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Educational Technology

Episode 181 – Zoom

Tony and Patrick are back talking about distance learning, recommendations about video conferencing (including Zoom) and a lot more. Please subscribe to our podcast from Apple our searching for us on your favorite podcasting app. Happy Easter/Spring Break Zoom Zoombombing Zoom and privacy Zoom alternative Microsoft Teams Google Meet Skype …

Episode 180 – Empty shelves empty seats

Tony and Patrick are talking the school closures and what schools are doing, video conferences, and so much more. As always be sure to subscribe our podcast on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app. No school! Distance Learning Plan So much to talk about here Be asynchronous  Front load …

Distance Learning ? – Check out these resources

I am sure many of you are teaching from somewhere other than your classrooms. If that is the case, then flexibility and leveraging other websites for services and content is something you are keenly aware of and possibly in search of. This list of resources has been bouncing around social …

Covid -19 – We’re closed :(

Like many other schools around the world we have closed due to the Coronavirus. In light of these circumstances I thought I would share our school’s Distance Learning Plan. I’ve embeded it below, but if you would like a link to the Google Doc please click here. From there you …

Episode 179 – Student Fail

Tony and Patrick are at it again. We’re still talking about the Coronavirus about a somewhat dubious story out of China some hardware and how some students were pretty sneaky. Be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app. Online learning, biggest issue I am …

Smithsonian for the win!

The Smithsonian has released nearly 3 million images, 3D models, videos and more into the public domain! What this means is that anyone can search, find, download, use adapt and publish any of these artifacts without asking. So get searching and share this with your kids. Chances are if they …

How to use Pear Deck

The Pear Deck add-on is very popular amongst teachers. It allows them to bring interactive elements into their Google Slides presentation. Check out the video above to get a better sense of what Pear Deck offers and whether or not it is right for you. Source: IT Babble Blog …

Cybersecurity Part 4: Surviving Ransomware

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn The scope of all the following arguments is for equipment owned by the school, or equipment approved to use at school. This post is not promoting policies for personal devices used solely at home, nor is this post addressing devices that may …

Sneaky, sneak kids and electronic tests

This week, is a good week. I learned a whole lot about something this week and I thought I’d share it with you my good reader. So let me layout the scenario for you. It is the end of an grading period at my school and like many other school …

Streaming in the classroom – Airtame 2

I wrote a review about Airtame back in July of 2018 and I was pretty impressed by it. The price point was fair, the fact that it could mirror most devices (limited with iOS and Android but still not bad) and it could be used as digital signage. Oh yeah, …

Episode 178 – Forced to Flip

Tony and Patrick are back with a pretty important episode this time that is having an impact on some of our friends overseas but could happen to you one day. Also, social media sucks. Be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app. Tony’s post: …

School portal – How to Improve the Parent Experience

A lot of schools offer a Parent Portal. Some portals are more robust than others but they all seem to offer these features: Check their child’s academic progress Check out school events (athletics, groups and clubs alike) Pay for fees Sounds good right? Well, yeah, but sometimes parents don’t use …

Streaming in the classroom: BenQ – Instashow

The journey continues! This time we are looking at the BenQ Instashow. A lot of people may not be too familiar with BenQ in North America, but they have it looks as though they have been making steady inroads into the continent. They may a bevy of products and this …

Episode 177

RIP Kobe Bryant Parent Portals  How to get parents to use them more Only use one portal – avoid fragmentation Consistency with the portal for teachers and faculty Survey coming soon (next few months) Tony wants to rant on vendors: Managebac  Microsoft’s new Edge browser Based on Chromium Microsoft Chromebook? …

The Support Puzzle

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn I was recently in a conversation with a large group of people who provide IT Support. Many do not work in education, which is why I like the group. One of the members was recently asked in an interview to rank the …

Episode 176 – Happy New Year 2020

Tony and Patrick are back for 2020 with a new episode. It’s been a while but I assure the wait was worth it. Be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Music or your favorite podcasting app. Happy New Year – Resolutions? TDK12 – Practical advice for expats  Tdk12.net  Tony’s …

Streaming in the classroom: Barco WePresent

When it comes to screen sharing few names are as renowned or respected as Barco. They have a history of building quality products and delivering solid results. So today, I have been playing around with the Barco WePresent. A streaming box that will allow you to connect your device to …

Cubit Robotics: Probably Better Than What Your Are Doing

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn I have been working with robotics since 2005. I have worked with students from US Grade 4 to students competing in university competitions. As of late, I have been shocked by this trend: remote control. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=2082 Remote control is not the future. …

Are Your Files Public? The Edlio Example

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn I have written before about cloud security and file security. I was doing a simple pentesting job for a school recently and found a service they were using called: Edlio. I cannot say if Edlio has a security issue, or if what …

Going Phishing with Finalsite

By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn This video reviews a method to extract staff email and names from the popular Finalsite CMS used by K12 schools. Disclaimer: This video is not documenting any known bugs or issues with Finalsite. This video is demonstrating how Personal Information can be …

Streaming in the classroom: Mersive Solstice

I’m on a quest and here is the next forray into that quest. I present to you the Mersive Solstice. On paper this thing looks great! It really does. It can allow many people to connect to a single screen at one time, you can even bridge multiple Solstices together …

Streaming in the classroom: Apple TV

Ah yes, the Apple TV. This is currently what we are using in my school and while it is pretty good there are problems I will get into. First, let’s talk about what is, what it does, how much it costs and all that good stuff. Apple TV HD Cost: …

Episode 175 – Cyber Bunker

Tony and Patrick and talking Cyber Security (more like Cyber Fear) and Patrick’s quest to find a good wireless streaming option for classrooms other than Apple TVs. As always please subscribe to us on your favorite podcasting app or on Apple Music. Tony’s Fired Up about CYBERSECURITY PANIC Connecting your …

Streaming in the classroom: Introduction

I’m on a quest! I’m on a quest to find the best wireless streaming solution for a classroom. 2020 is nearly here and there are more than a few options out there and at a wide variety of price points. Unfortunately, I cannot look at every possible Frankensteined configuration so …

CyberSecurity Part 1: Social Engineering

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsVtHqICeKE By Tony DePrato | Follow Me on LinkedIn I have noticed an uptick recently in schools moving resources, money and time, to address cybersecurity concerns. The motivation for addressing security issues is genuine, but the approach and implementations I am reading about are less than effective. Over the …

Episode 174 – Law & Tech

Tony and Patrick have got law questions. This means that we had to go out and get a real, honest-to-God lawyer in the form of Keith Wurzbacher. Listen to a (mostly) serious conversation regarding schools, email addresses and much more. As always be sure to subscribe to us on Apple …

cal.new = A new Google Calendar Event

Not too long ago, Google announced a bunch of really handy short URL’s that will let you create new types of files. I wrote about it here. For a quick refresher, here they are: docs.new = New Google Doc sheets.new = New Google Sheets slides.new = New Google Slides Now …

Episode 173 – Colts for the Win!

Tony and Patrick are back for another great episode. It is a quick one this week where we talk a little NFL, Google Daydream and swimming in your data. Check out the talking points below and as always be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting …

Swimming in the Data Lake

By: Tony DePrato | Follow me on LinkedIn Educational organizations are face with the constant influx of seemingly new technology. This creates pressure (even a demand) to review, to compare, to challenge, and often, to change. The business around software is not understood nor recognized by most educational institutions. Schools …

Episode 172 – Did Someone Say Pirated Movies?

Tony and Patrick are back with more Ed Tech goodness. Check out the talking points below and be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app (PocketCasts is free now!). PSA: Google Drive and Pirated Movies by Patrick Cauley https://itbabble.com/2019/09/23/psa-google-drive-and-pirated-movies/ Digital Millennium Copyright Act – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act  …