Author: Frank Catalano

Frank Catalano (@FrankCatalano) is a veteran edtech and tech strategist. He brings a long history in both traditional and digital media to his coverage and analysis. His GeekWire contributions include pop culture, science fiction, the arts, and the confluence of media & technology, whether delivered by smart speaker, VR goggle, social media, AI algorithm or quaint airwaves.

Is your private online content really private? Not if you do something stupid

How science fiction can predict the future and help tech innovators make better decisions
Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, ‘book stuffing,’ and the darker side of being a digital content consumer
Tablets or textbooks? Elementary students take on one of the great tech debates of our time

Latest from Frank Catalano

From virtual reality to ebooks, the future of digital media in schools is a total toss-up

by Frank Catalano on June 30, 2018June 30, 2018 at 7:02 amComment

The future of content in education is … robots? Well, not really. But it was easy to get that impression if you were walking the exhibit hall at the huge… Read More

Harlan Ellison, fiction writer well-known for Star Trek’s ‘City on the Edge of Forever,’ dies at 84

by Frank Catalano on June 28, 2018June 28, 2018 at 3:23 pm 2 Comments

Speculative fiction author Harlan Ellison, perhaps best known to the general public as the writer of the well-regarded original Star Trek episode “The City on the Edge of Forever,” has… Read More

Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and tech’s battle for the hearts and classrooms of teachers

by Frank Catalano on June 28, 2018June 28, 2018 at 12:11 pm 4 Comments

If the ISTE 2018 exhibit hall was a high school, then Google and Microsoft were the enthusiastically competitive drama and glee clubs, Apple was the cool kid having a smoke… Read More

Podcast

How science fiction can predict the future and help tech innovators make better decisions

by Frank Catalano on June 25, 2018June 25, 2018 at 10:40 am1 Comment

Organizations may do better in planning for the future by thinking less like business leaders and more like science-fiction writers. That’s the idea behind the Seattle startup Scout, a subscription… Read More

Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, ‘book stuffing,’ and the darker side of being a digital content consumer

by Frank Catalano on June 23, 2018June 23, 2018 at 10:49 am 10 Comments

Convenience. Portability. Access. All are reasons that consumers have embraced digital content. The ability we have to rapidly find an unimaginable variety of reading, viewing and listening material, and easily… Read More

Seattle Symphony to create new performance space for 360-degree shared virtual experiences

by Frank Catalano on June 20, 2018June 20, 2018 at 12:17 pmComment

Announcing what it’s calling “the only known space of its kind,” Seattle Symphony is detailing plans for a new venue that can morph from traditional concert performances into a 360-degree… Read More

Video

Former Amazon devices executive Ian Freed launches Bamboo Music skill for Alexa

by Frank Catalano on June 19, 2018June 18, 2018 at 8:44 pmComment

Kids and their parents are getting a new way to use Amazon Echo devices for learning about music. And it’s coming as an Alexa skill from the person who once… Read More

Microsoft buys edtech startup Flipgrid and makes the video discussion tool free for all schools

by Frank Catalano on June 18, 2018June 18, 2018 at 6:00 amComment

Microsoft has acquired education technology startup Flipgrid, Inc., and immediately announced that the subscription social learning platform will be free to all educators. Flipgrid, based in Minnesota, makes a video… Read More

Tablets or textbooks? Elementary students take on one of the great tech debates of our time

by Frank Catalano on June 16, 2018June 18, 2018 at 9:48 am1 Comment

In the ongoing discussion about whether tablets or textbooks are better for students, the kids have a lot to contribute. That was clear in a citywide debate involving elementary school… Read More

Disneyland plans? How we rode 17 attractions in one day, with time to spare, using apps as our guide

by Frank Catalano on June 10, 2018June 10, 2018 at 7:53 amComment

Apologies to Walt, but Disneyland might now be described as, “The app-iest place on Earth.” Or it should be if you want the best vacation experience with the least time… Read More

‘New magic’ at Disneyland: How the iconic theme park is enhancing its content with digital touches

by Frank Catalano on June 9, 2018June 9, 2018 at 1:17 pmComment

ANAHEIM, Calif. — What is “content?,” I mused while my stomach rose and fell in jerky counterpoint to the Big Thunder Mountain runaway rail car in which I was riding.… Read More

Video

Seattle Public Library and UW awarded $353K federal grant to help kids co-design digital activities

by Frank Catalano on June 4, 2018June 4, 2018 at 10:34 amComment

The Seattle Public Library and University of Washington Information School will work together to teach other libraries how to create kid-friendly digital learning projects — in which the kids are… Read More

Podcast

Seattle Art Museum’s first-ever CTO sculpts SAM’s technology future on a non-profit budget

by Frank Catalano on May 28, 2018May 28, 2018 at 9:32 amComment

Even in a region of technology giants and in an age of screens, it might be possible to overdo tech in an art museum. “I’ve been in some museums where… Read More

Video

As Alexa’s Flash Briefing tops 5,000 skills, content providers learn more about what you want to hear

by Frank Catalano on May 26, 2018May 26, 2018 at 10:07 amComment

Smart home hub. Streaming music source. Dad joke repository. But Amazon’s Alexa has one skill that dates back to the introduction of the Echo, one that many rely upon every… Read More

Traditional publishers’ ebook sales drop as indie authors and Amazon take off

by Frank Catalano on May 19, 2018May 19, 2018 at 8:38 am 5 Comments

Ebook sales are dying. Ebooks are insanely popular. If the short definition of cognitive dissonance is holding two contradictory ideas to be true, ebooks are about as dissonant as digital… Read More

Raspberry Pi Foundation picks Seattle’s Living Computers Museum + Labs as one of four US sites for ‘Picademy’

by Frank Catalano on May 14, 2018May 14, 2018 at 7:20 am1 Comment

The value of Pi will be unusually high this summer at Living Computers: Museum + Labs in Seattle. The Raspberry Pi Foundation, the UK nonprofit behind the incredibly popular and… Read More

How I got caught up in a Presidential barring of ‘media,’ but not the media that now matters

by Frank Catalano on May 12, 2018May 12, 2018 at 9:46 amComment

As the arm reached across to block my entry, I looked up, surprised. “I have a conference badge,” I recall saying, struggling to keep up with my former edtech industry… Read More

VR in a social sphere: What MoPOP’s cutting-edge Holodome means for the future of shared ‘reality’

by Frank Catalano on May 5, 2018May 5, 2018 at 10:19 amComment

When I was a kid, I loved Disneyland for the rides. But as I grew older, I appreciated the original Disney park in Anaheim for the 3-D immersive reality. From… Read More

Project Unicorn signs first companies to help schools handle the hairball of edtech data

by Frank Catalano on May 1, 2018May 1, 2018 at 3:47 pmComment

The rise of education technology in schools has also expanded one of edtech’s biggest hairballs: exchanging school, teacher and student data across different apps and systems. Now, an initiative named… Read More

From AR to VR: After games, what’s the next big market for ‘extended reality?’

by Frank Catalano on April 28, 2018April 28, 2018 at 10:12 am 3 Comments

It’s OK to be confused about what the hot markets will be for digitally extended reality. Because figuring out which uses will become popular next — whether that reality is… Read More

Podcast

Articles by Frank Catalano

Top Stories from Frank Catalano

Is your private online content really private? Not if you do something stupid

Latest from Frank Catalano

From virtual reality to ebooks, the future of digital media in schools is a total toss-up

Harlan Ellison, fiction writer well-known for Star Trek’s ‘City on the Edge of Forever,’ dies at 84

Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and tech’s battle for the hearts and classrooms of teachers

How science fiction can predict the future and help tech innovators make better decisions

Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, ‘book stuffing,’ and the darker side of being a digital content consumer

Seattle Symphony to create new performance space for 360-degree shared virtual experiences

Former Amazon devices executive Ian Freed launches Bamboo Music skill for Alexa

Microsoft buys edtech startup Flipgrid and makes the video discussion tool free for all schools

Tablets or textbooks? Elementary students take on one of the great tech debates of our time

Disneyland plans? How we rode 17 attractions in one day, with time to spare, using apps as our guide

‘New magic’ at Disneyland: How the iconic theme park is enhancing its content with digital touches

Seattle Public Library and UW awarded $353K federal grant to help kids co-design digital activities

Seattle Art Museum’s first-ever CTO sculpts SAM’s technology future on a non-profit budget

As Alexa’s Flash Briefing tops 5,000 skills, content providers learn more about what you want to hear

Traditional publishers’ ebook sales drop as indie authors and Amazon take off

Raspberry Pi Foundation picks Seattle’s Living Computers Museum + Labs as one of four US sites for ‘Picademy’

VR in a social sphere: What MoPOP’s cutting-edge Holodome means for the future of shared ‘reality’

Project Unicorn signs first companies to help schools handle the hairball of edtech data

From AR to VR: After games, what’s the next big market for ‘extended reality?’

Inside MoPOP’s world-premiere Marvel exhibit: The human sides of heroes and their creators

Certifying online journalists: A bad idea whose time has come?

For investors, the future of education technology is now the workplace

From Rhapsody to Napster: How this pioneering music service coulda been Spotify — and why it isn’t

$100K Google grant to fund King County Library System’s first regional makerspace

Apple to develop Isaac Asimov’s classic Foundation novels into a new video drama series

Seattle and King County library systems rank at top of global digital lenders as growth continues

‘Hey kids, it’s time for dinner!’ Amazon rolls out Alexa Announcements for Echo

Should your kid use virtual reality? New Common Sense Media report gives guidelines for parents

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