking" messages, SpaceX as the

Welcome to episode 161 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 8, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed new technology (including possible vaporware) revealed at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Apple's return to CES to champion digital privacy, and an exciting update to Bluetooth. Facebook's announced ban of "deepfake" videos and the potential problems they face with this laudable policy, a late December New York Times article highlighting the protean (rather than monolithic) nature of screentime and our need to stop bashing it, and an interesting historical as well as contemporary look at Google's business engagement in mainland China were explored. Jason's Geek of the Week was the "MeWe" social network alternative to Facebook, and Wes' was an outstanding "Your Undivided Attention" podcast interview with UC Irvine researcher Gloria Mark about the prevalence and detrimental impacts of inte

Welcome to episode 160 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 1, 2020, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) kicked off the first show of the new year by discussing Audrey Waters' (@audreywatters) marathon post "The 100 Worst Ed-Tech Debacles of the Decade," and Dean Shareski's (@shareski) post "I Don’t Think I’m an EdTech Guy Anymore." On the security front, recent Amazon Ring "hack incidents" revealed to be caused by reuse of compromised passwords and a good article from USAToday highlighting the dangerous cleverness of bank account phishers were highlighted. The fruits of the latest "Public Domain Day," the use of the machine learning powered (and creepy) website ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com to create profile photos for fake right wing Facebook profiles attempting to manipulate U.S. voters, and an educational technology startup capitalizing on the invasive surveillance potential of the iPhone for college students skipping cla

Welcome to episode 159 of the EdTech Situation Room from December 18, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) co-hosted our annual "Technology Shopping Cart" edition, when they recommended a diverse variety of tech related gifts for the geeks in your life. Check out the shownotes for a complete list of referenced products and goodies. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! If you use any of our recommendations as stocking stuffers or gifts under your Christmas tree, please reach out and let us know via Twitter! (Or if we missed a technology related gift you think should have made our lists, let us know that too!) Next week (on Christmas Day) we will NOT have a show, but we'll be back on Wednesday, January 1, 2020 to kick off the new year with more EdTechSR analysis about recent tech headlines from an educational perspective. Our show was live streamed and archived simultaneously on YouTube Live as well as our Facebook Live page

Welcome to episode 158 of the EdTech Situation Room from December 11, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed headlines from our continuing "Technology Cold War" between the United States and China, as well as the U.S. and Russia. China has announced it will purge all foreign made computer equipment from government offices, the FCC continues to oppose Huawei in US ISP networks, and reports continue to verify we're in a global information and disinformation war. Facebook continues to battle fake accounts and internal corruption aimed and bolstering fake accounts, Microsoft's new Mobile design, and Microsoft's first Linux app were also discussed. On the Apple front, the high prices for new Mac Pro desktop computer systems were highlighted. Chrome's enhanced password management and password compromise features, the end of life for the original Google Glass, the FBI's recommendation for home users to isolate IoT devices

Welcome to episode 157 of the EdTech Situation Room from December 3, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the ascendency of Sundar Pichai to the throne of Alphabet, research revealing sophisticated and ongoing Russian propaganda efforts to weaponize social media to foment division and polarization in the United States, CyberMonday deals over the weekend for U.S technology consumers, and the 10 year anniversary / birthday of ChromeOS. The impeding selloff of all .org domains to a private equity company, the politics of local laws on technology platforms revealed by Apple's new map of Russia including (illegally) annexed Crimea, Apple's removal of customer reviews from its online store, and the announcement of the GitHub Security Lab to provide bug bounties for open source platforms were also highlighted. Additional topics included the benefits of letting milk cows use VR headsets (in Russia), IBM's use of machine

Welcome to episode 156 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 20, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed hoopla over YouTube's new requirements for "Creators" worldwide uploading videos to comply with COPPA law in the United States. The ongoing collapse of our information ecosystem thanks (in large part) to both disinformation and the monopolistic domination of global advertising revenues by Facebook and Google, the Russian effective techniques of “narrative laundering” highlighted by Rene DiResta (@noupside) and the need for "media literacy for all" so we can proactively "filter our feeds" were highlighted. The importance of using unique passwords (as highlighted by Disney+ account hacks,) the limitations of the Google Chrome password manager, and the proliferation of human engineering schemes to trick users / steal their money were discussed. Google updates included forthcoming support for audio embeds in Goo

Welcome to episode 155 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 13, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed YouTube's newly announced terms of service to apparently pave the way for more channel / account takedowns, the latest 2018-19 report "Why Rural Matters," and the importance of addressing the rural/urban political divides which separate many voters in western states like Montana and Oklahoma. The "Long Tail" and the wonderful "Craft With Me" YouTube channel of Gayle Agostinelli was mentioned. The new PBS Frontline special "In the Age of AI," Deepmind AI and its triumph (AlphaStar) over Starcraft 2 world class players, Android users who love the Apple Watch, and Apple's ongoing focus / market differentiation on privacy were discussed. Additional topics included the story of Carson King, College GameDay in Iowa, Venmo, and the raising of $1 million for a local children's hospital overshadowed by racist tweets

Welcome to episode 154 of the EdTech Situation Room from November 6, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the popularity and function of Apple's AirPods, ways to restore/enlarge your iPad icons with iPadOS13, and the benefits of using an Apple Watch as a wireless remote control during a presentation. Extended ChromeOS support from Google for hundreds of older Chromebooks, booming Chromebook sales and Android app use, shocking Chromebook durability tests, and an interesting article recommending that users regularly delete their Google data were included in Google-related updates. On the security front, the LastPass password challenge and other password manager features highlighting compromised/weak passwords, revelations that Chinese hackers have fully compromised the privacy of SMS messaging worldwide, and the vulnerability of smart speakers to "laser-based attacks" were highlighted. Additional topics included en

Welcome to episode 153 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 30, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Twitter's announcement to stop accepting paid political advertisements for candidates or issues, Facebook's employee complaints over its political ad policy, challenges to Mark Zuckerberg in testimony before the U.S. Congress, and a "deep fake" video targeting Senator Lindsey Graham over the "Green New Deal." @SmarterEveryDay's fantastic 3 part YouTube series on the weaponization of social media, The Mastodon Project, and the Factitious news game (great for media literacy discussions) were mentioned and recommended. The availability of Thunderbolt 3 on some Chromebooks, a new CTL Chromebox at reasonable prices, and Microsoft's political win over Amazon for a HUGE new U.S. military contract were also discussed. The launch of Facebook's new "News Tab" with payments to some mainstream media publishers, the new

Welcome to episode 152 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 23, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the demise of Nest smart thermostat installations by contractors following Google's acquisition, the Pixel 4 smartphone, Google fees for GMail storage, and Google's new "digital wellbeing" experimental apps. Enhanced genetic editing via CRISPR Prime / Primate Editing, the retirement of 8 inch floppy disks from the U.S. Air Force's nuclear arsenal control systems, the importance of home router firmware updates, credit card skimming software deployed on over 18,000 websites, and the poor password habits of Equifax network administrators were also highlighted. Meme culture and the PSAT, and the potentially contentious copyright bill just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives were topics rounding out the show. Geeks of the Week included the video "Scams That Should be Illegal" by @theodd1sout, the lesson "

Welcome to episode 151 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 16, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was out on a birthday special assignment, so returning guest Carl Hooker (@mrhooker) joined Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) to discuss the past week's technology news through an educational lens. Topics included disinformation in the Turkish/Kurd conflict in Syria, "deep fake" videos, surveillance and privacy in our connected age, and the shifting rationale for government encryption advocates. Wellness and "digital minimalism," a hacked Interstate billboard showing pornography, John Oliver's debt forgiveness program, the T-Mobile and Sprint merger, and the underwhelming announcements from this week's Google Event were topics rounding out the show. Carl's Geeks of the Week were Learn with League (League of Legends eSports Expansion) and the Nebula Capsule Projector (great for a multiscreen classroom experience.) Wes' Geeks of the Week were YellKey (time l

Welcome to episode 150 of the EdTech Situation Room from October 2, 2019, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed newly announced hardware from this week's Microsoft event, security concerns over the latest way to add Google Apps to Huawei smartphones, and the implications of a recent New York Times expose of the horrific proliferation of images of sexual abuse of children online. Exciting and important announcements from Google focusing on protecting your privacy online, managing your passwords, and checking existing passwords saved with Google against a database of known breaches / compromised were also highlighted. Additional article topics included newly announced efforts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to crack down on White Supremacists, Andrew Yang's policy platform announcement on protecting digital data as personal property, and the media literacy education importance of imagery shared online of China