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CTO/CIO

Explore insights and strategies for CTOs and CIOs in education. Discover tools and resources to support technology leadership and innovation.

How You Can Adopt a Security Mindset

by Ted Gruenloh, Guest Author April 20, 2020

written by Ted Gruenloh, Guest Author

As the CTO or network administrator, you focus your valuable time on the health and integrity of the network so your staff and students can focus on their work. This may or may not allow you to spend the necessary time required to protect the network from intrusions, malware, and other cybersecurity threats. If you find yourself wishing for more time and resources to devote to security, you’re not alone.

Perhaps you need a new security mindset – one that can focus the resources you do have on what really matters. Here’s a suggestion: start looking at security from the inside out. It begins, strangely enough, with the assumption that you have been breached and now you must begin the forensic analysis of how it happened and what was lost.

A New Security Mindset

How would starting with the assumption you were breached change your overall philosophy about network security? First, you would know there was a serious problem to solve in your network, which would help to shape your thinking in terms of how to protect it, how you’d recover, and the tools you would need to do the job. The focus becomes “what is the most important thing on my network?” What are the crown jewels, so to speak, of your data and physical assets that could be most harmful to your district if they were compromised?

And if they were – despite all the security you have in place – how could it have happened? Looking at those scenarios will help you to determine two things. First, if there might be any weaknesses in your defenses after all. And second, if all else failed, how would you protect those vital assets? Maybe your highest priority would become network segmentation, reliable backups, a well-thought-out disaster recovery plan, or a more proactive prevention approach, backed by sophisticated threat intelligence.

Going Further

Assuming you’ve been breached is actually one of seven security mindsets that are the key to successful defense. Network security, after all, is not just about devices or hardware and security tools. Those all change over time. The right mindsets are what will keep you on track. And here they are, briefly:

1. It’s all about the people.

This one comes first for good reason. Awareness has improved over the years, but most security breaches still start with someone clicking on a bad link or falling for a phishing email. User training, including the basics of a strong password, and the implementation of 2FA might be the best investment of your time and resources, and the one with the greatest payoff.

2. There’s a new way to layer security.

It goes beyond protecting the perimeter and putting antivirus protection on endpoints. It’s about active threat intelligence that provides protection and visibility, a way to see and record network traffic for analysis and for detecting threats as early as possible.

3. Know what’s normal.

Establishing a baseline for your network enables you to detect when something may be wrong. Reviewing the “Basic” CIS Controls is always a good start here, and Network Security Monitoring (NSM) tools can be an inexpensive alternative to complicated SIEM devices for setting that baseline and monitoring your network traffic.

4. Take action when things aren’t normal.

When you have the relevant data and can spot threats before they develop into something serious, you can be more proactive. An effective back-up solution falls under this category, too. Your awareness of what is normal and what isn’t becomes a huge advantage.

5. Don’t underestimate the importance of threat intelligence.

The more you know, the better you can defend. Taking advantage of threat intelligence vendors’ services, or of the many other available sources of information about security threats, sharpens your defenses. This helps correlate and make sense of the data you see going across your network. As a bonus, active threat intelligence can be applied on the network to block threats before they get a chance to get a foothold.

6. Stay current.

Don’t wait for some professional group or government organization to announce an emerging threat. Join industry groups that share threat information. And get connected via social media, following top network security professionals and journalists on Twitter, for instance.

7. Assume you’ve been breached.

Again, this mindset helps you prepare for the worst, recognizing not only your weaknesses, but moving to put solid plans into place for prevention and recovery.

This blog is based on Ted Gruenloh’s presentation at the TCEA 2019 System Administrator and Technical Support Conference. For a comprehensive explanation of these security mindsets, check out the eBook 7 Security Mindsets to Adopt Today.

Photo: Taskin Ashiq

April 20, 2020 0 comments

Supporting Staff While Working Remotely

by Dr. Bruce Ellis March 25, 2020

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

While it may be commonplace for finance or IT workers to work remotely, it is definitely not usual to have school teachers and district employees working remotely. That is, until now. Working remotely is a great benefit for some people, while others consider it akin to torture to endure what seems like solitary confinement.

So, what do you do if you are managing staff that are now trying to figure out this whole “working from home” thing? We have a few tips for you and would love to hear what additions you would add to our list. Let us know in the comments!

Set Guidelines and Expectations

If your staff has not worked remotely before, it is advisable to provide clear guidelines and expectations to them. Office rules that were once understood take on a whole new meaning when everyone is dispersed — including supervisors. See what others in your capacity are doing and what expectations they are communicating. Tweak those to fit your district’s policies and your personality.

Just like in your work environment previously this year, your staff perform better when they understand what is expected, what success looks like, and have the freedom to ask questions and get clarification. Being in a forced remote working situation makes that even more critical.

Encourage Routines

“Routines” don’t have to be a negative word. Whether we realize it or not, we all most likely have routines at work each day. Routines provide predictability, which, in turn, can help us cope and adjust to new situations more quickly. If your routine when you arrive at work is to get a cup of coffee, talk with your coworker for five minutes, and check email before diving into the heavy lifting for the day, consider how that might translate to working at home.

Some routines may need to be adjusted a little to fit the new environment of working remotely. At the office, you probably don’t think much about your routines; you just do them. Pause for a moment and actually write down what your routine might look like now. It might even help to put start and stop times to tasks and activities on your schedule. Decide to try it out for a few days and examine it as you are going through it.

After a few days, examine what you wrote out and tweak as needed. Building predictability into your day will help you get in a rhythm of being more productive and satisfied with how you are managing the “new normal.”

Get Moving

If you are like me, you may do more walking at work than you realize. Trips to the printer, restroom, front desk, break room, etc. all add up to not being quite so sedentary while in the office. If I’m not conscious of it, though, I may realize (afterwards) that I’ve been sitting in the same spot on the sofa for several hours working.

While it’s great to get in the zone, we don’t want to neglect our body. Encourage your staff to take a fifteen-minute walk mid-morning and then again about an hour or so after lunch. Getting up and getting the blood pumping doesn’t necessarily mean doing cardio, but it does mean that your staff will most likely be able to think better and therefore work better.

Have Face-to-Face Communications

Even when we cannot meet in person for staff meetings, we can still meet online and try to emulate some of the practices that we benefit from in face-to-face meetings. Plus, changing to a quarantined environment with little transition time makes it even more beneficial to see others, and to be seen.

There are some reports and bits of information that can be effectively shared by email. And, in a normal office environment, it might be advisable to cancel a meeting if there was no real need to get together. That is, if everything could be handled via email and collaborative documents. But right now, even if you don’t have a heavy agenda, it is important for everyone to feel connected.

Now that we at TCEA are all working remotely, at least through the next couple of weeks, one of our rules is that everyone has their video camera on during meetings. We aren’t meeting high executives or CEOs and trying to win over million dollar accounts; we are meeting with each other in real life situations, which sometimes means an occasional kid or pet running through the background, the doorbell alerting that a package has been dropped off, or (gasp!) a house that hasn’t had a maid step on the premises in years (if ever).

Keep Things Light

Yes, these are serious times. Yes, we are all under a lot of stress. That’s why it’s important for leaders to find ways to make staff feel less frightened and more able to handle the situation. You can do that by putting some fun in their day.

At our first TCEA remote staff meeting, we played a Kahoot! game to get to know each other even better and to help us reconnect. At our next one, Executive Director Lori Gracey has said that it will be silly hat day for us all and we should come to the Zoom meeting with our best bonnets on. I’m sure there will be other surprises as this sheltering in place continues. But that seems less stressful because we are all in it together and able to laugh at each other.

Gauge Your Staff

You should already know your staff. You know those that do better when you drop in for just a minute each morning, those that think of being quarantined and working alone is better than a Disney cruise, and those that need your occasional reassurance that they are doing a great job. Working remotely doesn’t change any of that. So, as you think about your staff, consider how you can be that same great leader you are in person, but now via telecommuting.

You don’t want to micromanage, but you do want to help each staff member in a way that is meaningful to them. Unfortunately for you, though, this will probably take more time on your part and require you to be more conscious of your actions. But you can do it. You are a great leader and that is what great leaders do.

Thank Those Going the Extra 1,000 Miles

While what the teachers are doing with distant students is absolutely amazing, there are other staff members who are also going above and beyond. The cafeteria workers, the bus drivers, the other admin members of the team — all of them are putting the needs of the children first, sometimes even about their own health or family. Be sure to let them know how much you appreciate them for that.

And don’t forget your tech staff. While we’ve been talking about digital learning for years, being thrown into the deep end of the pool like this without preparation or training time is scary. They believe that this remote learning can be a true boon for student empowerment and achievement. But they are stressed beyond belief right now as they try to solve issues like digital equity, parents who don’t understand how technology works, log in and software problems, and more. Give them a virtual high five to show that you’ve noticed their very hard work.

At times like these, your leadership skills may shine even brighter. Those things that were taken for granted by you and others will more likely be noticed when done with intention. As you support your staff and fellow administrators, consider these tips to help make it an easier transition in a chaotic time.

I know this isn’t an exhaustive list that I’ve shared, so I’m asking you to add to it in the comments below. What tip or activity that you’ve thought of has helped you and your staff? Do you have a boss that has done something well to make this time easier to manage? Give a shout out in the comments below. This is the place to pay it forward so other leaders can implement your ideas and further everyone’s success.

March 25, 2020 0 comments

Content Areas CTO/CIO Good Teaching

Teleschool Ready? Learning in the Time of COVID-19

by Miguel Guhlin March 3, 2020

written by Miguel Guhlin

“[Parents should] ask schools, are there plans for teleschool?” says a CDC representative. An inconvenient truth has pushed its way into our consciousness. No, I’m not speaking of climate change. The inconvenient facts are that schools may need to close for an extended time. Consider this news (edited) that appeared recently:

Dr Messonier said she called her children’s school. She asked if there are plans for tele-schooling if necessary. She recommended parents do the same.

Source: Edited for readability. Daily Mail, available 2/27/2020

While the COVID-19 frenzy may prove to be a non-starter here in the United States, the ability to provide learning during a time when a school’s physical buildings are not available is critical. (Do you remember hurricanes Rita, Ike, and Harvey, all of which had a big impact on some Texas districts’ ability to hold school?)

Virtual learning, distance learning, and blended learning are all familiar terms to us. While Dr. Nancy Messonier (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) may have used a term we’re unfamiliar with, her meaning is clear. Schools may soon need to rely on strategies few educators are currently comfortable with. Are students equipped for at-home learning? Is your district ready for teleschool?

Be sure to read the companion blog entry, Remote Learning Tools for Schools.

Gauging Teleschool Readiness

How do you decide if teachers and students have what they need to teleschool? One way is to ask how other educational institutions are approaching it. No doubt, some schools will resort to make-up days when the pandemic winds down. The problem is, no one knows how long that will be. Like other disasters that schools face, if you don’t have preparations set up prior, it’s too late when the disaster hits. So this may be your district’s wake-up call. Take a moment to gauge how prepared you are.

Join us for a free-to-anyone Zoom Discussion on this important topic on Monday, March 9, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Central. We invite schools at all stages to jump in and share how they might engage in teleschooling if the need arises. In addition, a TCEA Lunch and Learn on Blended Learning Made Easy takes place March 4, 2020 at 11:45 a.m. CDT. You can also read the TCEA TechNotes blog’s blended learning archives for more insights now.

For New York University’s Shanghai campus, professors worked to meet students’ needs. They relied on several resources to make the job easier:

A plan to do the following:
- Move face-to-face content into online format
- Communicate via social media about what is happening
Website(s) to address questions and support students and parents who might have questions
A range of digital tools including:
- Learning management systems (LMSs)
- Video conferencing tools (e.g. Zoom, Adobe Connect) to ease communication with educators
- Messaging platforms (e.g. email, social media-like tools)
Pre-created videos on subjects a professor might lecture on
Online assessments

Reviewing that list of plans and resources, we can start to come up with a checklist of what K-12 schools can do.

Formulating the Checklist

Checklists for blended learning abound. A two-second web search will get you started. What are some specific steps your organization is prepared to take? Consider doing the following in a quick, methodical manner. To quote an old surgeon’s saying, “Go slow now so you can go fast later.”

Assessment of the District’s Readiness

How much of your K-12 curriculum and lessons are available in digital format for students? This would include videos, activities, assessments, etc.
How much digitized content exists in a learning management system? That is, a tool like Canvas, Classroom (Google), Schoology, or Teams (Microsoft)?
Do you have a team of educators who could digitize content and arrange it in an LMS?
What grade levels would be most critical to begin with?
What budget do you have available to buy pre-packaged content or get a team to work after hours? Will any YouTube or Khan Academy videos be usable under fair use?
How many teachers on staff could organize a month’s worth of content for online consumption?
Do teachers and students have necessary connectivity and devices to access content and complete assessments?
Create a “who would do what by when” task chart for all project aspects and how they will report completion of the task.

Things the Staff Should Do

Organize small teams to digitize content and decide what’s the most important to focus on
Decide what grade levels and content areas/subjects have priority
Streamline lessons and activities to use high-effect size strategies. Be repetitive in the use of the same strategies across lessons. Find a chart online here.
Figure out how to best make Pre-AP and Advanced Placement (AP) courses self-paced
Invite a core team of educators to create content in five to 10-minute increments
Put standard modifications for special education in place with specific suggestions for parents
Create a school hours schedule students can follow while at home
Assign two teachers by campus to monitor online during the workday; they would work from home

Resources Needed for Parents

Create a website that shares critical information about the district’s efforts
Include a sample lesson that shows what content will be available for students
Make recommendations about internet bandwidth and devices for homes that lack access
Articulate the process for checking out equipment
Provide a list of locations that provide internet access. These should be accessible from inside a car (e.g. parking outside library or school building)

Resources Needed for Students

Create a video of how to navigate online modules
Encourage student reflection and feedback on online modules
Engage students with hands-on projects when possible

Bigger Fish to Fry

While it’s easy to say, “There are bigger fish to fry right now and we need to let people focus on that,” planning on how you will provide a stable learning environment in the midst of a crisis is critical. Use the technologies you have to connect with children and parents in a fresh way and ensure that education moves forward.

March 3, 2020 3 comments

CTO/CIO Leadership

Five Tips for Ed Tech Strategic Planning

by Miguel Guhlin December 23, 2019

written by Miguel Guhlin

Strategic technology planning can’t exist without in the trenches support. How do you prepare your technology department for this kind of work? In this blog entry, we’ll share tips for practical educational technology planning.

The Big Picture

When beginning the journey of technology planning, balance long-term and short-term goals. You want the quick win of increasing device accessibility, but you must avoid the loss stemming from inadequate bandwidth or wireless access points. You must therefore plan long-term to increase your bandwidth and wireless access across all buildings. The short-term win comes when everyone can connect to the WiFi.

When planning ahead, know you will need to address these important priorities:

Long-term planning
Identifying areas of need
Obsolescence planning and equipment replacement
Budget allocations and sources of funding such as bond, eRate, Technology Instructional Materials Allotmentm local, and grants

May I share some quick tips for practical technology planning to address these with you?

Tip #1: Create a Knowledge Management Site

“Did you think you could remember all the details for many projects in your head and a few post-its?” grumbled a large urban school district project manager. She had forgotten a few key details in the deployment of new switches. The main one that caused problems was the lack of an email announcing the schedule for this project. Deliveries of equipment had begun, but schools had no idea of incoming equipment.

Project management and knowledge management go hand in hand. Project management (see this Project Management Wakelet) is essential to every undertaking in a school district. Put technology to work to ease this for all involved, including those with technology projects.

strategic planning

A knowledge base, a.k.a. knowledge management, website could have facilitated this. Creating one is easy but maintaining it can be difficult. Technology directors must make a habit of logging all plan details. It’s also important for support staff to grow accustomed to the work.

Learn more about knowledge management. | KM Wakelet

Tip #2: Establish Benchmarks

Need to know what the big issues are in your district? A technology audit is one sure way to discover infrastructure issues. You can use the data to develop metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Another way to find out what’s going on is to try the personal touch. Try two stars and a wish. What are TWO things technology is doing right? What is ONE thing you wish we could improve? Visit every campus and each department in the district and get their response. Rank the wishes and celebrate the stars. Get it done within your first three months on the job.

Here’s one story of how that works:

When I first started here, I scheduled individual conversations with every administrator. I met with technology and teaching staff. I had good conversations and took lots of notes. I asked each to identify “two stars and a wish.” The one thing was something that would impact their school.

I mentioned their “stars” when I spoke at school committee meetings. This allowed me to make sure they heard that I valued their existing successes. This was true even though they might be small, or things I didn’t think were stars. I managed to find something in them that I could praise. Then, I used the “wish” list so that during that first year I made headway (at least some progress) on every item.

This is part of my building relationships strategy. People want to know you care before they care about what you know. So working on their wishes showed I listened and made what they cared about a priority for me, which showed I cared.

How will you build relationships and show people you care? Establish benchmarks for each aspect of your work, then grow from there.

Tip #3: Inventory Job Duties

Ask the technology team, “What is the actual work that you do that takes up your time?” Get them to write it down. This data can assist you in seeing who does what and who says they do more than they do. You will also be able to plan ahead for growth in resources and staff.

For example, one district I worked for did not know how much time they spent on account management. Every staff member took calls about resetting staff passwords. This took a bite out of everyone’s time and delayed many projects. While the technology team had a suspicion they were spending a lot of time on this, no one had put two and two together. When we replaced that time and effort with a single sign-on system, we recovered the time. The data collected also facilitated reorganization and reclassification of jobs and people got pay raises.

Ask the questions to streamline your technology department. This will yield benefits. Your technology plan will reflect increased efficiency and effectiveness.

Tip #4: Make a Top Ten List

It’s easy to get lost in the weeds. Take your assessment data and come up with a Top Ten list of priorities. Use this at every opportunity. Do your stakeholders understand what the district’s needs are?

Here’s one example. How could you create a top ten list that gives voice to organizational needs?

Tip #5: Keep Up to Date with State and National Legislation

Keep up to date with state and national legislative priorities. You can use them to shape the focus of your ed tech planning, as well as build a sense of urgency. You can use legislative priorities to send a message. One message? Technology makes a difference. For example, in 2019, blended learning grants were set up for districts to take advantage of.

The state dedicated two million dollars to professional development. Could your district piggyback a new instructional initiative on a micro-credentialing program? You wouldn’t know that if you didn’t follow TCEA advocacy efforts.

These five tips for practical e dtech planning make preparing for the future easier. With these tips, you can lay the foundation for solid technology progress.

December 23, 2019 0 comments

CTO/CIO Leadership

Social Media Archiving in Texas Schools

by Miguel Guhlin December 9, 2019

written by Miguel Guhlin

“What’s the retention policy for email?” asked a recent participant at the TCEA SysAdmin event. Another tough, companion question might be, “How are you archiving your social media?” As schools transition from newsletters to blogs, tweets, and Facebook posts, archiving expectations arise. The need for archiving public information on smart devices is increasing. Digital public information, subject to open records requests, doesn’t care where it may appear. It may pop up on private devices and email/social media accounts. New laws make the pursuit and tracking of that data legal. Are you ready to provide archived social media? Let’s explore how others have done that and what schools can do now.

“The general forms in which the media containing public information exist include… email, internet posting, text message, instant message, other electronic communication” (Source: Goverment Code Chapter 552, Public Information)

Social Media Archiving in Texas

Did you know that your district’s social media posts are a state record? Social media falls under the Texas Public Information Act (updated September 1, 2019). Let’s take a quick look at open records requests, as well as records retention.

Open Records Requests

As a technology director in the past, I assisted my school district Central Office to respond to open records requests. This often meant providing information in digital, encrypted format to the district’s lawyers. First, though, I had to dig through an email archive (e.g. Google Vault, Datacove) to find pertinent information. With the wealth of social media sharing going on, I shudder to think what that process would have looked like.

Open Records requests under the Texas Public Information Act for social media content must follow the agency’s Open Records (or “Public Information”) Requests Policy. (Source: Open Records Requests, Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) Social Media resource Guide)

Imagine digging up tweets from a Twitterchat or posts on Instagram and Facebook. Stephanie Hawkins cites Texas law in her informative article on the topic. Review the Texas DIR’s Social Media Resource Guide, and you’ll find more expectations.

Records Retention

Peruse this section of the Guide and you’ll find the following:

Content posted by the agency or the public on an agency’s social media website is a state record (Government Code, Section 441.180(11)), and is subject to State Records Retention requirements in Government Code Chapter 441, Subchapter L,441.180-205.

That means that public schools may soon find themselves digging through their staff’s social media shares. What’s your organization or school district’s retention policy for social media? You may want to take another step back and consider what your social media policy is for your district. The Texas DIR’s Social Media Resource Guide offers some detailed recommendations that merit a close reading.

Is Your Tech Department Ready?

Are technology departments staffed to provide social media posts from staff? Worse, what happens when staff delete offending social media posts? What will you do then? A common strategy for individuals involves deleting offending content. They may even disable their account. This makes the offending posts tough to get to via traditional means. That strategy is not available to organizations. Consider the following:

An agency may be prohibited from deleting social media records, regardless of its established records retention policy, if the record is the subject of legal claims or actions (Government Code, Section 441.187). In addition, state and federal courts require the preservation of relevant records if a judicial or administrative action is reasonably foreseeable, even if such action is not yet initiated.

Do your district leaders work with data on their personal/home smartphones or laptops? If so, government entities now have the power to require access to public information stored on those private devices. On September 1, 2019, the Public Information Act (PIA) was updated. Senate Bill 944 gives government officials the power to look at public information on private devices. This means you need to find a way to document and keep records of communications, no matter where they originate or are kept.

Reflections on Social Media Use

Do you keep your private and public work separate? You may need to in light of SB 944. Most of us keep our private and public data on one device. We use private devices to handle public information. Many teacherpreneurs do this, but they may need to reconsider their “one account for personal and work” approach. Educators are reaching out via social media. They use social media in powerful ways that enhance teaching, learning, and leading. What happens when that open records request comes in for social media? Will it sweep up personal tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts? What about Snapchat in the Classroom? Some juggle many accounts in one app, while others use one account for private and public. Let’s take a quick look at two relevant areas.

Area #1: Disclaimers

While many post disclaimers, they may not be as effective as they once were. Disclaimers can be problematic for employers, but not for the reason you might think.

The more you control [employee accounts and employee behavior on social media], the more you will be legally responsible for everything that happens” (Source: Heather Bussing, “Eight Reasons Social Media Policies Backfire,”HR Examiner)

Educators are relying on disclaimers as a way to distinguish between private and public. While this may work for now, they also need to develop a strategy for rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s. That is, public information traded on private devices and accounts.

Area #2: Social Media Management

Instead of trying to channel both public and private information through one social media account, some separate the two. That means they have two (or more) accounts for each social media service. If called on to produce public/work information, it’s easy to provide the username and password for the work account. No risk to private or personal information of the employee occurs. Tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, Sprout Social) make it easier to funnel content automatically. Facebook and Instagram have also worked to make multi-account logins possible. This makes it easier to see and share to work-connected accounts. It also simplifies the number of apps you have to have on your device. Instead of needing four to eight apps, you can switch accounts as needed with the native app (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).

Problems Ahead: Towards School-Issued Social Media?

If you use your private social media account for sharing public information, you may run into a problem. What would happen if your private account got swept up in a review trying to capture public information sharing? Some may come to the same realization I did. Keep private and work separate, even if your disclaimers are in place. Until now, it was a free for all as to who created social media accounts. We may soon find ourselves using school-issued accounts. Can you see yourself with a school-issued Facebook? How about Twitter or Instagram? Now imagine yourself logging into those accounts with a single-sign on (SSO) solution. That might end the problem that schools face. In the meantime, social media archiving solutions may be an intermediary step. Remember, “courts require the preservation of relevant records.” So, how do we do that? This video may provide some insight.

Social Media Archiving (SMA) Solutions

Getting a SMA solution may help technology departments and assist those who don’t have time to dig across social media in response to an open records request. Email archiving solutions sprang up in response to demand and now social media archiving solutions are appearing. Here are a few for your consideration. Pricing for most was not viewable on their sites.

ArchiveSocial: It is a social media archiving solution for public agencies and K-12 districts. Use it to maintain public records of social media. Per their website, “ArchiveSocial connects directly to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to capture and preserve the content on your pages – ensuring you can easily respond to records requests.” View their ebook, Solution Overview. You can find a price overviewon their website.
Jaethon: In use by NorthEast ISD in San Antonio, Texas, Jaethon offers both email and social media archiving. They offer an ebook and onsite videos to expand your understanding.
MirrorWeb: Adapted from their website: “Significant moments occur on websites and social media channels all the time. We want to save them. So we provide digital archiving of online electronic publications.”
PageFreeze: Adapted from their website, it takes compliance and litigation off your plate. It automates archiving your websites, social media. You can access the archived items via a cloud-based dashboard.
Smarsh: “Helping regulated organizations to capture, archive and supervise the newest communication channels to meet compliance and e-discovery challenges head-on.”

In their ebook (linked above), Jaethon points out the following benefits of adopting a social media archival solution:

Capturing and archiving messages and posts through a variety of capture
methods, from proxy-based to endpoint capture;
Stopping unauthorized access and limiting liability through access controls, rogue account identification, identity management and disclaimers
• Stopping rogue posts with pattern-matching technology;
• Notifying admins about where stopped posts originated with alerts
and reporting;
• Implementing restrictions on messages that contain time-sensitive data or words and patterns that require further review with supervisory
measures and
• Automating all of these processes

Start Thinking About Social Media Archiving

Now is a good time to begin to think about your district’s needs in relation to social media archiving. Let me know if you have any questions or discover even more solutions!

December 9, 2019 2 comments

CTO/CIO Technical Support

Celebrate Ed Tech Appreciation Day!

by Jennifer Bergland December 4, 2019

written by Jennifer Bergland

Did you know that this year, December 4 is Ed Tech Day? Observed in early December, the day is designed to celebrate the professionals who support the use of technology within a school district.

The celebration includes a wide range of hardworking professionals such as hardware and software technicians, network administrators, webmasters, database and lab managers, teachers, librarians, instructional technologists, administrators, and others. You might quickly think of all the professionals who facilitate your teaching and your students’ learning. Showing them how much they matter is the purpose of Ed Tech Appreciation Day.

Recognizing Dedication

This is a day intended for schools, districts, and communities to show their appreciation for the professionals who help make learning happen through technology.

In 2015, Ed Tech Appreciation Day was even officially recognized in the state of Texas. Here’s how we described the importance of the event then:

Education Technology Appreciation Day is important for two reasons. First, our technology teams play a critical role in providing rich learning opportunities for our students. Long hours of work and planning go into the set up and maintenance of networks, hardware, software, and other elements necessary for digital learning. The establishment of a day honoring technology staff communicates our appreciation of their efforts and their importance in our schools.
Second, recognizing the work of technology experts helps spread the word about the use of technology in our schools. Districts often struggle to provide the best possible tools for teaching and learning with limited budgets. Additional support, especially with broadband and other infrastructure challenges, is needed in order to help schools contend with the increasing demands and expenses associated with digital learning. Both for appreciating the professionals who support our teachers and students and for raising awareness about the need for more technology dollars, Education Technology Appreciation Day is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the amazing things happening on campuses all of Texas.
TechNotes, 2015

Want to celebrate this year? Check out our ideas below.

Showing Appreciation

Pick a day to celebrate this December and show your appreciation! In 2018, we outlined a few ideas for recognizing your remarkable ed tech professionals. You can explore them here.

Throw a party with all their favorite treats. Invite your superintendent and other district administrators to demonstrate the district’s support.
Offer chair massages in 15-minute slots.
Create a video/trailer of all the technology being used in your classrooms, or one with students, staff, parents, and administrators thanking them.
Have your local school board or city council issue an official proclamation honoring their service to the district.
Give them gift cards to local restaurants, Starbucks, or their favorite geek store.
Create a basket that teachers can fill with treats and goodies. Homemade cookies are always the right answer!
Ask students to create a 3D-printed trophy honoring their work and let the students make the trophy presentation. Check out these sample files of trophies.
Create posters recognizing them and display them around the school and local businesses.
Have students and teachers answer this question on Twitter: “What would we do without our tech team?” Add these hashtags #tceahero and #EdTechApprecationDay.
Offer an early release day for the technology team.
Place a banner on the district website announcing the day and thanking the technology employees.

How do you celebrate the folks who keep your classrooms connected? Let us know in the comments below!

Photo: Gaelle Marcel

December 4, 2019 0 comments

Announcements/Important Dates CTO/CIO Professional Learning

Technology Leadership Summit: Solutions for Your District

by Kristy Breaux October 30, 2019

written by Kristy Breaux

The expertise and leadership of chief technology officers and other district leaders is invaluable in today’s schools. Front-line educators, students, parents, community members, and administrators throughout your district rely on you to build and sustain the best systems in order to make the most of the technology you have. Not to mention, you have an imperative to acquire quality resources at the best price

Reach New Heights at the Technology Leadership Summit

At TCEA, we value that work, and we want to connect you to the most effective practices, tools, and programs to keep your schools secure and successful. We want to help make your job a little easier so that you can focus on the true needs of your stakeholders.

Join other leaders in similar positions for an invaluable learning opportunity, the 2019 Technology Leadership Summit, December 13, at TCEA headquarters in Austin, Texas. You’ll discover new ideas, trends, contingency plans, and resources suited to all of the many roles you have to fill each day.

Intrigued? This event will cover a wide range of far-reaching topics, including (but not limited to) asset management, disaster recovery and business continuity, strategic tech planning, LMS, student information systems, open educational resources, mobile device management, leased versus purchased equipment, and network infrastructure planning.

The Details

Because TCEA believes that this event can provide valuable and critical information to school leaders, registration is complimentary for district technology administrators in the role of coordinator, director, CIO, or CTO. Others may attend and register at the cost of $125. Lunch is provided so that you can network with other leaders and continue the learning.

You can find all the details about this important leadership event and register here. Once you’re ready, you can also register yourself (and your team!). Get the information and resources you need to move your district forward.

October 30, 2019 0 comments

CTO/CIO Cybersecurity Digital Literacy

Five Cybersecurity Tips for Newbies

by Miguel Guhlin October 24, 2019

written by Miguel Guhlin

A topic that remains evergreen is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month’s (NCSAM) “Own it. Secure it. Protect it.” While NCSAM offers this nice toolkit in portable document format (PDF) for you, I thought I might share a few more tips.

In this blog entry, you get access to two Wakelet documents full of information on encryption tools and cybersecurity concerns. Before I share those, let’s revisit one of the reasons why cybersecurity is so important.

Set Yourself Up

“I don’t take the time to change my passwords, filter through my subscription lists and my unused apps, etc. My degree has a focus in computer security, so it is a little disappointing that I do not take the time to have a better digital footprint,” shared one educator in an online forum. If you’re not taking the time to secure and protect what you own online, you are inviting malicious use of your data.

As educators, it’s easy to imagine that we safeguard student data. The truth is, we fail our students when our own practices fall short of modeling cyber-secure practices. Set yourself up for protected use of your data, not for theft by others.

Encryption Tools for Educators – https://wke.lt/w/s/FZz-UX

View Wakelet featuring Encryption Tools for Educators and Students

Tips for Securing and Protecting YOUR Data

Let’s review a few tips that you can take as an educator to better protect yourself, and in turn, model appropriate strategies to students.

Tip #1 – Switch from debit cards to protected credit cards.

“Where did you use your credit card, sir?” asked the bank attendant. “Well, I stopped to get gas in that small town south of the city.” His short nod confirmed that was the location where unauthorized purchases were made. Gas station fraud due to skimmers is on the rise. Don’t be a victim.

Make a decision to NOT use your debit card or write print checks with your routing and account number on them. A few short years ago, I had to close all my accounts at a credit union that didn’t offer me better protection. I would also recommend setting up a separate email for financial accounts. An encrypted email (e.g. ProtonMail) works even better. Never use the same Yahoo/Gmail account you use for signing up for Netflix or Disney Plus for banking and medical accounts. Keep that for common use, but rely on your encrypted account for financial and medical transactions.

You will want to set up two-factor authentication for all email, cloud storage, digital accounts. You will need to have your smartphone with you to receive text messages or run a simple, easy authentication app that will give you a number that changes every 60 seconds for the digital account. This works, as I’ve had attacks on my accounts and seen it action.

Tip #2 – Freeze your credit reports to prevent new accounts.

Want to stop new accounts being opened in your name? With the Door Dash, Equifax, and other data security breaches recently, it’s not hard to imagine someone having all they need to create an account in your name. Prevent others from opening new accounts as if they were you by freezing your credit unless a special PIN# is used. These approaches aren’t foolproof, but they do help.

Quick Alerts: Get alerts via your bank mobile app for all transactions. I love knowing when funds come out of my bank account. Even if it’s my wife buying me a gift for my birthday.

Be sure to check your credit frequently. Annual Credit Reports provides a free service, but you may need to pay to get that more often. Here are a few credit freeze sites:

You’d be surprised at the peace of mind you get from securing your credit report. Before you freeze your credit reports, you may want to sign up for Experian and Credit Karma apps on your device. What’s nice about these is that they give you quick updates on your credit report status. Also, be sure to notify credit agencies of potential identity theft if you know your personally identifiable information (PII) has been stolen.

Tip #3 – Online Social Security account.

Create the account before the bad guys do. Problem is, if you froze your credit reports, you’ll have to go in person to the Social Security Admin building. Be sure to file your tax return early, otherwise others may do it and get your tax return check.

Bonus Tip: Give the Password Checkup extension for Chrome a try. It will check your passwords as you use them against the list of passwords resulting from data breaches. Some may not want to do this because it means Google is checking every password you type. Fortunately, no passwords are sent out. Learn more.

Tip #4 – Manage your usernames and passwords.

You may be comfortable using the same password on all websites, but know that hackers are comfortable with your decision to do so as well. Here are some ideas to better manage your usernames and passwords.

Use secure passwords. I like to use secure password generator and then add my own twist to it. I end up with a secure password that I keep track of using a password manager (e.g. Keepass, Bitwarden).
Add a password or pin number to all bank account transactions. It takes an instant, but without it, it may make it difficult for bad guys to access your accounts. And, of course, change these from time to time.

If you are carrying a paper notebook with all your usernames and passwords, you’ve set yourself up for disaster. If you are trying to remember them and using cues from your life (e.g. middle name, birthdays, pet’s name), be aware that these are easy to get. Get Bitwarden and access your confidential data on the go.

Cybersecurity Concerns – https://wke.lt/w/s/OYHnn

Tip #5 – Encrypt confidential data.

If you’re not protecting medical records in a locked safe, then chances are you have yet to encrypt your cloud data. Make every effort to encrypt confidential data documents you have saved in cloud storage (e.g. Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox), as well as when they are “at rest” on your laptop, USB external drives, smartphone, and tablet. Doing so is easier than ever. Note that cybersecurity concerns often arise from unencrypted data (view Wakelet on Cybersecurity Concerns).

Another aspect involves encrypting data when it is in transit, that is, when you’re sitting at Starbucks working on your bank account or reviewing LabCorp medical test results. For goodness sake, use a virtual private network (VPN), such as Mullvad VPN. Take some time to secure your on the go connections.

Wish there was more you could do? Read the NCSAM toolkit and make securing paper and digital resources of your life and work a top priority. You can never do enough to protect yourself.

Updated with new password management, VPN tool, and new content on July 25, 2023.

October 24, 2019 1 comment

CTO/CIO Educational Trends

Insights Learned From Your Speak Up Data

by Jennifer Bergland October 23, 2019

written by Jennifer Bergland

I am going to be very up front with my intention in writing this blog. My goal is to persuade school district technology directors or other administrators to seriously consider having their school or district participate in the annual Speak Up Survey.

Speak Up is a research tool districts use to learn what students, educators, parents, and the community have to say about educational issues. Yes, there are quite a few questions on the survey that deal with technology, but there are many other types of questions that will provide you with some much-needed insight into the attitudes of your stakeholders.

For example, in last year’s survey, they asked several questions about social and emotional learning. They also asked students how they prefer to learn subjects like math or science. Oh, and did I tell you that the survey is completely free and that they make it really easy for your district to participate?

A Texas-Sized School District

In order to help you see how a school district administrator could use this data, I’m going to take the state of Texas’ data and pretend I am the technology director of the “Texas School District,” covering the entire state. Let’s see what the data tells me about my district or what questions come to mind when I review the data.

Community

First, I’m very interested in the use of technology in my community. 78% of the members of my community use the internet to conduct research and 76% use mobile apps. 75% of my community use technology to watch an online video to learn how to do something. This tells me that a large portion of my community has internet access and is using it for research and to learn new things. However, it appears there is still some type of digital divide in my community. Is it an access or a skill problem, or both? I’m also surprised that only 26% of my community say they use Twitter. Since I spend a large amount of time on Twitter, I had assumed others did, too. This lets me know that I need to use a wider variety of social media to communicate with the members of my community.

Students

There are a series of questions in the survey that are posed to middle and high school students to see how often they seek ways to learn something because of their interests. This helps me see how students are using technology when they are looking for specific information or want to learn a skill. Only 9% of both middle and high school students post a question on a discussion board or a forum. Do we need to be more intentional in using this type of application? Do they just not know how, or have they found better ways to seek answers to their questions?

There are a greater number of students who are researching the internet for information: 32% of middle schoolers and 42% of high school students. Students are also using YouTube and other video services to learn how to do something. 42% of my middle school students and 57% of my high school students often use videos to teach them a skill. I need to talk to the instructional staff to see if we are taking advantage of this type of technology. Should we be posting short videos that teach one of the standards our students are struggling with? If so, what skills do my teachers need to know in order to do this and what technology do they need?

Teachers

Speaking of teachers, I really want to know what they are doing with technology. The data tells me that 45% of them are customizing digital content they find online to meet their students’ needs. This sounds an awful like Open Educational Resources (OER). Hmm, maybe we need to have more conversations about OER.

SpeakUp I also discovered that 43% of my teachers are facilitating student collaboration projects using online tools. This is such a great skill. How can I leverage these teachers to help other teachers do this as well? Also, I’m pleasantly surprised that 44% of my teachers are using an online curriculum. However, I want to know more. What is the frequency? Are they occasionally doing this or is this something they use every day? I also want to know what they are using. Are they using the district’s Learning Management System, or is it an online textbook?

I am a little disappointed that only 9% of my teachers are creating their own online professional learning networks. I had pretty high hopes that platforms like Twitter could help connect educators, especially those who may be the only one that teach their subject at their school. Maybe I need to do my own survey to see if, in fact, that is the case. Maybe the 9% are the teachers who do not have a colleague at their school that teaches their subject. Sounds like I need to do some more digging.

Finally, there is one question I am very interested in. It asks the teachers what they need to more efficiently and effectively speakup integrate digital content, tools, and resources into their daily instruction. 51% said they wished they had a classroom set of digital devices. 49% said they needed to know that their students had adequate broadband access outside of school and 46% indicated they were concerned that they didn’t have consistent, reliable internet access within school. Maybe I need to have my staff do some focus groups related to internet access and speed. Looking at my network resources, they should have adequate bandwidth, but maybe something is happening on campus that I am not aware of. While my team is on campus, I probably should also have them ask teachers about the availability of technical support since 47% of the teachers indicated it was lacking. And lastly, my teachers still need time to plan with their colleagues (60%) and additional professional development (50%). I need more staff to be able to meet this need!

Whew, I learned this much in less than an hour by looking at this data. This will come in handy when I go to the superintendent and tell her I need more funding to do the things she wants me to do. It will also help me know where I need to place my time and energy.

Your Turn

Seriously, I gained this information in less than an hour. Just think what you and your team could glean from your district’s data.

If nothing else, I hope you will sign up to watch one of their webinars so that you can learn more about the survey and how it can assist you in your work. On October 23, you can watch the livestream of Julie Evans, the CEO of Project Tomorrow, provide a congressional briefing on the latest data. Julie does an excellent job of weaving a story with the data. She is always extremely interesting. In addition, check out this site for other webinars the Speak Up team is hosting.

Register Now

The Speak Up survey is open until June 30, 2020. What are you waiting for? Register today!

Photos of student and teachers by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Photo of hands and laptop by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

October 23, 2019 0 comments

Announcements/Important Dates CTO/CIO

TCEA Partners with Alertus to Offer School Safety Grant

by Kristy Breaux October 21, 2019

written by Kristy Breaux

Technology serves a number of functions. It can help educators create effective learning, assist in simplifying administrative responsibilities, and even help keep students, staff, and faculty safe.

That’s why TCEA has partnered with Alertus Technologies to award a school safety grant for a full emergency notification system to one of our members (see eligibility requirements below). The estimated total value ranges up to $75,000, depending on the size and needs of the selected school. By partnering with Alertus to provide this grant for customizable mass notification systems, we’re working to expand access to a foundational element of ed tech: school safety.

The Emergency Preparedness Grant includes:

Alertus Mass Notification System Software
Alertus Enhanced Notification Services and Support
Up to 40 Alert Beacons
Up to 4 Duress Buttons

Eligibility

Applicants must be a registered non-profit organization or a government entity such as a school, library, or public agency.

About the Program

Since 2002, Alertus has been a pioneer in the emergency mass notification space, helping organizations find innovative solutions to emergency preparedness. Through the Alertus Emergency Preparedness Grant program, under-resourced organizations will have access to hardware and software solutions to effectively prepare and respond to a crisis situation.

Interested TCEA members can apply for the Alertus Grant via the online application form. Priority will be given to high risk and high-need organizations.

We are thrilled to be able to partner with Alertus to give our members the opportunity to give their students, staff, faculty, and communities the peace of mind in knowing that when an emergency happens, they will be able to send and receive potentially life-saving notifications quickly and clearly through the Alertus Mass Notification System and its integrated devices.

You can learn more about the program on TCEA’s Grants page. If you have any questions about this program, please email kristy@tcea.org.

Photo: Bruno Reyna

October 21, 2019 0 comments

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