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.

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

Latest from Frank Catalano

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 amComment

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

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

by Frank Catalano on April 28, 2018April 28, 2018 at 4:55 amComment

If you only know Marvel from the movies, you don’t really know Marvel. That’s the sense you get when you enter the world-premiere exhibition at the Museum of Pop Culture in… Read More

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

by Frank Catalano on April 21, 2018April 21, 2018 at 8:34 am 20 Comments

In the battle against fake news, is it finally time to certify journalists? It’s a divisive question, but one that is becoming more interesting by the day. As a media… Read More

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

by Frank Catalano on April 19, 2018April 20, 2018 at 4:51 amComment

SAN DIEGO — After several years of waiting for the K-12 market to grow faster, and a couple of years getting schooled in higher education, education technology investors seem to… Read More

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

by Frank Catalano on April 14, 2018April 14, 2018 at 10:33 am 2 Comments

In streaming music, Spotify gets the celebrity. Spotify gets the global reach. Spotify gets the IPO. Yet the music service originally known as Rhapsody was the streaming pioneer. It had… Read More

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

by Frank Catalano on April 12, 2018April 12, 2018 at 11:18 am 7 Comments

The King County Library System is opening its first makerspace this weekend. And it’s doing so with the help of a $100,000 grant from Google. The new ideaX Makerspace stakes… Read More

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

by Frank Catalano on April 11, 2018April 11, 2018 at 1:20 pmComment

The classic Foundation trilogy is the latest science-fiction property to be adapted for a video series, and this time it’s Apple developing the project. After competitive bidding, Apple landed the deal… Read More

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

by Frank Catalano on April 8, 2018April 6, 2018 at 12:08 pmComment

Library lending is increasingly going digital. And that global expansion of technology-based borrowing is being led by library systems serving Seattle and surrounding King County. This new series by contributing… Read More

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

by Frank Catalano on April 5, 2018April 5, 2018 at 6:08 pm 2 Comments

That Amazon Echo device in your home is about to get a lot more vocal — using your words. Amazon today is rolling out a new feature called Alexa Announcements… Read More

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

by Frank Catalano on April 4, 2018April 4, 2018 at 5:30 pm 2 Comments

Non-profit Common Sense Media is weighing in on virtual reality use by kids. And much of the advice to parents boils down to keeping immersive sessions brief, having children sit… Read More

Analysis: After Amazon’s TenMarks shuts down, what then for K-12 schools and Amazon?

by Frank Catalano on April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 at 11:03 am 2 Comments

The sudden, relatively quiet notice late last week that Amazon would shutter its TenMarks business and end its TenMarks Math and Writing products at the close of the 2018-19 school… Read More

Can you go paperless on an overseas trip? The Geek’s Guide to International Travel, 2018 Edition

by Frank Catalano on April 1, 2018April 1, 2018 at 4:07 pm 4 Comments

It’s amazing the difference five years makes when traveling with tech. In April 2013, I felt as though I was living on the edge when I took a 10-day trip… Read More

Amazon to close TenMarks online education service after 2018-19 school year

by Todd Bishop & Frank Catalano on March 30, 2018March 31, 2018 at 5:20 amComment

Amazon will close its TenMarks online math and writing learning service after the 2018-2019 school year, the latest surprise twist in the tech giant’s foray into education technology. The company… Read More

Apple unveils $299 iPad for schools and free education apps in bid to regain its K-12 lead

by Frank Catalano on March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 at 10:59 amComment

It’s on, Google. You too, Microsoft. That might be the best way to sum up Apple’s big reveal of how it plans to compete with the current two leaders in… Read More

Can Apple return to the head of the class? Tech giant to reveal new education plans after long slide

by Frank Catalano on March 25, 2018March 25, 2018 at 7:35 am 5 Comments

One-time education technology leader Apple is now a distant third in new computing device shipments to K-12 schools in the U.S. But this week, it may become clear about how… Read More

Podcast

Articles by Frank Catalano

Top Stories from Frank Catalano

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

Latest from Frank Catalano

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

Analysis: After Amazon’s TenMarks shuts down, what then for K-12 schools and Amazon?

Can you go paperless on an overseas trip? The Geek’s Guide to International Travel, 2018 Edition

Amazon to close TenMarks online education service after 2018-19 school year

Apple unveils $299 iPad for schools and free education apps in bid to regain its K-12 lead

Can Apple return to the head of the class? Tech giant to reveal new education plans after long slide

Library of Congress saves the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and other online ‘web cultures’

Reality check: Microsoft Windows gains in U.S. schools in 2017, but Google remains dominant

Amazon Studios to adapt Iain M. Banks’ space-opera Culture novel, a ‘huge personal favorite’ of Jeff Bezos

Monitoring: Doing it the Right Way

Recent Developments in Software Patent Law

How will Greater Seattle be impacted by the changing U.S.- Asia business and trade relationship?