The 200th episode of the K12 Tech Talk podcast was packed with special guests, laughs, and big announcements. Musician Colt Ball kicked things off with a live performance, and David Wren from NTP discussed K12TechPro's cybersecurity deals for schools. Tom Ryan shared insights on AI, while Chris Illingworth from Fortinet talked about security solutions. The K12 Tech Talk and K12TechPro team celebrated milestones, including 1,000 K12TechPro members across 50 states and nine countries. The guys did dad jokes with Josh’s son, Jackson, and an exciting giveaway from ChromebookParts—200 free toolkits and $1,000 in repairs! (Email [email protected] NOW!) Tonia Haddix, known from Chimp Crazy, joined for a lively discussion on exotic animal laws. The episode wrapped up with lessons from a ransomware attack featuring Episode 31’s Denzel. Colt Ball closed us out with some tunes. It was crazy. It was great. Thank you all for listening and supporting us over these 200 episodes. We are K12 Tech Talk—and so are you.

THAT'S RIGHT! ChromebookParts is giving a free tool kit for every episode we have done! That's 200 tool kits to the first 200 listeners to reach out to us via [email protected]. SUBJECT LINE: FREE TOOL KIT. CONTENT: YOUR NAME AND SHIPPING ADDRESS. 

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! One of those lucky 200 people will receive $1000 in free repair services for their school district too!

NTP

Lightspeed

ClassLink

SaferWatch

Fortinet

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00:00:00-Intro

00:00:25-Colt Ball performs our intro live!

00:07:11-David Wren (NTP)

00:16:45-Tom Ryan

00:26:15-Josh's Kid!

00:30:56-Chris Illingworth (Fortinet)

00:36:32-K12 Tech Pro crew

00:42:50-Josh goes Chimp Crazy!

00:55:45-"Denzel"

01:01:06-Outro with Colt Ball

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Email us at [email protected]

OR [email protected]

Call us at 314-329-0363

Join the K12TechPro Community

Buy some swag

X @k12techtalkpod

Visit our LinkedIn

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.

We did this episode for about 45 minutes and realized we didn't hit record. It happens. This is a redo. It's a disaster. Really. Next week is a SPECIAL episode as we hit 200. Get ready for that. We promise next week will be better. In the meanwhile, we discuss:

Who pays for Chromebook repairs?

What will chip tariffs do to 25-26 purchases?

Cybersquaters! Origin stories!

FCC Cybersecurity Pilot Info

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00:00:00-Intro

00:03:58-Tariffs??

00:11:21-Forti-updates

00:13:33-Domain Squatting

00:18:30-How did you get started in K-12 technology?

00:29:30-Episode 200 is coming!

VIZOR

SaferWatch

ManagedMethods

ClassLink

Fortinet

--------------------

Email us at [email protected]

OR [email protected]

Call us at 314-329-0363

Join the K12TechPro Community

Buy some swag

X @k12techtalkpod

Visit our LinkedIn

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 lively episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, a significant portion of the discussion focuses on recent updates regarding the PowerSchool data breach. The hosts shed light on the critical changes necessary for enhancing cybersecurity in school districts, including expanding MFA, moving away from outdated FTP to modern solutions, and embracing a culture of data reduction. They stress the importance of improving school district and vendor practices to mitigate security risks.

00:00:02-Intro

00:04:36-Chris' Disney Adventure

00:09:03-AI Prompt Security Risks

00:11:03-PowerSchool Breach Update

00:16:31-K12TechPro & 200th Episode

00:24:30-Top 10 K12 Cybersecurity Recommendations

00:57:12-Upcoming Events

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NTP

Lightspeed

CTL

ClassLink

Fortinet

We're presenting 2 sessions at SecurED Virtual Conference on Jan. 28th

--------------------

Email us at [email protected]

OR [email protected]

Call us at 314-329-0363

Join the K12TechPro Community

Buy some swag

X @k12techtalkpod

Visit our LinkedIn

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 of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast, the team dives into the recent PowerSchool breach. Mark, who was recently featured on Canadian national news (Eh!), shares updates and insights into the breach's technical aspects, along with a breakdown on an article he published on K12TechPro.

The discussion also highlights the roles and responsibilities of K12 tech leaders in managing data breaches and emphasizes the importance of transparency and communication with parents, staff, and state agencies. The team talks through the ethical considerations and the potential implications on data privacy agreements and industry standards like SOC 2 and ISO certifications.

The episode also discusses the unusual breach by a furry hacker targeting Scholastic, the potential policy priorities of Linda McMahon at the Department of Education, and an update on AI deepfake incidents affecting educators.

00:00-Intro & PowerSchool Update

06:30-What is the impact?

12:59-The Bigger Picture

17:40-Scholastic Breach Discussion

20:27-Political Landscape Changes

26:23-Curriculum Transparency

28:51-Legal Implications of Deepfakes

41:53-Obligations After a Breach

42:57-Final Thoughts on Data Privacy

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VIZOR

ManagedMethods

Lumu

ClassLink

Fortinet

Email us at [email protected]

OR [email protected]

Call us at 314-329-0363

Join the K12TechPro Community

Buy some swag

X @k12techtalkpod

Visit our LinkedIn

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, we explore humorous/serious use of AI joke writing (PowerSchool jokes), we have a discussion on cell phone bans being implemented across various school districts this new year, touching on one policy that involves fines.

The main focus, however, is a captivating story where a teacher was terminated for allegedly sharing her password, leading to students tampering with electronic records and facing charges. We tackle tough questions about accountability: Should a teacher lose their job for password sharing? Are students facing reasonable repercussions? Who bears the blame in cases of security breaches like this? We discuss the essential measures for cybersecurity in schools, emphasizing the necessity of multi-layered security approaches.

https://www.al.com/news/2025/01/alabama-could-soon-fine-students-who-repeatedly-violate-classroom-cell-phone-restrictions.html

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-11-13/lausd-strict-school-cellphone-ban-to-begin

https://www.koin.com/news/portland/pps-bans-cell-phones-adopts-off-and-away-all-day-policy/

https://www.wistv.com/2025/01/07/cell-phone-ban-begins-south-carolina-schools/

https://www.comparitech.com/news/ransomware-roundup-2024-end-of-year-report/#The_top_5_biggest_ransom_demands_in_2024

https://www.yahoo.com/news/liverpool-high-school-staff-member-215453485.html

00:00-Introduction

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NTP

Lightspeed

Lumu

ClassLink

Fortinet

Email us at [email protected]

OR [email protected]

Call us at 314-329-0363

Join the K12TechPro Community

Buy some swag

X @k12techtalkpod

Visit our LinkedIn

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.

This special episode of the K12 Tech Talk Podcast dissects the recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, a major provider of Student Information Systems (SIS) in the United States. Hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss the details of the breach that saw PowerSchool send notifications to its customers about the possibility of sensitive data exposure.

We discuss the details of the breach that have been released by PowerSchool and discussed by customers on K12TechPro and Reddit (/k12sysadmin) within the first 24 hours.

00:00-Introduction

01:04-What happened?

04:10-Who is PowerSchool?

7:30-Data Exfiltration

11:48-How the attack happened

18:54-The attackers were paid to destroy the data

22:41-What should districts do right now?

For more information, check out K12TechPro where you can find a special section on the PowerSchool breach with resources you need, including sample letters to families, instructions to download your system logs, and relevant news articles.

https://community.k12techpro.com

Questions, comments? Reach out to us! [email protected]

On this episode of the K12 Tech Talk podcast, we talk about AI misuse in schools, we recap 2024's hot topics, and we spend time discussing our predictions for 2025. Oh, and we talk about Chimp Crazy and Mark's recent interactions with Tonia Haddix on TikTok. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - We're ready for break!

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/guidance-mobile-communications-best-practices.pdf

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/12/10/character-ai-lawsuit-teen-kill-parents-texas/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/deepfake-pornography-victim-congress/

https://www.kjzz.org/education/2024-12-18/new-arizona-charter-school-will-use-ai-in-place-of-human-teachers

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Extreme Networks - Email [email protected]

Fortinet - Email [email protected]

HPE/Aruba - Email [email protected]

NTP

Email us at [email protected]

Call us at 314-329-0363

Join the K12TechPro Community

Buy some swag

X @k12techtalkpod

Visit our LinkedIn

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.

This week we take a listener email and dive into managing district assets and how to wrangle the budget. Should schools supply headphones to all students? Should the tech dept have a headphones budget? Should parents pay for broken headphones? Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss the tech dept's responsibility with headphones (and other consumables) at length. The guys also talk about software purchases. Should we have a candy man mentality? Plus, the latest on E-Rate funding, school cyber risks, and student cell phone policies. Also, Chris talks about pizza math. Josh talks about his arm pits.

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/billions-of-school-tech-dollars-at-risk-as-supreme-court-takes-up-e-rate-case/2024/11

https://statescoop.com/rhode-island-schools-malicious-domain-protection-service/

https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-calls-states-districts-and-schools-adopt-policies-student-use-of-cell-phones-and-personal-devices

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/4-things-to-know-about-the-literacy-lawsuit-targeting-lucy-calkins-and-fountas-pinnell/2024/12#:~:text=The%20lawsuit%20claims%20the%20curricula,guess%E2%80%9D%20words%20based%20on%20context%2C

https://www.k12dive.com/news/moodys-rates-education-sector-high-cyber-risk-2024/733342/

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VIZOR

Extreme Networks - Email [email protected]

Verkada

Fortinet - Email [email protected]

HPE/Aruba - Email [email protected]

NTP

Email us at [email protected]

Call us at 314-329-0363

Join the K12TechPro Community

Buy some swag

X @k12techtalkpod

Visit our LinkedIn

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.

Join Josh, Chris, and Mark for a lively discussion on the future of ChromeOS and Android in the K-12 landscape. We kick things off with Josh's latest tech frustrations (proxy problems, anyone?) before diving into some recent headlines, including a fascinating AI case in Massachusetts and a timely warning from the FBI about SMS messaging.

But the main event? We tackle the swirling rumors surrounding ChromeOS and Android! Will Google really sell off its Chrome browser? What would that mean for Chromebooks in schools? And is there any truth to the whispers of a ChromeOS-Android merger? Tune in as we dissect the possibilities, explore the potential impact on K-12 education, and offer our expert insights on what the future holds for these dominant operating systems.

--------------------

Verkada

Fortinet - Email [email protected]

HPE/Aruba - Email [email protected]

NTP

Email us at [email protected]

Call us at 314-329-0363

Join the K12TechPro Community

Buy some swag

X @k12techtalkpod

Visit our LinkedIn

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.