Putin’s brutal aggression in Ukraine has put cyberwar back in headlines. Recently, Carey Parker, host of the Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons podcast, reached out to us at Tech Learning Collective to talk through some of the issues the war in Ukraine has once again raised for laypeople who may be newly concerned about the reliance we’ve developed as a society on digital infrastructures. So, late last month, we sat down with him for another conversation about what anyone and, arguably, everyone could be doing not only to keep themselves safer online, but also prepared in the event of an escalation of hostilities in a cyber theater, rapid shifts in political climates, or even just natural disasters that affect telecommunication abilities.
Technology, taught collectively.
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Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons: Luck Favors the Prepared
The Enragés: Next Time the Pendulum Swings, Part 2
Earlier this month, we republished part 1 of our interview with The Enragés, where we discussed our blog post, Imagining an Optimistic Cyber-Future. In this post, you’ll find the conclusion of our conversation along with a (somewhat rushed) transcript of the same. Here, we touch on ways in which capitalism has constrained people’s telecommunication abilities, we describe some of our inspiration from earlier political thinkers, and we even answer a couple of listener questions.
Testimonials
“they describe things really well”
I can attest to, real quick, I’ve been to a couple of [Tech Learning Collective’s] events and they really not only describe things really well, but they truly start off at a very beginner level and then ramp it up.
“very thorough and responsive to where students are”
I found Tech Learning Collective recently through their membership in the Electronic Frontier Alliance and jumped right in to many of their great learning opportunities. The System Administration and Operation Basics workshop is a great example. The instruction was very thorough and responsive to where students are in the tech learning process. After the session I now feel like I have a strong foundation of understanding that I can build upon in setting up tech for my business.
I’m excited to continue learning with the Tech Learning Collective team and recommend them to anyone seeking to understand the complex tech world we live in every day.
“just the right combination of informative and challenging”
I really enjoyed the Clearing Away the Clouds class on networking. I know only a tiny bit about networking but am trying to learn more to be a responsible and safe digital citizen. This class was just the right combination of informative and challenging. The instructutor definitely dove into some really complicated ideas but always took the time to go back and make sure that we understood.
“their students reclaim power over the work they do and are able to truly flourish”
We can see a glimpse of what’s possible in Tech Learning Collective[. …] By going back to their digital roots, students become more aware of their immediate environment. Numerous possibilities open up when these students realize they aren’t limited to the proprietary products of Big Tech; instead, they can build what they need on their own, thanks to free and open source software.
The school also advocates for cross-pollination. Their workshops are interdisciplinary, melding technical topics with the humanities, in subjects including history and philosophy. This allows for a more holistic development for the students. For instance, like they do with all their other courses, they teach cybersecurity through an explicitly political approach. They prioritize teaching security because of their audience, as many participants are also activists. They also cultivate critical thinking by encouraging their students to scrutinize technology from an ethical standpoint. […] Thanks to their programs’ technological and political immersion, their students reclaim power over the work they do and are able to truly flourish.