In the latest episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, Chris and Mark discuss a variety of news stories, including the COPS SVPP grant focusing on security measures in schools such as notification systems and security cameras. They also address concerns around Primavera's investment in Tutor.com and the rise of AI-generated plagiarism in student papers. Listener emails reveal discussions on firewall ratings and more. - - - - - https://www.youtube.com/@k12techtalk Join the K12TechPro.com Community. ...
Apr 26, 2024•53 min•Ep. 169
In this insightful episode of K12 Tech Talk, Josh and Mark delve into recent events and hot topics within the sphere of school technology. Triggered by a recent cyber-attack on the Clark County, the hosts debate whether schools should be held accountable for such breaches and discuss the potential nation-wide implications of legal cases in this regard. The guys discuss the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in school environments. They discuss how end-of-year school activities impact te...
Apr 19, 2024•41 min•Ep. 168
This is Part 2 of K12 Tech Talk's engaging journey through the trending topics from CoSN in Miami! Highlights are discussions about AI readiness and CoSN's AI maturity matrix, Secure by Design, enhancing data security in schools, and the dynamic evolution of technology within educational institutions. Interviews include: Josh Olstad - Technology Director, SAU #5, New Hampshire Shahryar Khazei - retired CIO of Los Angeles Unified Jim and Melissa - Future of Privacy Forum Tom Ryan - the man, the m...
Apr 17, 2024•49 min•Ep. 167
Part 1 of 2 In this exciting episode of K12 Tech Talk, Chris, Josh, and Mark deliver a front-row experience of the CoSN Conference in Miami. Interviews include: Susan Enfield - CoSN Keynote Richard Culatta - CEO ISTE/ASCD Don Ringelestein - CoSN Board, DEI subcommittee Megan Gretzinger - Friend of K12TechPro and K12 Tech Talk Will Brackett - "After Action Reports" session - - - - - https://www.youtube.com/@k12techtalk Join the K12TechPro.com Community. Buy our merch!!! * NTP * Howard - Email Set...
Apr 12, 2024•42 min•Ep. 166
Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss several listener emails and K12TechPro posts. They talk about POTS lines with elevators, fire alarms, and fax machines. They talk about password managers. They talk about how to obtain technical knowledge and skills when you have a position that isn't necessarily specializing in a certain area. They talk about LMS options and the tech dept's support role. And then there's some sideways talk about elevator inspections and dead rodents. Oh, and an interview with VIZOR...
Apr 05, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 165
This is a special episode. Josh and Chris interview Mohit Gupta, Director of Product at Clever. We discuss student MFA, the teacher Clever Library, student data privacy, the history of Clever, and more. ----more---- https://www.youtube.com/@k12techtalk Join the K12TechPro.com Community. Buy our merch!!! * NTP * Howard * Email Seth Shockley - sshockley@howard.com * Extreme - email dmayer@extremenetworks.com * VIZOR - Would you like a free K12 Tech Hoodie and reduce your workload? Then check out V...
Mar 28, 2024•47 min•Ep. 164
Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss the recent cyberattack where hackers compromised two critical systems of CISA using vulnerabilities in Ivanti products. Josh derails the conversation after receiving some "hate" mail recently, though. They also touch on the future of VR in education, reflecting on past experiences with Google Expeditions and the shift towards AI in K12. The episode features an interview with Absolute. Reddit article about future of VR in education ----more---- https://www.youtube.co...
Mar 22, 2024•57 min•Ep. 163
In this episode, the guys discuss a security bulletin from Papercut, the launch of the digital SAT, and the release of an artificial intelligence framework for district leaders by ILO Group. They also address listener emails, including a question about parental access to web filters. The main topic focuses on tips for preparing for online testing season and large-scale assessments, prompted by a listener's story about a failed testing attempt in a cafeteria. News Stories: 1. Papercut Security Bu...
Mar 15, 2024•52 min•Ep. 162
Josh and Mark discuss the decline in edtech investments after the pandemic and the impact it may have on the industry. They also touch on the renewal costs for VMware customers and the opportunity it presents for competitor Nutanix. The episode explores the importance of team growth in a school district, highlighting the benefits of knowledge sharing, proactive vs. reactive work, and shared responsibilities. Additionally, listeners inquire about erate efforts in smaller districts and the strateg...
Mar 08, 2024•46 min•Ep. 157
Hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss a range of tech news stories, including articles on AT&T cell phone service outages, teachers avoiding AI tools, and the use of panic buttons for school safety. They also address a listener email about handling personal documents in district collaboration tools. The main topic focuses on holding a tabletop cybersecurity exercise with district leadership, with Chris sharing his experience leading a drill. Important lessons highlighted include making the exe...
Mar 01, 2024•57 min•Ep. 161
Josh takes a few minutes to remind everyone to patch your systems, firewalls, servers, Veeam, VPNs, etc. He also talks about the importance of looking at your logs, especially those public facing devices. Finally, he brags that he submitted four 471s to E-Rate and all four of them went to "Wave Ready" status in less than six hours after upload. The majority of this episode is spent talking with Eric the Intern from K12TechPro. He left the K12 world recently and went to private industry. A few we...
Feb 23, 2024•52 min•Ep. 160
In this episode, the guys discuss various news stories including a CISA alert about a former employee account compromise and Greenwich CT's request for $600k to fix poor cell service at a high school. They also address listener emails regarding their dislike of Teams and feedback on the Principal's Episode. The main topic of the episode centers around preparing for a virtual snow day, prompted by the recent blizzard in New York City that resulted in login issues for remote students. Josh also br...
Feb 16, 2024•51 min•Ep. 159
In this episode, we dive into the latest news in the K-12 technology world. We discuss who hacked into Fulton County, Georgia schools' computer systems, we touch on the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program, and we trade thoughts on a Maine school that will begin biometric scanning for student attendance. We debrief the Clever MFA roadmap and how a student-friendly MFA could work. The main topic of the episode is an interview with the CEO of Rise Vision, Brian Loosbrock, where we discuss their d...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 158
This is a special episode where we talk to principals and share our advice, or the advice we received from the K12 tech community, for how principals can better understand and work with their IT staff. Our tips and tricks were compiled based on feedback from /r/K12sysadmin and K12TechPro along with a few emails from listeners. We all recognize the importance of our school principals and we hope this episode will help improve the lives of both techs and principals by sharing four important ways t...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 157
In this episode, Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss the recent discovery of the largest data breach in history, with 26 billion records compromised. They also review Clever's newly released cyber security report, which includes information on student multi-factor authentication. They address listener emails regarding IT documentation software. The main topic of the episode is the National Education Tech Plan, which focuses on the digital access divide, digital design divide, and digital use divide wi...
Jan 26, 2024•54 min•Ep. 156
In this episode, hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss recent exploited vulnerabilities with Citrix, Google Chrome, and Sonicwall. They also delve into a proposed bill in the Federal government that could fund AI education in K-12 districts. They discuss a Reddit post about the dangers of shadow IT. The main topic of conversation revolves around the recent Raptor Technologies data breach and the role of school districts in reducing the risk of data breaches. News Links: CISA Pushes Federal Agencie...
Jan 19, 2024•42 min•Ep. 155
In the this episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss a range of news stories related to technology in education. They delve into the efforts made by Meta (Facebook) to make it harder for teens to access harmful content and the FTC's proposed strengthening of children's privacy rules. The hosts also address a staff member falling victim to a smishing attack. In the main topic of the episode, they explore a Reddit thread on budgeting for expensive but infrequent pr...
Jan 12, 2024•54 min•Ep. 154
In this episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, co-hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss their return to school after the holiday break and share updates on their winter vacation projects. Mark presents a news story about a Minot woman charged with poisoning her boyfriend and they also discuss the "State of Ransomware" report from Emsisoft. They address listener emails, focusing on teachers who are tired of multifactor authentication (MFA) and offer strategies for dealing with complaints. The main t...
Jan 05, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 153
In the latest episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, co-hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark dive into various topics. They start with a listener email about a teacher using nickel-based paint to block cell and WiFi signals in their classroom (as posted on the K12TechPro Community). They also discuss a Reddit thread about allowing a Nintendo Switch on the school network. They highlight the top stories of 2023, including artificial intelligence usage and readiness, cybersecurity concerns and the shift to d...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 152
In the latest episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, host Josh is joined by Mark and guest host Eric (AKA Eric the Intern). We discuss a cyberattack on a school district in Butte and the recent Google outages. We then discuss a question regarding FERPA and the inclusion of student names in emails. The main topic of discussion is censorship, with the hosts sharing their practices and considerations when deciding to remove or censor content. Chris wasn't able to join because this episode was too sp...
Dec 08, 2023•47 min•Ep. 151
In this episode, hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss various topics in the tech world. They start off by sharing news about a former K12 tech being charged with a cyberattack on the high school he worked for. They also talk about the tech they are thankful for. In the listener emails segment, they address a Reddit thread on subscription services and discuss managing the transition to annual subscription-based pricing. They also mention a new cybersecurity focus coming from K12TechPro. The main t...
Dec 01, 2023•55 min•Ep. 150
In this episode, hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark dissect the latest in educational tech, covering the CRDC's revealing report on student tech access and the FCC's $200M cybersecurity pilot for K-12 schools. Listener emails bring forward challenges from the K12sysadmin subreddit, exploring the purpose in K-12 tech work. The main topic dives into managing student accounts, discussing GAM tools, password policies, and the delicate timing of suspending vs. deleting accounts post-graduation. CRCD Report ...
Nov 17, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 149
We had a really nice agenda worked up for this episode, but right before we hit record, Mark dropped a bomb... Eventually, we got to the following agenda... In the latest episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss various news stories including an update on the recent data breaches in Jefferson County, CO and Clark County. They also mention the Okta breach caused by an employee signing into a personal account on a business device. The hosts address an AI executive order ...
Nov 10, 2023•47 min•Ep. 148
In the latest episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, co-hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss their Halloween plans in the intro segment. In the news segment, they highlight two major data breaches, including hackers stealing student data from Clark County and directly emailing parents, as well as a data breach in Philadelphia that went unnoticed for five months. They also address a listener's question about how to handle student teachers and their access. The main topic of the episode is cell phon...
Nov 03, 2023•41 min•Ep. 147
Sorry for the delay. We had major audio/video issues with our recording platform. Also, due to that issue, only audio again this week. In the latest episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss several news stories related to technology in schools. They start by covering the ban on facial recognition technology in NYC schools, as well as the concerns raised by the ACLU about surveillance technology in K-12 classrooms. The hosts also address a listener email regarding...
Oct 27, 2023•41 min•Ep. 146
Eric recounts the story of how his district was hit with ransomware in 2019 but narrowly escaped a major cyber attack. He describes the early days of the attack, including the response from his team and district, and then recounts how they recovered with only a very small grazing from the attack. His story is filled with lessons learned from the incident, including things they should have done before the attack as well as how his district handled the incident as a community. Chris was not able t...
Oct 20, 2023•46 min•Ep. 145
In the latest episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, co-host Chris shares an update on his SIS implementation struggles, highlighting some mistakes along the way. In the news segment, they discuss a recent ransomware attack on 14 Pinal County school districts and the shift towards data exfiltration in cyber threats. The main topic revolves around the MORENET conference, where AI was a major focus. They delve into COSN and the Council of Great City Schools' readiness checklist on Generative AI, ex...
Oct 13, 2023•46 min•Ep. 144
In this episode, Mark and Josh sit down with the Godfather of Student Data Privacy, Steve Smith. Steve tells us how student data privacy became "a thing" for his district 15 years ago due to questions from parents, and it morphed into a national organization. He offers tips and pointers on how to get started if your district has not jumped into the seemingly wild waters of SDPA's. Then, Chris and Josh have a discussion with Stuart from Jupiter about what they can do for you if you are looking to...
Oct 06, 2023•52 min•Ep. 143
In this special episode we pay tribute to Pate Hogan, a special friend of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast. Pate appeared on the podcast multiple times over the last few years and we wanted to share some of our favorite moments with Pate. Thank you for the laughs and memories, Pate.
Oct 04, 2023•33 min•Ep. 142
Chris starts the episode with a story about his bad day, talks for 10 minutes, then Mark realizes he didn't press the record button. For the remainder of the episode, Chris is mad at Mark and upset with the day he's had. He does attempt to tell the story again. The guys discuss 3 listener emails and the following: Google fixes fifth actively exploited Chrome zero-day of 2023 Cisco patches zero-day vulnerability under attack | TechTarget Google Podcasts to shut down in 2024 with listeners migrate...
Sep 29, 2023•44 min•Ep. 141
