February 3, 2022
Jenny Lent
ISTE - June 25-28, 2023; last time held in PA for a long time...next closest is in Boston in 6 years!
COSN Ed Tech Reports: Driving K-12 Innovation Reports
Gaggle - PDE grant for 1 free year on a first come first serve basis with no application! All size districts are welcome!
A few months ago, Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) approved a $600,000 grant for Gaggle's digital safety and security tool. The funding allows districts to purchase one full year of Gaggle Safety Management for student email and drive. PDE is also covering the cost of implementation and Professional Development. The grant is first come first serve, and there is no application needed. Apparently, few districts actually responded to the initial announcement, consequently, PDE still has several grants available. It is suspected that few districts applied because of the concern of only a one year funding program. At this point (though the new administration will have to weigh-in), it appears that additional funding for another year may be available. If you are not familiar with Gaggle, please see information below provided by Gaggle:
The current crisis in student mental health is causing school districts to become more proactive in monitoring and providing services to support those in need. K-12 districts across the country have partnered with Gaggle for the past two decades to help support student safety and well-being.
Gaggle currently partners with 50 Pennsylvania districts to protect over 90,000 students.
Northern York County School District - We Saved a Life Last Night
Gaggle analyzes and reviews student content on school-issued accounts, alerting school officials when students show signs of self-harm, thoughts of suicide, substance abuse, threats of violence, and other harmful situations.
If you are interested in talking directly to Gaggle about the grant program, you may contact Rocco Gasparro at rocco@gaggle.net
Distance Learning Grants - The representatives from USDA explained that they have $90 Million this year (normally about half of that) available to award in grants. Generally, the grant applications they get are for telemedicine types of projects, but distance learning is also an allowable project. The link is https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/telecommunications-programs/distance-learning-telemedicine-grants. If you are considering it, Robert Fry is the General Field Representative and he can be reached at 202-308-8944 or Robert.fry@usda.gov
Principals can nominate a Keystone Technology Integrator
Developing the Nations Next Technology Plan to be released December 2023: US DOE Focus
Close the Digital Divide
Divide in high speed access and high quality devices between historically marginalized learners and their peers
Close the Digital Design Divide
Divide between developers and educators the understand inherent neuro-variability and how to design learning experiences with that variability in mind - and those who cannot
Close the Digital Use Divide
Divide wherein students have been historically marginalized are subject to more passive uses of technology than their peers
The K12 SIX Essential Cybersecurity Protections are a short list of actionable cybersecurity controls that all school districts should prioritize for implementation. Organized into four overarching categories, they are designed to defend against the most common cyber threats facing school districts, including those recently identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Department of Homeland Security: Partnering to Safeguard K-12 Organizations from Cybersecurity Threats Report
The report provides recommendations and resources to help schools and districts address systemic cybersecurity risk. It also provides insight into the current threat landscape specific to the K-12 community and offers simple steps school leaders can take to strengthen their cybersecurity efforts.
Cybersecurity and Infastructure Security Agency (CISA) K-12 toolkit
Vendor Partners for Statewide Pricing
BrainPop; Canvas; CatchOn; Classcraft; Discovery Education Experience; Gaggle Safety Management; Newsela; Schoology; Sphero; Sketchup Pro; FortiClient Endpoint Protection; ViVi; Parago; Streamable Learning; EdPuzzle; New-O-Matic (Press4Kids); Class.com; Kami; ClickView; One to One Plus; Formative
Marisa Brown
eRate update from PAIMS
Cybersecurity grant update
PAIU Net
Lisa Mauro
Fusion Cyber Service Update - New Offerings and Pricing Structures
Guest Speakers