The Top Upcoming Education IT Events on the Horizon

From K-12 to Higher Education, our nation’s schools have great opportunities to leverage technology to improve the student, teacher and administrator experience. This year, innovative solutions built on AI, machine learning and the cloud are ready to improve learning inside the classroom and protect schools from external challenges, including potential cybersecurity threats.  

Indeed, there is so much happening in the world of EdTech it is very important to keep up with the latest advancements. That is why we are happy to present a list of the top education IT events you need to check out in 2024. These events cover the gamut of technology innovation in the education sector and feature industry-leading experts, peer-led learning sessions and information sharing and ideation. 

EDUCAUSE Annual Conference  

October 21-24, San Antonio, TX | November 13-14, Online 

The EDUCAUSE Annual Conference is where professionals and technology providers from all over the world convene to network and find solutions that will improve higher education. As always, this year’s conference promises to be the year’s largest gathering of education technology leaders. 

In 2023, Carahsoft had 25 partners demoing their solutions over the two exhibiting days at our booth. In 2024, we have obtained the largest pavilion space to display our leading higher education solutions. This year, we will be joined by Joe Toste and his TechTables podcast to discuss the hottest trends and setbacks customers are facing and how Carahsoft and our partners can help. 

NJSBA’s Workshop 2024 

October 21-24 | Atlantic City, NJ 

The New Jersey School Boards Association’s annual workshop brings together a senior-level audience of school leaders, education professionals and influencers for quality professional development, important legal, legislative, policy and funding updates and new products and services.  

Carahsoft Top Education Events Blog Embedded Image 2024

Carahsoft is a proud sponsor of this celebration of public education, but our work with NJSBA goes far beyond the workshop. The NJSBA has partnered with Carahsoft and our reseller ecosystem to help school districts and member charter schools throughout New Jersey better manage and reduce cybersecurity risk. The partnership provides access to a broad range of cybersecurity-related software, hardware, implementation services and training at discounted pricing. Solutions are also available to K-12 academic institutions and School Board Associations nationwide through the contract’s cooperative purchasing clauses. 

Carahsoft’s Fourth Annual EdTech Talk Series 

November 6-8 | Carahsoft Office, Reston VA – Virtual option via Zoom 

Carahsoft’s EdTech Talks summit is designed to educate academic IT decision makers and end users around the performance, security, cost-saving and modernization benefits of today’s leading EdTech solutions. We will host a three-day series featuring “Classroom Panels,” keynote “Assembly Sessions” and “Before the Bell” breakouts on topics ranging from school safety to student experience. We will also discuss ways to leverage AI and machine learning. Presentation recordings and slide decks from all three days will be available on-demand.  

Stay tuned for a detailed agenda for this year’s event, which will be posted soon. In the meantime, check out some of our sessions from the 2023 EdTech Talk Series 

SC24 

November 17-22 | Atlanta, GA 

The annual Supercomputing 24 conference—SC24—draws more than 13,000 attendees from across the high-performance computing community. The conference features unique technical presentations, workshops, tutorials and “Birds of a Feather” sessions featuring open discussions about topics of interest to the HPC community. SC24 also features a large exhibit floor showcasing the latest innovations from the world’s leading manufacturers, research organizations and universities.  

Carahsoft is excited to host a pavilion at this year’s conference. We are even more excited to be hosting some of our top AI and EdTech vendors, who will showcase the innovative work they are doing to power academic research in 2024 and beyond. 

CITE Annual Conference 

November 19-21 | San Diego, CA 

Attendees of the California IT in Education Annual Conference include CTOs and directors of technology, network managers and engineers, database administrators, support and technicians. Teachers, administrators and district and county superintendents will also join their technology colleagues to share ideas and information and find out the latest tools to help improve teaching, learning and administration.  

Carahsoft will be a proud sponsor of the event and have a booth at this year’s conference. 

Internet2 Tech Exchange 

December 9-13 | Boston, MA 

Internet2 Tech Exchange brings together a community of technical visionaries—including chief technologists, scientists, engineers, architects, operators and students—to debate, discuss and converse. It is a great forum for global technology leaders to align and move forward together. Although not specifically education-focused, the event covers topics that are relevant to the EdTech sector, including networking, the cloud, cybersecurity and more.  

Carahsoft will be a proud sponsor of this year’s Tech Exchange. 


In additional to the above events, these are some of the other pivotal education events that took place in 2024, including:  

CoSN is the premier membership organization designed to meet the needs of K-12 education technology leaders. Representing over 13 million students in school districts/systems nationwide, CoSN continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education and provides opportunities for companies that support the K-12 EdTech community to participate as corporate members. Carahsoft holds an annual membership with CoSN and has been a proud sponsor for the last several years. Carahsoft plans to continue collaboration at CoSN March 31-April 2, 2025, in Seattle, WA. 

Internet2 Community Exchange convened the worldwide research and education community for in-depth strategic discussions on emerging developments in networking, cloud computing, information security and more. Carahsoft and our reseller partners work with Internet2 to support their member community through the NET+ program and Cloud Scorecard program, which provides a portfolio of reliable cloud and trust solutions to help higher education and research institutions solve shared technology challenges. Carahsoft will be back in Anaheim, CA for the Internet2 Community Exchange April 28-May 1, 2025. 

The National Association of Educational Procurement Annual Conference featured more than 600 procurement officials from universities, colleges and K-12 institutions. Carahsoft annually sponsors NAEP’s national EPIC conference, which showed great success with over 600 procurement officials from Universities, Colleges and K-12 institutions nationwide attending. Carahsoft has also supported the NAEP national and regional shows for the past three years, continuing to invest in the brand as we expand our footprint in the education space. Carahsoft will have presence at NAEP’s conference May 4-7, 2025, in New Orleans, LA. 

Carahsoft proudly sponsored The Merit Member Conference, which highlighted “bridging the gap”, addressing obvious (and not-so-obvious) pitfalls, opportunities to grow, and optimization of oft-neglected issues across three essential tracks—Network, Security and Community. Next year, Carahsoft will attend the conference May 13-14. 

EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity and Privacy Professionals Conference is the premier forum for connecting with higher education information security and privacy professionals. Carahsoft was a display table sponsor, joined by our partners onsite to display our solutions for higher education cybersecurity needs. This event gave participants a chance to network and discuss information security and privacy trends and current issues with peers and solution providers. Carahsoft plans to attend EDUCAUSE next year, May 19-21, in Baltimore, MD. 

The International Society for Technology in Education is a nonprofit organization that works with the global education community to accelerate the use of technology to solve tough problems and inspire innovation. ISTE’s worldwide network believes in the potential technology holds to transform teaching and learning. ISTELive is one of the world’s most comprehensive EdTech events, attended by a global contingent of education leaders, teachers, coaches, librarians, media specialists and more. Carahsoft was a proud sponsor of and exhibitor at this year’s conference, and plans to attend again June 29-July 2, 2025, in San Antonio, TX. 


Needless to say, it has been a big year for events—and an even bigger year for technology in education. From AI to the cloud, from cybersecurity to networking, there are more options than ever before for educational institutions interested in using technology to improve learning. We are excited to be a part of it, and we look forward to seeing you as we go out into the EdTech community this year. Join Carahsoft at these upcoming events and explore the role technology will play in education, this year and beyond. We look forward to seeing you! 

To learn more or get involved in any of the above events please contact us at EDUmarketing@carahsoft.com. For more information on Carahsoft and our industry leading Education technology partners’ events, visit our EdTech solutions portfolio. 

EdTech Talks: A Comprehensive Look at Security in Education for Safe Learning Environments

Emerging technologies today are providing K-12 schools and higher education institutions with the capabilities to support seamless and secure campus efforts, which ensures protection of academic environments as well as students, faculty and staff. Remaining vigilant, versatile and adaptable in the current education landscape, especially when it comes to security and student safety, are the most important considerations for education leadership when deciding what new solutions and integrations to incorporate into their schools.

Carahsoft’s annual EdTech Talks Summit brought together industry and education thought leaders to explore three tactical learning tracks: safety for the learning environment, the impact of technology on student growth and development, and modernizing education with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. During the first day’s discussion, speakers provided insights into building safe learning settings with a comprehensive look at both cyber and physical security in education.

Analyzing Current Security Risks

Carahsoft EdTech Talks Summit Blog Series-Part 1 Security and Safety Blog Embedded Image 2024Education institutions face a myriad of cybersecurity challenges such as ransomware, third-party access to school systems, internal bad actors and stolen credentials. One of the most impactful vulnerabilities is a lack of awareness across school communities regarding security. For example, individuals who are unable to recognize a phishing text message that asks the receiver to click on an unsafe link because an account has been frozen may potentially put their own data and their school’s data at risk of exposure.

While cybersecurity is one of the most important aspects of cultivating a successful learning environment, it is just as important to consider physical security for a safe learning environment. Building and campus surveillance, visitor management monitoring, lock down and fire drills, active shooter and crisis management are among some of the ways schools provide personal security for students and staff. With so many aspects of security to manage, schools also must balance being open, inclusive and engaging with communities and culture to provide more expansive learning opportunities while simultaneously protecting against threats on limited budgets.

Protecting Against Cyber Threats in the Modern World

For improved security, educators and industry leaders must collaborate to take proactive measures to safeguard digital infrastructure, data and physical campuses. The best place to start is by ensuring the fundamental standards of cyber defense are in place, functioning properly and are continuously monitored and modernized. This includes solutions and processes such as:

  • Utilizing multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever possible
  • Email and phishing security to avoid ransomware
  • Maintaining a high standard of digital hygiene through services such as patching and vulnerability management
  • Creating robust and resilient backup strategies for all data at endpoints and in the cloud
  • Performing recovery testing to ensure backups and other operations are working accordingly
  • Providing resources and trainings to engage with school communities to raise awareness of ways students and teachers can defend themselves against physical and cybersecurity threats
  • Implementing a “see something, say something” mentality across school communities to ensure all potential risks are reported and mitigated
  • Hiring IT staff and educators who are passionate about the security and safety mission set forth by an institution and allow them to provide new ideas and innovation
  • Investing in quality cyber insurance to protect institutions against setback from a ransomware attack
  • Conducting frequent audits to ensure school’s systems are compliant with the latest policy requirements and standards in the case a claim must be made

Security Implementation for Institutions

Industry and education experts alike understand the importance of providing a safe space for all students, whether inside schools or online, and continuously aim to make sure their experience is as productive and valuable as possible. Particularly within higher education, many universities and colleges have individual point solutions that they have integrated into their systems to solve very specific problems, creating a disconnected mixture of security infrastructure. Security must be designed with students in mind and a way that provides optimal learning, collaboration and inclusion—technology can help achieve this imperative goal.

As Government and education sectors continue to move toward cloud environments, managing a multitude of products and solutions can become cumbersome and difficult to regulate security. To combat this, consolidation of products to create increased visibility, automation and agility are key for transforming a current infrastructure to be more successful and produce actionable insights.

Visit the EdTech Talks Conference Resource Center to view panel discussions and other innovative insights surrounding security, AI and student success from Carahsoft and our partners.

 

About Carahsoft in the Education Market  

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Education IT Solutions Provider™.  

Together with our technology manufacturers and reseller partners, we are committed to providing IT products, services and training to support Education organizations.  

Carahsoft is a leading IT distributor and top-performing E&I Cooperative Services, Golden State Technology Solutions, Internet2, NJSBA, OMNIA Partners and The Quilt contract holder, enhancing student learning and enabling faculty to meet the needs of Higher Education institutions.  

To Learn more about Carahsoft’s Education Solutions, please visit us at http://www.carahsoft.com/education

To learn more about Carahsoft’s Cybersecurity Solutions please, visit us at https://www.carahsoft.com/solve/cybersecurity

EdTech Talks: Modernizing Education with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Schools must embrace change alongside their growing generations to equip students for the future. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are two evolving, expansive technologies that are creating a monumental impact in the private and Public Sector, with education institutions being no exception. At Carahsoft’s annual EdTech Talks Summit, education leaders explored how AI and ML are changing the way teachers instruct, the way students learn and the way administrators approach technology in schools.

As a baseline, when considering AI for K-12 and higher education, administrators should follow several guiding principles for responsible and trustworthy use of AI.

  • Human-centricity: Promote human well-being, individuality and equity
  • Inclusivity: Ensure accessibility and diverse perspectives
  • Accountability: Proactively identify and mitigate adverse impacts
  • Transparency: Instruct students and teachers on proper usage, including potential risks and how decisions are made
  • Robustness: Operate reliably and safely while enabling mechanisms that assess and manage potential risks
  • Privacy and security: Respect the privacy of data subjects

Generative AI in Education

Carahsoft EdTech Talks Summit Blog Series-Part 3 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Blog Embedded Image 2024Generative AI is still fairly new to the education space and educators are on both sides of the spectrum of acceptance—some prefer to erase it from their schools while others are open to embracing the up-and-coming technology for use cases not only in the classroom, but also to prepare students for the future workforce.

For example, one of the first technologies educators may be inclined to use when adopting AI in the classroom is detection tools. Dr. Anand Rao, Professor of Communications Chair of the Department of Communications and Digital Studies at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia recommends against this technology implementation because it could negatively affect vulnerable students. AI detection is not 100% correct in every instance. For some students, English may not be their first language and a detection tool could potentially identify their work as AI generated because it may be more formulaic. While detection tools can be utilized in a positive way to ensure honesty is upheld within students’ work, teachers and professors should use their discretion to determine the results of detection tools.

AI literacy is one of the most important principles for instructors to explore, deliberate and establish guidelines for. Since generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT and other tools like detection programs are still modernizing, students and faculty should go through a test period to learn how they work and understand whether they are comfortable utilizing them. As a next step, IT teams must be prepared to begin implementation and consider cybersecurity in that process.

Analytics and Data in AI

Education data grows exponentially with each new school year; however, collecting, evaluating and taking action based on the insights of that data is a long yet vital process. Instructors and administrators must leverage platforms that can help automate and analyze new and archived data to make the most informed decisions for their schools using the AI analytics lifecycle. This includes managing data efficiently, interpreting observations made about data and finally, creating a plan to incorporate constructive action to address needs discovered via the data. Using this strategy, schools can be better prepared to tackle real world questions and scenarios and provide students and teachers with the tools and processes they need to be successful.

This year’s EdTech Talks Summit event aimed to educate academic IT decision makers and end users about the current challenges and solutions surrounding student growth and development, security, AI and ML and cost-saving, modernization benefits of today’s leading EdTech solutions. The Education sector faces new challenges every school year, and it is imperative now more than ever that the IT industry and Government work together to provide the most safe and successful learning environments for all students.

Visit the EdTech Talks Conference Resource Center to view panel discussions and other innovative insights surrounding security, AI and student success from Carahsoft and our partners.

 

About Carahsoft in the Education Market  

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is The Trusted Education IT Solutions Provider™.  

Together with our technology manufacturers and reseller partners, we are committed to providing IT products, services and training to support Education organizations.  

Carahsoft is a leading IT distributor and top-performing E&I Cooperative Services, Golden State Technology Solutions, Internet2, NJSBA, OMNIA Partners and The Quilt contract holder, enhancing student learning and enabling faculty to meet the needs of Higher Education institutions.  

To Learn more about Carahsoft’s Education Solutions, please visit us at http://www.carahsoft.com/education

To learn more about Carahsoft’s AI Solutions, please visit us at https://www.carahsoft.com/solve/ai-machine-learning

EDUCAUSE 2022: Uniting IT and Education

The education landscape has continued to thrive following the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. While stay-at-home orders have been lifted, education has maintained a digital component through online classes and remote-learning technology. Although online education has many benefits, it brings the concern of security breaches. To continue keeping student information secure, education leaders must adapt alongside the changes in technology. EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association that provides a community for technology, academic, industry and campus leaders to collaborate and build together. The annual EDUCAUSE conference hosted several sessions that showcased ways to keep students engaged and secure in the new age of education.

Educational Institutions as a Hot Target for Cybercriminals

Cybersecurity deserves consistent attention within the education sector. While schools may be compliant with security standards, they can still be vulnerable. Higher education institutions are top targets as they connect thousands of staff, students and faculty members under one system.

There are several strategies IT professionals recommend that can help education systems defend against breaches:

  • Keep operating systems and software up to date
  • Employ multi-factor authentication
  • Maintain robust user training
  • Implement encryption
  • Create cloud back-ups for information
  • Maintain efficient detection and monitoring systems
  • Implement a quick incident response plan
  • Utilize external and cloud data storage

By following these steps, institutions can take the initiative toward deploying security measures for staff and students alike.

Carahsoft EDUCAUSE Education Blog Embedded Image 2023Robust Cybersecurity on a Budget

Since many academic institutions still face budget constraints due to COVID-19, their cyber posture may not be their first IT priority. To enhance cybersecurity, even on a budget, institutions should:

Know their external footprint: Through the employment of third-party devices that scan the internet for web service protocol solutions, agencies can see how much of their information is public.

Identify external login flaws: Since hackers can circumvent simple tools like automatic lockout policies, agencies should identify all login portals and check major input fields for automated controls.

Identify cloud security flaws: Agencies should switch to a multi-platformed and open-sourced cloud, since it enables security posture assessments and detection of security risks.

Implement phishing education and exercises: Phishing is one of the most common ways organizations are compromised. Institutions should ensure that all employees are educated on anti-phishing policies.

Clean up network share permissions and information: By utilizing credential scans, sensitive information can be restricted to the proper personnel. Implementing a zero trust framework ensures that each user will only gain the information that they are authorized to.

Limit the success of kerberoasting: Kerberoasting leverages the functionality of service principles to encrypt user’s passwords, which can later be retrieved offline for hacking. While it is impossible to completely prevent kerberoasting, agencies that implement detection capabilities limit the exposure and effectiveness of kerberoasting.

Prevent relay attacks: Software should avoid authentication systems that can be relayed or cracked. Responder tools can be used to analyze traffic and point out vulnerabilities.

Identify active directory misconfigurations: As active directory environments mature, built up misconfigurations can cause excessive access privileges. To prevent these being misused by bad actors, institutions should implement tools that check for vulnerable certificates.

Strengthen password security: Agencies should ban easy to guess passwords, enable multi factor authentication and disable old accounts.

Avoid flat networks and lack of network segmentation: Access should be limited to those that need to know; student and faculty accounts should reside on different domains.

Fostering a Sense of Belonging for Online Students

By meeting students where they are comfortable, educational institutions can readily share information. For example, since students are familiar with their phones, when universities utilize phone apps it can help provide a unified, digital experience for higher education students to reduce complexity, fuel career readiness and stoke student success. When creating an app for an institution, some helpful features to include are:

  • Tailored experiences with custom events depending on the user
  • Information unique to students, such as a marketplace to buy and sell goods like dormitory furniture or textbooks
  • IT toolkits
  • Self-assessment tools for COVID-19 or the flu
  • Campus features such as desk or study center reservations, transit routes, dining schedule or university maps
  • In-app messaging that can be directed to groups, such as students or faculty or personal messages
  • Feedback surveys to inspire improvement

Higher Education’s Top IT Issues for 2023

As students have become accustomed to hybrid and virtual learning, their expectations for new and elevated digital experiences have increased. There are many ways to achieve this modernization, but it requires intentional effort and technology updates from education administrators. Challenges to consider when implementing technology into learning are to:

  • Ensure IT has a “seat at the table” so they can weigh in on decisions
  • Ensure privacy and cybersecurity by training students and faculty to avoid scams, shift to data minimization, address cloud migration risks and leverage contracts with cybersecurity experts and investments
  • Adapt to students’ interests and products familiar to them
  • Create a seamless and enriching student experience
  • Utilize student data to update technology to better empower students
  • Pursue next-generation IT support to expand and reimagine digital campus abilities

Promoting Independence Through IT

A school’s duty is to prepare students for their futures in the workforce. Oftentimes, many careers require extensive knowledge of an array of technologies. Students should show proficiency in these areas to take advantage of more opportunities in various fields. By implementing technology into everyday use, educational institutions can promote confidence in technology, problem-solving skills, time management skills and collaboration between peers.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are also vital to university standards from both a legal and moral lens. IT intersects with diversity to make enrollment and education accessible to all by analyzing existing data to revamp hiring rubrics or utilizing cross-team conferences to create inclusive policies. With these inclusions, schools can emphasize transparency and accountability.

The pandemic revealed the importance of campus communication systems expanding beyond traditional parameters. Education departments had to shift to a remote work environment that a traditional phone system could not easily support. Universities should leverage communications software to reduce costs, provide additional flexible phone capabilities and accommodate all students regardless of where they live.

Through the inclusion of technology, educational institutions can reach new heights in their accessibility and connection with students. By enhancing security and offered digital features, educators can prepare students for an ever-changing workforce.

 

To learn more about utilizing IT for education initiatives, visit Carahsoft’s EDUCAUSE resource hub to schedule a meeting and speak to a representative today.

*The information contained in this blog has been written based off the thought-leadership discussions presented by speakers at EDUCAUSE 2022.*

Highlights from New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) Workshop 2022

Ever since the pandemic’s onset in early 2020, the entire K-12 education community has faced the unique obstacles associated with managing remote and hybrid learning environments. New Jersey School Boards Association’s (NJSBA) annual Workshop provides education executives and senior-level leaders the opportunity to discuss topical challenges and engage in trainings, participate in professional development events, discover new products and discuss the latest in policies, legislation and funding. This year’s in-person event built on the organization’s foundation of nearly 70 years of education support and demonstrated the successful perseverance of New Jersey educators in handling these modern challenges by allowing for collaborative, hands-on learning opportunities, face-to-face conversations that spur innovative ideas and onsite networking for attendees.

NJSBA Workshop 2022 offered many significant actionable insights for educators to share with their institutions and local communities. Exhibitors were tasked with aligning their programs with the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan Goals approved by the NJSBA Board of Directors, which included:

  • Impacting Opportunities for Student Growth
  • Services for Tomorrow’s World
  • Professional Learning for Effective Governance
  • Future Innovations and Advancements in Technology
  • Partnering in Public Education Advocacy

In addition to these strategic plan goals, Workshop covered some of the top concerns currently within the K-12 public education sector.

Carahsoft NJSBA Blog Embedded Image 2022Security Should be Top of Mind to Prepare for Any Threat Landscape

Because no system is immune from malware and infection, institutions should be ready for any type of attack by always treating their network as if it were a hostile environment, like they have been breached and as if there are active intruders. Educators should create backups of their data and continuously train their security staff in-depth to try to be more prepared in the event of serious attacks. The stark transition with the pandemic forced schools to act quickly to ensure learning was minimally interrupted, but unfortunately this meant that security was not always at the forefront of the planning process. Now, with ever growing persistent risks across the market—insider threats, ransomware attacks, etc.—institutions must utilize the right tools and solutions to handle any attack situation.

Understanding How to Combat Ransomware

Ransomware attacks are constantly on the rise in forms of deactivating security tools, destruction of logs and data, email hacking and executing destructive malware. When faced with ransomware, detecting and identifying the risk is the first step to be able to take action against it. Utilizing a decoder to determine these factors can save organizations time and money. Next, IT teams should monitor the damage ransomware causes like exposing vulnerabilities, changing configurations, etc., so they can create a response and prevention plan against future attacks.

Insurance Coverage is Necessary for the Most Successful Cybersecurity Recovery

As cyber attacks such as ransomware and data breaches rise, cybersecurity insurance and proactive measures to evade fraudulent activity are becoming increasingly essential. Because of this increase, insurance providers are becoming progressively more selective when choosing institutions to insure. Unfortunately, many insurance companies will not consider a school if they cannot provide an exceptionally detailed plan of its cybersecurity prevention and response strategies.[1] Creating such plans can often be a timely process, during which students and staff remain vulnerable. Additionally, the cost of cyber insurance premiums continues to rise each year with rates up approximately 28% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.[2]

There are several ways institutions can guarantee lower insurance premiums and work toward protecting themselves from fraudsters:

  • Frequently perform risk assessments, security testing and audits to ensure security programs, hardware and processes are properly up to date
  • Conduct security training to ensure students, staff and IT teams are well equipped to identify and act upon suspicious activity
  • Create and effective response plan to address breaches and back up strategy for data recovery[3]
  • Make sure tech teams remain adaptable to any fraudulent activity that may occur because cyber attacks can come in new forms[4]

Cyber insurance does not prevent cyber-attacks from occurring, but it can ensure institutions are covered financially once the damages have occurred, allowing schools to rebuild their security programs and create a stronger, more protected educational environment.

Apply Automation Strategies in Learning Environments to Support Remote and Hybrid Learning

Automation within schools can provide more efficiency, visibility and cost savings. Streamlining processes and communications throughout educational communities is imperative to keep students on pace with their personal learning track. Using automation to optimize and manage these areas can prove beneficial. Not only is automation useful in everyday operations in school districts, but it is also important to provide “back-office” staff with functions for better data reporting, improved budget spending, reduced time-consuming manual processes and opportunities to cut down on human error. With the shift to remote and hybrid learning beginning in early 2020, students had to quickly adapt to an interrupted environment and a new learning style that instructors were adjusting to as they went along. Unsurprisingly, students began falling behind, widening the learning gap. Now, schools are focusing their efforts on long-term, sustainable technology solutions that can support the necessary catch-up students require to remain on track in completing their education. Through visibility and control via automation, organizations can steer away from utilizing multiple tools and solutions that do not operate well together and instead, utilize cohesive tools that support efficient cyber hygiene and IT performance.

Though K-12 institutions will continue to face adversity in a new era of remote and hybrid learning, educators are continuously working together to share insights and navigate the challenges of today’s modern learning environments.

 

Visit our website to learn more about Carahsoft’s NJSBA Technology & Cybersecurity Contract and other events, news and resources.

 

Resources:

[1] “Report on the Cyber Insurance Market,” CNBC, https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/cmte-c-cyber-supplement-report-2022-for-data-year-2021.pdfhttps://online.maryville.edu/blog/supply-chain-attack/

[2] “Rising premiums, more restricted cyber insurance coverage poses big risk for companies,” National Association of Insurance Commissioners, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/11/companies-are-finding-it-harder-to-get-cyber-insurance-.html

[3] “Lowering Cyber Insurance Premiums in the Education Industry,” Up Guard, https://www.upguard.com/blog/lowering-cyber-insurance-premiums-education

[3] “Fraud Never Sleeps,” PaymentWorks, https://blog.paymentworks.com/fraud-never-sleeps

 

*The information contained in this blog has been written based off the thought-leadership discussions presented by speakers at NJSBA Workshop 2022.*

EdTech Talks: The Changing Face of IT Security in Education

Co-contributors:

Tom Dugas, CISO, Duquesne University
Aquilla Hines, Threat Intelligence Specialist, Proofpoint
Doug Thompson, Chief Education Architect, Tanium
Nick DiDonato, Emerging Technology Lead, HashiCorp
David DeVries, SLED CTO and former State/Federal level CIO, Commvault
Randy Watkins, Chief Technology Officer, CriticalStart
Khalil Yazdi, Resident EdTech CIO, Carahsoft
 

The transition to remote and hybrid learning over the past few years has increased the need for digital and physical devices to support K-12 and higher education campus-wide operations. Unfortunately, this has heightened vulnerabilities for security breaches in schools. While online security strategies like a Zero Trust approach can be beneficial for institutions, those same communities often strive to remain an open and collaborative educational ecosystem. Balancing the creation of a secure and fortified digital campus while ensuring personal privacy and data, as well as physical security is challenging; however, there are many opportunities and methodologies for educators to keep their students and staff secure.

Carahsoft’s three-day EdTech Talks series concluded by diving into cybersecurity and what education leaders should know, best practices for meeting compliance requirements, data management strategies and tactics for acing cybersecurity with limited resources.

Cybersecurity: What Education Leaders Should Know Now

Since early 2020, there has been a surge in the need for digital transformation to accommodate emergency educational services due to the pandemic. Higher education institutions saw a meteoric increase in cyber-attacks and the cost of paying out ransomware, and therefore, cyber-insurance fees, have skyrocketed. Now more than ever it is essential for campuses to have a robust cybersecurity strategy in place.

EdTech Talks IT Security Blog Embedded Image 2022Digital Transformation Within Institutions

Many organizations are deep into the process of digital transformation. Schools and universities are looking to achieve MultiCoud hybrid infrastructures to reframe the way they approach cybersecurity, which can be established through containerization, tracking user management, access tokens, hybrid workload models with secure networks and shifting from IP-based security to an identity-based security. These methods ensure trust is being granted on an individual platform and application basis instead of on a general perimeter basis within an institution’s digital environment.

Ransomware and Phishing

Phishing continues to be one of the most common attack vectors for ransomware and is increasing in its sophistication. Since 2020, attackers have leveraged COVID-19 themes, and now are targeting student loan forgiveness, building believable digital communications for users to click and open containing threats. While simple cybersecurity training is a productive start, it is not always the most effective solution to fend off all phishing attempts. With multiple gateways for phishing–email, SMS messaging, QR codes, etc.–trainings should be expanded to include all avenues of danger. Additionally, institutions should take a student-centric approach to trainings, focusing on who is most at risk of falling for these attempts and sending out tests that mimic students’ familiar digital environment.

The Changing Cybersecurity Landscape

Staying ahead of everchanging cybersecurity threats is vital for institutions to protect themselves from ransomware and other dangers. Artificial intelligence (AI), automation and upskilling IT talent are among the most successful solutions to implement in digital environments because they reduce the burden on already strained manpower. Leveraging AI to perform simple patches and reboots that bad actors continuously try to exploit allows IT teams to focus on the higher-level risks at hand and operations that require human intelligence. Additionally, giving IT employees opportunities to upskill their cybersecurity knowledge creates a more advanced team that can better support those higher-level solutions and improve their relationship with an institution for little to no cost with free trainings and programs widely available.

Meeting Compliance Requirements and Managing Data Differently

With an overwhelming amount of data held by educational institutions, data sprawl increases the surface for cyber-attacks. Security solutions alone may be ineffective, so proactive data management is key. On the educational front, many institutions utilize multi-cloud solutions, and it is imperative to understand that data responsibility remains with the owner, not the cloud-provider. Institutions must create a holistic management system by getting to know their data, cleaning it up, backing it up and maintaining healthy data governance.

An effective security strategy begins with critical leadership involvement to make security posture decisions. Organization members should agree on and align with a standard compliance requirement that will benefit them best, then hire and challenge the talent that will support the mission to achieve that compliance. This way, sharing authority, accountability and responsibility with a team and encouraging open communication becomes easier for ensuring progress. Lastly, minimizing the number of tools and automating as much of the process as possible will lead to a simpler and less costly road to compliance.

Acing Cybersecurity with Limited Resources

In the current landscape of cybersecurity expertise, talent can be hard to come by and harder to keep. With limited resources, institutions remain vulnerable to ransomware, phishing and unsecure operations. There are several risks plaguing cybersecurity teams in the education space, but there are solutions that an institution’s entire community can help support.

With the rise of remote learning and mobile communications during the pandemic, significant amounts of personally identifiable information (PII) were compromised during increased targeted attacks on education institutions. Recently, this valuable information is what attackers consider priority when executing a threat. Emails are a main source vector for bad actors to gain access to this data. To combat threats like these, institutions should build and utilize effective solutions.

Your need-to-know cybersecurity checklist:

  • Leverage spam filtering to get rid of risky emails that could be phishing
  • Consider augmentation with targeted digital solutions to further eliminate malice
  • Educate and quiz students and faculty, who are the most susceptible to well-masked phishing attempts
  • Make advancements in user awareness trainings
  • Launch an internal campus-wide campaign to get the community talking about the best user awareness strategies
  • Create a Student Security Operations Center (SOC) to assist IT teams with their daily activity and get students more involved

With many concerns at the top of educators’ minds, institutions must ensure they have the right tools, talent and technology to keep their communities remain safe and secure both on and offline.

 

Contributing experts from Tanium, Proofpoint, HashiCorp, Commvault and CriticalStart can help your organization understand and find the best-fit solutions for its unique needs in cybersecurity. Visit Carahsoft’s EdTech Talks 2022 resource center to view their on-demand recordings and learn more about the featured education technology providers.

*The information contained in this blog has been written based off the thought-leadership discussions presented by speakers at Carahsoft’s EdTech Talk Series 2022.*

EdTech Talks: Putting the Student Experience First

Co-contributors:
Michael Mast, Business Development Manager, Technology, E&I
Ken Chapman, VP of Learning Innovation Advocacy, D2L
Lisa Neu, Enterprise Account Executive for Higher Education, Talend
Bruce Ottomano, Director of Business Development, Passerelle
Rob Curtin, Director, Higher Education, Microsoft
Jesus Trujillo Gomez, Senior Strategic Business Executive, Google
Kate Parker, Vice President, Higher Ed Content Services, LearningMate
Angela Vann, Learning Design, Strategist, LearningMate
Trevor Kelly, Principal Solution Consultant, Genesys
Khalil Yazdi, Resident EdTech CIO, Carahsoft

 

Today, educators and institutions have the unique challenge of leveraging modern digital technology to enhance and personalize the student experience. To build a student-centric relationship between an institution and its student body, educators must take the student’s view into perspective and question whether they are gaining a cohesive yet diverse experience engaging with their school. At EdTech Talks 2022, speakers provided recommendations to improve the student experience by mitigating these challenges and realizing the importance of integrating, analyzing and using data effectively and responsibly.

What’s Possible in the “New Now”: Why the Student Experience Matters

The 2022 Top 10 IT Issues stated, “Successfully moving along the path from vision to sustainability involves recognizing that no institution can be successful and sustainable without placing students’ success at the center, which includes understanding how and why to equitably incorporate technology into learning and the student experience.” Panelists articulated what this means to them and the role of technology in the student experience through various insights:

  • A one size fits all experience for students does not work. Through technology and data, institutions can shift the approach to education design and delivery at scale to extend the abilities of educators to reach and inspire students.
  • Institutions should have a platform that facilitates identifying a holistic view of the student body to allow staff to create personalized pathways for success with their students. Additionally, utilizing data analytics in a comprehensive view can distill valuable recommendations for students to remain on track.
  • With a plethora of student data collected, the challenge becomes unlocking the value of that data to pinpoint those personalized experiences and increase retention rates. In the higher education space, there is a pattern to collected data that a university can use to improve a student’s education journey and network relationship after graduation.
  • Students currently have higher expectations of their institutions’ technology, lifestyle and learning goals and brand experience. Schools need to continuously let their data guide changes for improved engagement and growth of their community.

EdTech Talks Student Experience Blog Embedded Image 2022Utilizing Core IT Systems to Build a Better Student Experience

Infrastructure platforms such as learning management systems (LMS) should enable students and instructors to have an efficient, organized and interoperable experience. By adopting a single hub space to support connectivity among community members, administrators can ease accessibility issues, learn from instructor best practices, understand the most successful methods for creating consistency and give students the ability to personalize their experience on their pathway to successful learning.

These data observations within educational IT systems promote a better comprehension of how to drive diverse learner engagement. With most assignments, content and homework now migrated to cloud environments and digital workspaces, instructors have practical insights into student engagement and work patterns. For example, teachers and professors can see who students collaborate with, how often they work on a particular document, how many edits are made before final review, etc. Core system data analysis can allow institutions to empower students in their experiences whether in the classroom or a remote learning environment.

Maximizing Quality Data

Finding and comprehending intelligent data regarding all students across a campus is essential to creating a rich learning environment, but this process is also taxing. Institutions should plan to implement these four steps to aid in data progress:

  • Effectively assemble student information and other systems data
  • Master data to ensure trusted results
  • Utilize a third party to enrich the quality of data and gain a broader view of students or alumni
  • Analyze relevant findings and implement actionable steps across campus

When addressing these elements, data overload can also be an issue. Data governance is critical for finding, securing and applying the right data to discover important insights about schools’ communities. Institutions should not allow everyone access to raw data because the sheer quantity of information can create confusion and only knowledgeable users will be able to fully discern relevant data. Instead, data stewards and analysts should present specialized views of the appropriate data to individual audiences, giving that data new quality.

When developing a holistic view of students, data isn’t the only solution. Sometimes the most effective technique to understanding each individual in a data-driven culture is to create spaces to audibly listen to their views, note their academic and personal reflections, create multiple points of calibrating their reactions and feedback, etc. Not only do students feel more heard, but also the educational changes that derive from these interactions create a strong positive outcome.

Addressing Learning Loss, Accessibility and Student Success

Fueled by the pandemic, the U.S. has seen a dramatic increase in learning loss. Math and reading scores have plummeted and students have been severely impacted by the challenges that come with the hybrid learning environment. Additionally, the significant shortage of teaching staff and, therefore, consistent instructional content and operations in the K-12 domain, has negatively impacted engagement and learning success.

Technology solutions should meet the needs of students rather than hinder their ability to learn. Institutions can benefit from an integrated digital platform through which its instructors can proactively analyze data about their students. This way, schools support various types of learners to maximize their achievement in the classroom and help reduce the variability of remote learning. Online learning is here to stay, and it is the responsibility of schools to provide the updated digital infrastructure and accessibility, as well as first-rate IT support and communication needed for this new era of education.

 

Contributing experts from E&I Cooperative Services, Talend, D2L, Passerelle, Microsoft, Google, LearningMate and Genesys can support your student experience initiatives by breaking down barriers to student success and steering digital transformation efforts in the right direction. Visit Carahsoft’s EdTech Talks 2022 resource center to view their on-demand recordings and learn more about the featured education technology providers.

*The information contained in this blog has been written based off the thought-leadership discussions presented by speakers at Carahsoft’s EdTech Talk Series 2022.*

EdTech Talks: A Holistic Approach to Student Safety

Co-contributors:
Ara Bagdasarian, Founder, ZeroNow | Co-Founder and Former CEO, Omnilert
Guy Grace, Vice Chairman, Partner Alliance for Safer Schools
Jeff Kelly, Director of K-12 Solutions, Mutualink
Jake Stauch, Director of Product, Verkada
Dr. Lance Ford, Zoom Room Educator

 

There are many facets to campus security and safety — COVID precautions, school shootings, student mental health concerns, building access control, emergency communications — but one thread that unites them all is technology. Carahsoft hosted a three-day series exploring the performance, cost-saving and security benefits of today’s leading education technology solutions for K-12 and higher education institutions. Each day, attendees heard from industry-leading experts on the benefits of A Holistic Approach to Student Safety, Putting the Student Experience First and The Changing Face of IT Security in Education. Contributors shared their best practices, innovative approaches and perspectives to help develop and incorporate the latest IT solutions that are modernizing education.

Experts challenged attendees to consider topics focused on student safety and what plans educators can put in place to ensure they are providing a more holistic approach to protection in schools. “How can we prevent bad actors?” “Do we have the ability to detect a threat early?” “Can we respond to an emergency situation in a timely manner?” “If in the case of an unfortunate disaster, what is our recovery plan?” These are all questions schools must be ready to answer and act on in the event of compromised student and faculty safety. Though most schools already have plans in place, there are many instances where technology can be further implemented to better support schools.

Safe and Sound Schools

EdTech Talks Student Safety Blog Embedded Image 2022Where should schools start when they begin to think about safety infrastructure? Panelists suggest building on existing foundational efforts, conducting risk assessments and having a proactive, cohesive plan. After forming a unified team of safety practitioners, such as law enforcement, school security staff and school counselors, members should create an emergency action plan and determine areas of responsibility for mitigating violent situations. These steps can be streamlined by use of automation within a response strategy.

In the event of lock down, four critical actions must take place to ensure safety:

  1. Threat assessment
  2. Mass notification
  3. Situational awareness
  4. Reunification

What holds these operations in place is automation and interoperability within security and technology systems. A cohesive, unified system can reduce manual interference during a high-stress situation and allow technology to play an imperative role in keeping schools safe. Institutions’ IT teams should make sure all security systems are accessible through one platform to those that need it. Technologies such as accessibility controls, video surveillance and analytics work to enhance early detection of bad actors or trespassers, enabling quick response from law enforcement. Security systems should also be tested regularly to ensure they work properly during an emergency. Additionally, any unified security system should have the versatility to work for a wide range of situations and hazards, such as COVID-19 management.

Adopting new security technology can be daunting and prioritizing a holistic approach to manage mental health, behavioral and cultural issues can take time and budget, but student experience and safety must come first. Key factors to reducing some of these challenges are to begin with a quality plan and security strategy, ensuring all elements of it are accessible to those that need it and automating as much as possible for the fastest reaction to any situation.

A Holistic Approach to School Violence Prevention

Typically, school safety is only made a priority after a tragedy has occurred. In the case of gun violence, it automatically becomes a political issue, when instead, schools should continually take a proactive, holistic approach to violence prevention, detection, response and recovery, ensuring their systems are automated and interoperable.

To begin, the education community should pay attention to the current cultural trends surrounding its students and faculty and learn how those can become internalized to impact mental health. Some early signs of distress from a potential perpetrator can surface online or through an in-person leakage of a threat, or expressions of isolation, anxiety or depression. Identifying these behaviors and mitigating them at the start is a critical aspect of prevention.

Because these early signs will not always be caught, detection of the formulated plans to ill-intent is crucial. The most important time to act in an emergency situation is immediately, as incidents may only last a few short moments. Inbound threat reporting systems, for example, such as text alerts and phone applications make it easily accessible for community members to “see something, say something.” Physical security infrastructure should be automated to immediately support multiple tactics of notification like access control systems, emergency notification systems, surveillance cameras, panic buttons, alarm systems and IoT devices. Automation plays the most key role in this environment as an emotional human reaction to the active situation can lead to costly mistakes.

At this point, administrators, faculty, emergency responders, law enforcement and other stakeholders should already have met and discussed their plan of response if violence does occur. Critical steps of response include automated communication to these parties and the public through multimodal notifications to classrooms and smart boards, and tailoring information to the proper audience like notifying parents via Twitter or the school’s website. Strategies like video management, digital signage, alarm systems, automated locking and access mechanisms can create a more controlled area to evacuate students and faculty from buildings safely. Ultimately, technology and physical security in an active school event can significantly minimize the need for recovery.

A Safer Environment for All

In a crisis, automation, interoperable security and efficient notification systems can make all the difference in stopping a violent situation before it escalates. Schools should be fortresses to ensure safety. To achieve that security, creating a detailed preparedness plan and investing in the right technology for institutions is critical not only for students’ protection but also to maintain a productive learning environment.

 

IT leaders from ZeroNow, Omnilert, Mutualink, Verkada, Partner Alliance for Safer Schools and Zoom can help you further explore innovative ways that enhancements in technology, tools and infrastructure can help keep your students safe both in and out of the classroom. Visit Carahsoft’s resource center to view the on-demand sessions from EdTech Talks 2022 and to learn more about our featured education technology providers.

*The information contained in this blog has been written based off the thought-leadership discussions presented by speakers at Carahsoft’s EdTech Talk Series 2022.*

The ARP ESSER Impact on Tech Companies and the EDU Sector

Carahsoft ARP Impact on EDU Blog Embedded Image 2022It has been two years since the start of the global pandemic and one year since President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Act in an effort to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the education system. While the world slowly attempts to re-establish normalcy, educators have realized that they must upgrade and incorporate more technology. This is not only the new normal but also the key to recovering past learning losses and advancing to future success.

What is ARP ESSER?

In response to the pandemic, Congress passed several education funding bills to reopen K-12 schools safely and address learning loss. The third bill, the ARP ESSER, was signed into law on March 11, 2021. On March 17, 2021, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced on behalf of the Department of Education that the ARP ESSER bill awarded $122 billion towards uses including educational technology.[1] “These funds from the American Rescue Plan… will allow schools to invest in mitigation strategies to get students back in the classroom… and address the many impacts this pandemic has had on students—especially those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic,” Cardona said.[2]

Within the stipulations of the ARP ESSER, 20% of the local education agencies’ (LEA) funding must be used for learning loss prevention in addition to 5% that must be reserved by state education agencies (SEA). The funding was allocated to the states and the LEAs had 30 days from the time of receiving the funds to create a spending plan. [3] All of the state plans[4]  were submitted and approved by the Department of Education by the end of December 2021. With that approval, the remaining third of the funding ($41 million) was released.[5] SEAs and LEAs have until September 30, 2024 to obligate the ARP ESSER funding before unused funding must be returned to the Department of Education for reallocation.[6]

Carahsoft ARP Impact on EDU Blog Timeline Image 2022

The Benefits to EDU and Continuing Needs

One of the biggest challenges teachers faced during the initial transition to remote education was learning loss because of the lack of connectivity, devices, and engagement of students. Part of the ARP ESSER Act allows funding usage for software, Wi-Fi hotspots, cybersecurity, devices, device management systems, and additional tech support.[2] With the assistance of ARP funds, 96% of K-12 public schools reopened as of January 2022 for full-time, in-person instruction[5]in comparison to 46% in January 2021.[7]

Beyond improving the in-person school situation, the additional funding allowed teachers to address the technological issues and see progress between semesters. According to Lanschool’s Distance Learning in Review, when schools went fully remote in spring 2020, teachers recorded an 86% worsening of student engagement. By fall 2020 with remote and hybrid learning, teachers reported a 69% improvement from the spring semester which Lanschool attributes to newly incorporated technologies, curriculum adjustments, and students’ adjustments to the “new norm.”[8]

Over 80% of teachers believe distance and hybrid learning will be a part of education for the foreseeable future with many educators stating that these new technologies and digital capabilities have streamlined their processes and improved efficiencies. The overwhelming majority of educators regularly utilize three or more digital tools and over 30% could see themselves incorporating additional tools.[9]In the future, the school systems surveyed plan to invest their remaining tech funding in areas such as:

  • Audio enhancements
  • Robotics
  • Student coding apps
  • Interactive whiteboards
  • Core courseware
  • Supplemental courseware, &
  • Career and tech ed software[10]

The National Conference of State Legislatures created a tracker[11] that denotes the funding spent by each State and future plans for the remaining funds.

The Impact on Tech Companies

Due to ESSER fund usage, the U.S. K-12 educational technology spending spiked by $7.5 billion from 2019 to a total of $35.8 billion in 2020.[12] In 2021, EdTech spending rose to $36.7 billion.[10] This initial jump can be attributed to ESSER I with the CARES Act and represents a precursor to an even bigger influx with the ARP ESSER III funding. Although 2021 EdTech spending did not grow as much as initially expected, Learning Counsel CEO LeiLani Cauthen says that at least 60% of school districts have not spent their full allotment and plan to make additional tech purchases.[10]

With the priority of closing the “digital divide” with solutions for rural connectivity, devices for low-income students, and resources to ensure learning equity, tech companies have a large role to play in achieving the goal. Many tech companies have already marketed their resources to schools detailing how their technology aligns with the ARP ESSER stipulations and meets their learning needs. As schools finalize their plans for the allotment of funds, tech companies have a final opportunity to present their solutions and products and make a difference in the education system.

This collaboration between tech companies and schools to utilize the funding aligns with the Department of Education and President Biden’s mission to “build back better.”[13] Through provisions in the ARP ESSER Act, improvements have been made in education for students impacted by COVID-19. Not only is the schools and tech companies’ partnership assisting in recovering from learning loss through offering technological resources, it also paves the path for a better future.

 

Carahsoft is a leading education IT solutions distributor and provider prioritizing device management and cybersecurity solutions for higher education and K-12 schools. Visit our Education Technology Solutions Portfolio for more information on how Carahsoft can support your mission critical education needs.

 

[1] “U.S. Department of Education Fact Sheet: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 – Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ARP ESSER),” United States Department of Education, https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/03/FINAL_ARP-ESSER-FACT-SHEET.pdf

[2] “Department of Education Announces American Rescue Plan Funds for All 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia to Help Schools Reopen,” United States Department of Education, https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/department-education-announces-american-rescue-plan-funds-all-50-states-puerto-rico-and-district-columbia-help-schools-reopen

[3] “Indiana Department of Education: ESSER III Frequently Asked Questions,” Indiana Department of Education, https://www.in.gov/doe/files/ESSER-III-FAQ-8.16.21.pdf?_sm_au_=iVVSPn0Q6NV6kQtFkN1JRKsp6MH81

[4] “Office of Elementary & Secondary Education: State Plans,” United States Office of Elementary & Secondary Education, https://oese.ed.gov/offices/american-rescue-plan/american-rescue-plan-elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief/stateplans/

[5] “U.S. Department of Education Announces Distribution of All American Rescue Plan ESSER Funds and Approval of All 52 State Education Agency Plans,” United States Department of Education, https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-announces-distribution-all-american-rescue-plan-esser-funds-and-approval-all-52-state-education-agency-plans

[6] “U.S. Department of Education: Frequently Asked Questions – Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Programs and Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Programs,” United States Department of Education, https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/05/ESSER.GEER_.FAQs_5.26.21_745AM_FINALb0cd6833f6f46e03ba2d97d30aff953260028045f9ef3b18ea602db4b32b1d99.pdf

[7] “FACT SHEET: In One Year of the Biden-Harris Administration, the U.S. Department of Education Has Helped Schools Safely Reopen and Meet Students’ Needs,” United States Department of Education, https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-one-year-biden-harris-administration-us-department-education-has-helped-schools-safely-reopen-and-meet-students%E2%80%99-needs

[8] “Distance Learning in Review Report,” Lanschool, https://lanschool.com/lp/2021-distance-learning-in-review/#report

[9] “Insights from Our 2021 Distance Learning in Review Report,” Lanschool, https://lanschool.com/blog/education-insights/insights-from-our-2021-distance-learning-in-review/

[10] “Just How Big is the EdTech Market? Watch This Briefing and Find Out!” The Learning Counsel, https://thelearningcounsel.com/articles/for-vendors/just-how-big-edtech-market-watch-briefing-and-find-out/

[11] “Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund Tracker,” National Conference of State Legislatures, https://www.ncsl.org/ncsl-in-dc/standing-committees/education/cares-act-elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief-fund-tracker.aspx

[12] “Tap Into Pandemic Relief Funds,” Gale: A Cengage Company, https://www.gale.com/schools/american-rescue-plan

[13] “U.S. Department of Education Approves Virginia’s Plan for Use of American Rescue Plan Funds to Support K-12 Schools and Students, Distributes Remaining More Than $704 Million to State,” United States Department of Education, https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/s-department-education-approves-virginias-plan-use-american-rescue-plan-funds-support-k-12-schools-and-students-distributes-remaining-more-704-million-state

Safe & Sound Schools: Cybersecurity in K-12

A year ago, IT professionals in K-12 school systems became heroes to their communities when their skills and resourcefulness turned on remote learning for nearly all. But while IT teams were enabling teaching and learning to continue uninterrupted in spite of everything else going on in the world, they were also seeing their systems beset by relentless attacks. More school districts than ever have been victimized by ransomware, data breaches, and other forms of digital malfeasance. While there’s no way to guarantee your schools will avoid all cyber incidents, the preemptive moves you take will make digital and online activities ever safer for your district users. Learn how your institution can adapt to this new environment in Carahsoft’s Innovation in Education report.

 

Closing in on Cybersecurity Stability

IIE Journal October Safe Schools Blog Embedded Image 2021“Traditionally, for good reasons, the conversation in K-12 has been focused on education. The priority for spending has been steered toward academics — getting more support and training for teachers and trying to control the classroom size, for example. Technology, and especially cybersecurity, was a scheduled expense, up there with predictable plumbing problems and textbook replacement, but contained within the IT organization. However, IT — and especially cybersecurity — has now become a strategic element for education. Parents, superintendents, board members and executives within administration have realized that keeping data and systems safe can have a district-wide impact. Experience a data breach or a ransomware event and you’ll suffer damages that strike your budget as well as your reputation: Families will leave your schools to go to the district next door that didn’t have a break-in. That means it has become something that should be part of all decision-making.”

Read more insights from Palo Alto Networks’ Cybersecurity Strategist, Fadi Fadhil.

 

Getting Away from the Ransomware Triple Threat

“Even though it’s now a simple matter to go online and learn how to launch a cyber-attack and buy the tools to do so for just a few dollars, ransomware has become a more complicated process, involving triple extortion. Originally, the idea was that the bad guys would get into your computer system, encrypt your data and tell you that in order to get the data back, you’d have to pay x bitcoins. That was pretty direct; you either paid the money and hoped they’d give you your data or you had backups, because a good backup policy would prevent an attack from imposing any lasting damage. So the criminals revised their approach. They turned around and said, ‘OK, we’ve encrypted your data. Pay this amount to get it back. And by the way, we also stole your data. If you want to prevent this data from being made public, you will pay the same amount of ransom, and this is the deadline.’”

Read more insights from HPE’s Distinguished Technologist in Cybersecurity, James Morrison.

 

The Essential Cybersecurity Service You’ve Never Heard Of

“The cybersecurity threat to K-12 educational institutions has been consistently growing since 2018. Unfortunately, for many schools, efforts to protect against cyber-attacks have not seen similar growth. K-12 public schools became the number one target for ransomware attacks across all public sectors in 2020. Meanwhile, less than a quarter of school districts have anyone dedicated to network security, according to the latest CoSN leadership report. And even institutions with dedicated network security staff may struggle with a lack of funding to dedicate to cybersecurity measures. This poses a challenge for schools that cannot build cybersecurity defenses that match the sophistication of the malicious actors intent on attacking their data-rich networks. Fortunately, cybersecurity help is available, and at no cost. Recognizing that schools, along with other state, local, tribal and territorial government agencies, rarely have the resources they need for cybersecurity, the Center for Internet Security, an international nonprofit, offers essential cybersecurity services through the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center (MS-ISAC).”

Read more insights from the Center for Internet Security’s (CIS) Senior VP of Operations and Security Services, Josh Moulin.

 

Greatness Awaits: Dump the Paperwork

“Envision this scenario: Requests for payment are sent in via online interface or digitized en masse through a designated service center. The data is vetted to make sure vendors are approved and expenses fall within the expected range or amount. The documentation is immediately tagged for the proper workflow, being approved at each level through a mobile app or computer application. Approvers can be added or removed from the workflow list as staffing or delegation needs change. Those who sit on approvals too long can be notified that the clock is running. Likewise, managers can be alerted when people on their team try to shove payments through without adequate controls or documentation in place. As a result, the right invoices are paid on time, without incurring penalties or losing out on possible rebates offered by the vendors. Any physical space dedicated to holding onto paper documentation can be dedicated to other purposes. On the expense side, schools can eliminate adult arts-and-crafts.”

Read more insights from SAP Concur’s Public Sector Senior Director, Jim McClurkin.

 

Virtual is Here to Stay, so Make It Better

“With the return to the physical classroom, you might think schools should tuck away their Zoom licenses for the next time an emergency strikes. But that would be short-sighted. Educators have seen how technology can play a role in delivering learning options for students who can’t attend in person. Now that K-12 administrators are reimagining and redesigning education, school districts would be foolish not to learn from their pandemic experiences. Their big lesson? Schools need virtual options. They need them for students who, because of physical, emotional or mental disabilities, can’t be in the classroom; who have dropped out just shy of a few credits and really want to earn that diploma; who are working to support their families; who are taking care of younger siblings; or who want to participate in dual enrollment and can’t get the unique classes they need through their own schools.”

Read more insights from Class Technologies’ VP of K-12 Strategy, Elfreda Massie.

 

Start with the End(point) in Mind

“While the concept of zero trust serves as a useful framework for understanding the goal of posting a guard at every entry and maintaining clear lines of authorization and authentication, getting it done is another matter. Somebody has to do the work of implementing endpoint management and security. Consider the challenge of mobile endpoint patching. IT churns through cycles continuously applying long lists of patches, mitigating risks for which there may be no exploit and that may not be in line for attack. According to a recent Ivanti report, “Patch Management Challenges,” 71% of IT and security professionals find patching to be overly complex and time-consuming. And the patching efforts may only address district-owned devices along with the small share of end users with their own devices who are willing to go through the patch process. What about everybody and everything else? The key is knowing what patches are crucial and being able to prioritize patch decisions that are going to provide comthe greatest security. The patch management approach needs to apply threat intelligence and risk assessment. Then it needs to be enabled on all devices — district-owned or not — without the process relying on interaction from users.”

Read more insights from Ivanti’s Public Sector CTO, Bill Harrod.

 

How to Tame the Cloud with One Call

“K-12 professionals are continually trying to keep their heads above water. They’re drowning in paperwork, processes, regulations and general bureaucracy. And they just need relief. If you’ve got 100 different contracts, every time you touch those contracts to manage them, support them, make amendments, check that they meet state and federal compliance guidelines, and more, it increases the total cost of ownership for every one of those cloud products and services. E&I helps you reduce this work, so that you can spend more time and energy in what you love to do, which is helping students learn.”

Read more insights from E&I Cooperative Services’ Vice President of Technology, Keith Fowlkes.

 

Download the full Innovation in Education report for more insights from these cybersecurity thought leaders and additional K-12 industry research from THE Journal.