Technology Education Collaborative (TEC)
We help people better understand the tech that surrounds them on a daily basis. TEC does this through practical application by hosting in-person, hands-on events ranging from Right to Repair workshops, Privacy meetups and tech field trips and demos.
Our agreement with the Advanced Cyber Systems Lab at GateWay Community College helps us give the general public hands-on access to advanced technologies from 3D printers to a podcasting studio people can use to learn, discover and play.
TEC IS ON A HOLIDAY BREAK UNTIL JANUARY 2026...But scroll for awesome content!
We're holiday'ing for the remainder of the year but here's some awesome content to catch up on and a couple of January events to put on your 2026 calendar!
You can also listen to our annual special episode of TEC Talks here.
January 2026 Happy Hardware Hour - Phoenix (NOTE ONE-TIME DATE CHANGE!!!!)
Due to the ACSL being closed until mid-January, this month's meeting will be on the THIRD THURSDAY of the month. Do not panic. This is a one-time change.
đź“… Thursday, January 15
đź•– 7 p.m.
đź“Ť Advanced Cyber Systems Lab
GateWay Community College - Washington Campus
108 N. 40th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
The ACSL is located in Room 2108 of the MA building
Directions and parking map: https://techedcollab.org/directions/
All skill levels welcome. This is a low-key social event, so no speakers, just socializing, snacking and tinkering.
If you have a hardware project you're working on, bring it!
If you have a project you're stuck on, bring it.
Or just stop in - There'll be chill, experienced folks who can answer your questions.
We'll supply (almost any) specialty tools and workspace you may need.
There's plenty of software talk, and programmers are welcome too!
And yes, there will be food for participants (TBD; suggestions welcome) But you are always welcome to bring your own food and (non-alcoholic beverages) to the lab, too.
RECORDING: November 2025 Privacy PIE
Student Data Privacy with Sharlene Toney
Sharlene Toney, CIPP gave a phenomenal talk explaining some worrying developments in the student data broker space, specifically a recent partnership between student data broker firms and Equifax, one of the "big three" credit bureaus in the United States.
And if you think Equifax sees this as a prime opportunity to sell your personal student data to, well, whoever they want, you're right.
And that's before even getting into correcting errors on your record, ensuring your credit report (and thus application for a car, home, or student loan) isn't falsely impacted by something that happened 15 years ago, or simply not having your data available to the highest bidder.
This was a smaller, more intimate version of the talk she gave on the same topic at DEFCON this year. We didn't record the Q & A session afterwards but sure wish we had – Sharlene was incredibly generous with her time and expertise and it was hands down one of the best PIE sessions we've ever had. We're hoping to have her back again.
Our FINAL study session for this Technician's License cohort will be will be held at the Advanced Cyber Systems Lab, located at Gateway Community College on:
January 14, 2026 at 6 p.m.
Directions and parking for the ACSL can be found here.
Great news -Andrew Cornwall is coming back again to share his expertise! Andrew is ARES Emergency Coordinator, a manager of the Arizona Emergency Net-Maricopa training net, and is accredited as an ICS Incident Communication Center Manager (INCM) and Auxiliary Communications (AUXCOMM) resource.
For new folks (who are always welcome!):
This cohort is studying and preparing for the FCC's Amateur Radio Service Technician Class license exam.
You must register to receive the email that will have convenient links to all the study materials or notifications of schedule changes.
NEW TEC TALKS EPISODE
What Does a CISO & Tech Founder Do?
Ed Vasko,C | CISO, CISSP, (Hon. Doc.), sat down with us for our short segment during which every technologist gets asked the same five questions.
Though the five questions stay the same, the answers and conversation trajectory are always a bit surprising. This episode proved to be no exception as Ed discussed the need for resilience as a founder, the role experiential learning will play in shaping tomorrow's workforce, how the Arizona tech space has evolved over the past few decades and why community building is so important for everyone's security.
Ed offers deep dives into tech, society, leadership and the role of the modern day CISO in today's environment on his Substack, CyberS3ntry. He and his business partner, Mark Dallmeier, co-authored a book on AI adoption in the enterprise space, Opportunity Seized, Squandered, Lost: An AI Business Parable. He is also a widely sought after public speaker and panelist.
TEC will publish a longer conversation with Ed about the future of tech in Arizona in January, so be sure to subscribe to TEC Talks if you haven't already so you don't miss that conversation.
In case you missed it, our podcast TEC Talks is now on YouTube! But don't worry, you can still listen on Castapod and Spotify, too.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TechEdCollab/videos
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/77kG9LJSjCIb284X0MND9q?si=fc85f435d0174340
https://podcast.techedcollab.org/@techedcollab?ref=techedcollab.org
Castapod: https://podcast.techedcollab.org/@techedcollab
The TEC Article Club
Kicking Robots: Humanoids and the tech-industry hype machine by James Vincent
Date Published: November 19, 2025
Publication: Harper's Magazine
Long and Ugly Link: https://harpers.org/archive/2025/12/kicking-robots-james-vincent-humanoids/?src=longreads
The following introduction is by Peter Rubin, Longreads editor. This article was found via their curated list of the best of longform tech journalism.
While the current state of the robotics industry may be completely dependent on AI, James Vincent’s Harper’s feature exists entirely downstream of it. Tangibility matters for a story like this, and Vincent understands that. It’s why we begin with him trying to knock down a robot named Apollo.
After all, robots have progressed from detached arms to cutesy floor-cleaners to doglike contraptions to things that are shaped like people. (Fascinatingly, this isn’t necessarily vanity, or even lack of imagination. As Vincent sets out, it’s a solution to navigating a world built by and catered to human scale and physiology.)
Breakthroughs over the past few years have made these humanoid robots vastly more fluid and capable. But like so many technologies, the robotics sector is also wildly overblown.
Every CEO Vincent talks to, every factory he visits, every demo he witnesses, seems to pull from the same rhetorical playbook, evoking a utopian future that’s just around the corner. Humans with more time on their hands! Abundance and ease for all! (Stop me if you’ve heard any of this before.)
Thankfully, Vincent threads a needle between the two poles of tech journalism: He’s neither credulous nor cynical. Instead, he listens and watches. He smacks a robot with a broomstick. He spools out the claims and canards, the dazzle and the danger. And like most sensible people, he comes to the conclusion that the robot future might actually have some uses—and also happens to be nowhere near “just around the corner.”
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