January 26, 2024

• PDE Updates

  • • 180 days OR 900/990 hours change and its impact on technology

    • School Safety Grants are available currently and technology may be part of these grants

    • Projected Teacher Staffing Issues and potential technology solutions like Fusion

    • Online Testing for all is coming; if you do not do online testing or you have not attempted to utilize CDTs online with any students, PDE recommends you may want to test it with a handful to prepare you for online testing

• We welcome your district to join us for our 2024 Student Showcase being held during the Annual IU1 Convention on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.  The showcase will begin at 1:00 PM at the Hilton Garden Inn 1000 Corporate Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317.  The State of the IU1 dinner for District Board Members and Superintendents will begin at 6:00 PM, further information regarding the dinner will be sent in the upcoming month.

  • • If your district is interested in participating in the 2024 Student Showcase, please register as soon as possible by using this link: https://forms.office.com/r/1BeSEDTm1f?origin=lprLink. 

• Fusion Update

  • • Credit Recovery offerings through Fusion include new 8-week credit recovery courses through Imagine Learning that can be registered for at any time during the year! 

    • Working on a partnership with a new organization to add K-12 online classes for technology subjects as well as technology certificates to Fusion offerings

    • Working on a partnership with Edmentum for course offerings as well 

    • Brownsville presented with Lisa Steratore at TRETC the impact that Imagine Learning Purpose Prep has had on their students.  If interested in hearing more, please reach out to Lisa Steratore.    

• AI in K-12

  • • Unleash the Magic of AI - IU1 is preparing to offer an AI Microlearning opportunity once a week for 5 weeks in February to discuss how to integrate AI into education and so that staff can share how they are currently utilizing AI in their classrooms.  Click here for the Zoom link and more information!  See you February 1st at 2:30 via zoom for the first session.   (You do not have to attend all sessions and you do not have to register) 

    • EdWeek Article: Most Teachers are NOT Using AI

    • CoSN: Snapshots: AI in Education

• PDE Data Summit -  A World of Opportunity: See Where Data Can Take You!

  • • March 11-13, 2024

    • Hershey Lodge

• SEDTA -  State Ed Tech Trends Report

  • • National Education Technology Plan - created by the US Dept. of Ed regarding the Digital Divide

• Keystone Technology Innovators (KTI) Nominations open now until February 10, 2024

  • • The list of past keystones AND list of currently nominated 2024 Keystones is available on the website:  https://sites.google.com/paect.org/keystonespa/past-keystones

• CISA Updates

  • Juniper 

  • CISCO 

  • Additional Exploits  

  • Microsoft SharePoint 

  • Ivanti 

  • Microsoft Updates 

  • Fortinet 

  • Vulnerability 

  • Androxgh0st malware  

  • Vulnerability

  • VMware 

  • Citrix 

  • Oracle 

  • VMware 

  • Apple 

  • Mozilla 

• March Tech Council will be rescheduled.  April or May virtual?  

• Sentinel One Follow up

• Immutable Managed Backup Service - CCIU

• Lisa Steratore, IU 1 Principal/Supervisor of Online Learning Program

• NCSR Assessment

• PBDA: Covid 19 ARPA Grant 

  • The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) has opened the application period for the COVID-19 ARPA Multi-Purpose Community Facilities (Facilities) Program and it will close 4.20.24 at 12:00 PM. We’d like to remind you as well that the PBDA and the Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) Customer Service team are hosting two Office Hour Sessions to review FAQs for the Facilities Program and the DCED Electronic Single Application (ESA) System, next week.

Details to attend the Office hours as well as the recording of the Facilities Program overview and the DCED Electronic Single Application (ESA) system walkthrough can be viewed at the links below. The presentation is also available on this same page.

Office Hours Session 1

Office Hours Session 2

Facilities Program Page and Webinar Recordings

• Pitt is offering a fully funded stipend provided GenCyber program for high school teachers focusing on preparing them to teach cybersecurity by building a foundation in what cybersecurity means and how to support students in exploring different cybersecurity areas.  This program will be delivered entirely virtually via zoom.  For additional information please click the following link:  https://www.lersais.pitt.edu/gencyber24-teachers.   This is limited to 30 teachers and it is filling quickly!

• IU1 Discussion

• Vendor Presentation - Howard Technology Solutions