Another Seedlings podcast mini-reunion! Welcome to episode 45 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 29, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was again out on assignment, so Wes Fryer (@wfryer) joined Maine educators Alice Barr (@alicebarr) and Cheryl Oakes (@cheryloakes50) for a discussion about their recent trip to Brazil and experiences at the "Amplifica Conference" in Sao Paulo. Alice and Cheryl also shared some updates about 1:1 learning in their respective schools, and discussed a few recent technology news articles. These included articles about tech moguls who severely restrict their own children's access to technology and social media, a recent National Geographic (April 2017) article about cyborgs ("Beyond Human") and recent announcements by Apple about updates to the Classroom app as well as less expensive, entry-level iPads. Check out all our shownotes on edtechsr.com/links, and be sure to follow us on Twitter @edtechSR. Next week we anticipate being back at our "normal time" (10 pm Eastern / 9 pm Central / 8 pm Mountain / 7 pm Pacific) and Jason may make another appearance on the show after a four week hiatus of travel and conferences. Please take a moment to fill out our listener survey, linked in the shownotes, and also reach out to us on Twitter if you listen to and enjoy the show. We're very interested in and responsive to your feedback! Also turn back to Episode 26 on October 19, 2016, for the first Seedlings mini-reunion on EdTechSR with Alice and Cheryl.

Welcome to episode 44 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 22, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was out on assignment this week. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Wes Fryer "flew solo" in tonight's episode which featured discussion about Apple's new iPad announcements this week, new "Share to Kindle" features in iOS, and Screentime / Digital Citizenship. In addition (as usual) articles relating to security, surveillance, and privacy were discussed, as well as some very insightful (and troubling) articles falling within the topic "Fake News, AI and Technology Dark Arts in Elections." Wes' Geek of the Week was the company Securi, which specializes in security hack prevention and hack cleanup for WordPress websites. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr. Tune in next week for a special show with Maine educators Alice Barr (@alicebarr) and Cheryl Oakes (@cheryloakes50) who recently presented at an educational technology conference in Brazil. Next week we will also start 1 hour earlier than normal, at 9 pm Eastern / 8 pm Central / 7 pm Mountain / 6 pm Pacific.

Welcome to episode 43 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 8, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) was out on assignment this week. Carrying the #edtechSR torch forward, Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the lackluster state of iBooks and the "abandonware" status of iBooks Author. They also explored the implications of Vault 7, the WikiLeaks archive of alleged CIA documents which highlights security vulnerabilities in supposed "secure" messaging apps and platforms, as well as the hackability of smartTVs and other iOT devices. Miguel and Wes talked about the educational implications of these announcements, especially as they relate to digital citizenship, privacy, and Constitutional / human rights. Wes briefly highlighted the DNA storage milestone of the past week (215 petabytes per gram) as well as an enlightening article on the future of Apple's Macintosh computer and various revenue streams. Shout outs were shared by Wes to Susan Bearden's excellent book "Digital Citizenship: A Community-Based Approach," Brian Krebs' book "Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime-from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door," and the Committed Podcast (a weekly tech podcast.) Miguel's Geeks of the Week included an excellent smartphone microphone for podcast interview recording (iRig Mic Cast), an amazing web-based audio editor (Beautiful Audio Editor for Chrome), and the book "Digital Media in the Classroom." Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.

Welcome to episode 42 of the EdTech Situation Room from March 1, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed Walt Mossberg's recent analysis and hopeful prediction of an Apple iOS laptop, the uncertain future of Google's Pixel Chromebook laptop, and a host of Apple product rumors including USB-C charging cables for iOS, updates to the iPad lineup, and new additions to the Apple Pro hardware line. As we often do, we jumped into some privacy / surveillance state rabbit holes with recent articles about big data and artificial intelligence (Big Nudge), the need for ethics and a Hippocratic Oath ("Do no harm") in computer science programs, and the use of state-sponsored propaganda as well as carefully tuned marketing messages to direct public opinion and influence elections. Geeks of the week included StackUp (get credit for what you read online), hypothes.is (interactive annotation online), and the "Data Selfie" Chrome extension. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.

Welcome to episode 41 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 22, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) and Ben Wilkoff (@bhwilkoff - aka "the 12th man of @edtechSR) discussed unlimited cell phone carrier plans, rumored Apple iPad and iPhone upgrades, the privacy and surveillance hazards of taking a smartphone on an international trip, and slow, disruptive changes brought by technology to network television. They also discussed the continuing relevance of "old school" technologies like email in the workplace. Geeks of the week included Skitch for Mac, Canva for image/graphic design, extensions.af and Toby for browser tab management. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.

Welcome to episode 40 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 15, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed the dangers posed by IoT (Internet of Things) hacks, the new 802.11ax wifi standard which will bring greater capacity to our networks, strategies to address fake news, and the ongoing demise of Twitter from a financial / investment perspective. They also discussed automation and the danger it poses to middle class jobs, a recent Guardian editorial piece about rejecting standardization in schools, and the amazing capabilities technology has brought us in the last 20 years. Geeks of the week included iThemes Security Pro for WordPress (Wes) and the "3-2-1 backup strategy (Jason). Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.

Welcome to episode 39 of the EdTech Situation Room from February 1, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Jennifer Carey (@teacherjencarey) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed screen time and a recent response by Derrick Willard (@dwillard) to a provocative Time editorial. They also discussed the recent sunsetting announcement of Club Penguin by Disney, the importance of parents getting into the virtual worlds their kids are playing in and exploring, and Microsoft's forthcoming "Windows 10 Cloud" product release. The recent successful ransomeware attack on an Austrian hotel, hacking the Internet of Things, uses for digital assistants like Google Home and Alexa, the importance of 2 step verification, and the dangers of Google Authenticator were also addressed. In a "Geek of the Week" bonus moment, Jason shared the $30 bluetooth lightbulb and speaker (from Amazon) which he's using now at home. Official geeks of the week included the new NPR series "The Privacy Paradox" (Jen), updates to Google Voice (Jason), and "Advanced / Cyborg / Centaur Chess" (Wes) via Kevin Kelly's (@kevin2kelly) outstanding book, “The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future.” Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.

Welcome to episode 38 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 25, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Ben Wilkoff (@bhwilkoff) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed in-depth the new Chromebook announcements by the Google Chrome team, Samsung and Asus, and Microsoft's announcement of "Intune for Education," a cloud-based tool offering functionality to manage Windows10 devices similar to the Administration console in Google Apps for Education (gSuite). They discussed the alarming aggregation of data on millions of U.S. citizens by private companies using innocuous sounding web interactives like "Facebook quizzes." Topics also included a recent major ransomware security event in U.S. libraries, China's new crackdown on VPN connections, Walt Mossburg's reflection on FireFox (the first serious alternative to the dominant Internet Explorer browser from Microsoft), and Trump's new appointee to lead the FCC who may be hostile to network neutrality. Geeks of the week included resources and tutorial videos to help with USB-C dongle confusion (Jason), a very cool family Raspberry Pi project with local weather (Ben), and TinkerCAD's 3D design export functionality to Minecraft (Wes). Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.

Welcome to episode 37 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 18, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://edtechsr.com/links to access all referenced links from our show. This week Jason Neiffer (@techsavvyteach), Eric Langhorst (@elanghorst) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) discussed LinkedIn privacy policy changes, the major updates to Evernote and the Evernote mobile app, the excellent job prospects for physicists in coding, and the negative role of advertising in the online news landscape. Additional topics included the use of more tricky phishing schemes by hackers, the continuing development of personal assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, President Obama's recent interview with the New York Times discussing his recent favorite books to read, and the ability of AI to predict the mortality of heart disease patients with startling accuracy. Geeks of the week included Bitdefender, the Ancestry Education grant, and SimpleNote. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.

Welcome to episode 36 of the EdTech Situation Room from January 11, 2017, where technology news meets educational analysis. Visit http://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), Eric Langhorst (@elanghorst), Ben Wilkoff (@bhwilkoff) and Wesley Fryer (@wfryer) reflected back on 10 years ago when Steve Jobs first announced the iPhone, discussed new "2 in 1" laptops announced this week at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Store, and more! Follow us on Twitter @edtechSR to stay up to date about upcoming show times. Please refer to our podcast shownotes for links to all referenced articles, videos, and resources from the show, and take a few minutes to complete our listener survey on http://wfryer.me/edtechsr.