EdTech Situation Room by Jason Neiffer and Wes Fryer

Welcome to episode 331 (“CrowdStrike Crisis Impact”) of the EdTech Situation Room from July 24, 2024, where technology news meets educational analysis. This week, Dr. Jason Neiffer (aicentrist.com) and Dr. Wesley Fryer (wesfryer.com) covered an array of pressing issues in tech and education. They delved into the recent widespread disruption caused by a CrowdStrike security update, which affected numerous organizations, including airlines and medical facilities, sparking discussions on cybersecurity vulnerability, dependency on digital infrastructure, and the essential preparations individuals and organizations should make. On the legislative front, they reviewed judicial blocks on age-verification laws for social media in Mississippi, examining the implications for digital privacy, parental control, and student safety. The hosts also discussed AI in education, with updates on emerging AI models from Meta and Mistral, the rise of open-source options, and considerations for classroom integration. The ethical considerations surrounding generative AI and the risk of “lazy learning” with AI-assisted assignments were hot topics, leading to a conversation about critical engagement, media literacy, and the role of assignments in fostering genuine learning. "Geeks of the Week" included Wes's discovery of Spoutible, a Twitter alternative focused on safety, and his experiences using AI to troubleshoot coding projects with MakeCode Arcade. Jason shared LocalSend, an open-source cross-platform file-sharing app for Android and iOS, providing an alternative to AirDrop. Our show was live-streamed and archived on YouTube Live via StreamYard.com. Please follow our @EdtechSR page on Facebook, @[email protected] on Mastodon for updates, and join LIVE on Wednesday nights if you can. All shownotes are available on edtechSR.com/links. AI Disclosure: An initial draft of this episode summary was generated using https://notegpt.io/youtube-transcript-generator and a custom GPT on ChatGPT, as well as options for our show title! Stay savvy and safe!