K12 Tech Talk

Episode 285 dives into a fast‑moving week of K12 tech news. The guys discuss Hazel Health (a telehealth provider reportedly targeted by the Direwolf ransomware group) and a confirmed Frontline breach.

Josh, Chris, and Mark break down Google's latest moves - an early consumer rollout of Googlebook, the timeline for education management controls, and Google’s decision to retire Gemini Gems and migrate functionality into cross‑platform "skills." They debate the need for more granular Google Admin Console controls so districts can toggle AI features selectively rather than adopting an all‑or‑nothing rollout.

The episode also features an interview with Michael Marassa about adopting Lumu for K12 cybersecurity.

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Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

In this episode, Chris, Mark, and AI Josh discuss research studies about classroom technology, AI tutors, student-device use, and the alarming state of U.S. school facilities.

The main segment examines the GAO’s nationally representative survey of over 400 districts that found 1 in 5 schools closed at least one day last year due to a facility emergency, with an estimated 3.5 million lost student days and major impacts on telecom, WiFi, power, and climate control. The guys talk about how aging infrastructure, lack of capital bonds, and construction or maintenance work can directly damage networking closets, cause overheating or water intrusion, and disrupt classroom technology.

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107970

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Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

On this episode, Josh, Mark, and Chris break down Florida’s new law requiring districts to notify parents in plain language when AI tools are used in classrooms and to offer opt‑outs - a policy the hosts unpack for feasibility, operational impact, and how it might force edtech vendors to add more granular control or risk being blocked.

The guys also cover OpenAI’s $5 million grant program to study how generative AI affects teens, the recent launch of a teen‑specific ChatGPT experience, and how large districts like New York City are tightening YouTube access (allowing teachers to share videos via links but otherwise restricting the app). They discuss real classroom implications - from Grammarly and Quizlet adding AI features to Canva’s built‑in generators - and the difficulty of implementing opt‑outs at scale without creating headaches for IT staff and teachers.

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Music by Colt Ball

Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

In episode 282, Josh, Chris, and Mark cover the controversy over the White House’s new arcade site, the major cyberattack that shut down Springfield (MA) Public Schools, and Josh's takeaways from Google’s AI Educator event in Austin.

The main segment dives deep into agentic AI - autonomous AI agents that can act on systems instead of only returning chat responses. The trio walks through scenarios that K–12 tech leaders need to consider: agents updating SIS rosters, automating procurement and purchase approvals, rebooting classroom devices via help-desk automation, and security use cases where camera-detected threats could trigger lockdown procedures. They debate thresholds for false positives, legal and reporting risks, and where to require human oversight.

Google training that Josh talked about

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Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss the PaperCut vulnerability, Anthropic’s Claude for Teachers, and then... AI and screen-time.

Policy and pedagogy take center stage with two of the country’s largest districts making opposite moves - New York City’s one-year pause on student-facing generative AI in K-8 and recommended screen-time limits, and LAUSD’s district-wide ban and filter-based blocking of generative AI.

The guys unpack what those decisions mean for teachers, students, vendors (toggles on/off and paid feature concerns), and equity - including how teachers view AI as a productivity tool but remain cautious about its role in learning.

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Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)

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Music by Colt Ball

Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

In this special Dell‑sponsored episode of K12 Tech Talk, Chris sits down with Marlo Gaddis, a former educator and current K‑12 Education Strategist at Dell. Marlo shares explains Dell’s reinvestment in K‑12 (focused on support over sales), and frames the major challenges and opportunities facing school technology leaders today.

The conversation explores what has remained constant in K‑12 tech and highlights the importance of intentional, purpose‑driven technology use. Screen time is unpacked with practical takeaways: audit current practice, collect data (minutes and active vs passive usage), focus on the quality of learning experiences, and communicate clearly with families and the community. Marlo emphasizes active, meaningful uses of devices (creating, collaborating) versus passive consumption like doomscrolling.

On AI, Marlo urges context‑based decisions rather than blanket bans or unrestricted access. Districts should assess readiness, define guardrails, evaluate continuously, and adopt AI where it legitimately solves instructional or operational problems. 

Budget pressures and sustainability are central themes: build plans that prioritize purpose, sustainability, and staffing, and rely on inventories and gap analyses to make data‑informed choices.

Marlo’s leadership advice for new and seasoned K‑12 tech directors is concrete - know your people and culture, form cross‑department partnerships (curriculum, CFO, facilities, transportation), start with manageable wins, and use distributed leadership to scale change.

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Dell K-12

Marlo’s recent YouTube video

The K–12 Tech Reckoning Is Here

Three Priorities Driving K-12 Technology Decisions Today | Dell

From Acquisition to Accountability: The New Era of K–12 Technology Decisions

Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)

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Email us at [email protected]

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Music by Colt Ball

Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

Josh, Chris and Mark talk back-to-school anecdotes - Chromebook rollouts, teacher tickets, and custodial tech onboarding, then dig into the news headlines of the week.

First, Meta’s landmark $18 billion settlement with dozens of states over youth mental health concerns tied to Facebook and Instagram. The guys talk settlement terms, default safety measures for 13–17 year-olds (two-hour daily limits, night/school modes, restricted notifications), content-moderation defaults, and uncertainty about age verification.

Next, they review the growing pushback in New York City public schools against AI adoption.

Next, the guys dive into Microsoft’s move to make passkeys the default for Entra ID authentication. What is a passkey? How does it differ from SMS or authenticator codes? Microsoft's timeline?

Finally, Chris interviews Amy Bennett, Chief of Staff at Lightspeed Systems, about screen time visibility and the product Insight. Amy demonstrates how districts can use screen-time analytics to benchmark usage by grade and app, drill down to school - and student-level views, and share transparent data with parents and boards to inform policy decisions. 

FULL VIDEO OF THE INSIGHT DEMO PORTION IS HERE --> https://youtu.be/zoT2qGJonSg

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Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)

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Email us at [email protected]

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Music by Colt Ball

Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

In this episode, Josh and Chris kick off the school-year season with news, stories, and a CyberNut interview. They dive into federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Education on screen time and edtech procurement - recreational vs. instructional tech, evaluating products by outcomes and instructional value (not just screen minutes), and asking vendors for evidence of effectiveness and implementation support.

They also talk E-Rate and urge listeners to comment before the October 13th deadline.

Then, Josh and Chris trade back-to-school chaos stories - sticky smartboards, broken fobs, last-minute device orders, and a widespread phishing campaign that’s been compromising accounts.

Finally, the episode includes an interview with Frank Murray, CTO of Belton ISD, about CyberNut - a K12–focused cybersecurity platform. 

Old Frank Murray episode we reference - https://k12techtalkpodcast.com/e/episode-183-is-ai-replacing-teachers-and-librarians/

https://www.edsurge.com/news/department-of-education-issues-long-awaited-edtech-guidance-for-states-and-districts

https://www.fundsforlearning.com/news/the-e-rate-review-comment-window-is-open-comments-due-october-13/

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Sponsored by:

Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)

Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!

Email us at [email protected]

OR our "professional" email addy is [email protected]

X @k12techtalkpod

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Music by Colt Ball

Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

Episode 277 examines the mounting policy fight over student safety online and the practical tech issues districts are facing as a new school year begins. Josh and Chris open with personal stories about moving kids to college and summer realities.

We break down two competing federal proposals: the Senate’s KOSA approach that leans on a "duty of care" - potentially holding platforms liable for harms - and the House’s KIDS Act that prescribes specific rules (and largely shields platforms from direct liability). The conversation explains the core differences, how each bill would affect targeted advertising and COPPA, First Amendment and privacy concerns, likely outcomes during the lame‑duck session, and how platforms might respond.

Links referenced:

From Screen Time Mandates to Purposeful Technology Policies and Guidance (CoSN)

CISA K-12 Cybersecurity Getting Started

CISA K-12 Cybersecurity Implementation

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Sponsored by:

Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)

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Email us at [email protected]

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Music by Colt Ball

Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

Josh, Chris, and Mark talk about a New Mexico state-mandated AI reading tool stirring privacy concerns, Google rolling out a student-facing Gemini tab in Classroom by default, new survey findings about post-RFP vendor behavior, and the growing trend of "vibe coding" inside districts. Oh, and how to handle teacher/classroom movements and changes.

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Sponsored by:

Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)

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Email us at [email protected]

OR our "professional" email addy is [email protected]

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Music by Colt Ball

Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.