K12 Tech Talk

A podcast about IT Issues/Trends in K12 Schools. Current and Past Sponsors: Absolute, Aruba/HPE, ClassLink, Eaton, Fortinet, Infoblox, INVZBL, Jupiter Education, K12TechPro.com, Managed Methods, MidwestTechTalk, Papercut, Pondurance, PDS, Rise Vision, Ruckus/Commscope, SHI, StatusGator, SomethingCool.com, Tripp Lite, Vizor
Episodes
Episodes



Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Episode 111 - CoSN Part 2
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
On this special episode (brought to you by ClassLink), Chris and Eric the Intern take a trip to Austin and spend the week at the CoSN conference! Because they interviewed so many and got such good content, we’ll be breaking this into two parts. You’ll hear from:
-Eric Nicklas, Program Manager, MOREnet
-Don Ringelestein, CTO, Maine Township High School District 207, CoSN Board
-Evangelina Mendoza, CTO, San Antonio Independent School District, CoSN Board
-Tim Clark & Monica Watts, 1EdTech
-Melody Lam, Learning Tools Developer, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
-Dayna Aravich & Dan Stoneman, Gartner
-Shahryar Khazei, retired CIO of Los Angeles Unified, CoSN Board
-Tom Ryan, Co-Founder at K-12 Strategic Technology Advisory Group, former CIO of Albuquerque Public Schools, and member of the Council of Great City Schools
-Jan Mills, Senior Vice President of Sales, ClassLink
-Steve Langford, CIO, Beaverton School District, Retiring CoSN Chair
-Marlo Gaddis, CTO, Wake County Public School System
-Keith Krueger, CEO, CoSN
ClassLink - Cybersecurity Rubric for Schools
https://www.classlink.com/news/groundbreaking-new-cybersecurity-rubric-guides-schools-toward-improved-security-practices
ClassLink – DataGuard
https://www.classlink.com/news/classlink-announces-dataguard-and-advanced-iam-tools



Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Episode 111 - CoSN Part 1
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
On this special episode (brought to you by ClassLink), Chris and Eric the Intern take a trip to Austin and spend the week at the CoSN conference! Because they interviewed so many and got such good content, we’ll be breaking this into two parts. You’ll hear from:
-Eric Nicklas, Program Manager, MOREnet
-Don Ringelestein, CTO, Maine Township High School District 207, CoSN Board
-Evangelina Mendoza, CTO, San Antonio Independent School District, CoSN Board
-Tim Clark & Monica Watts, 1EdTech
-Melody Lam, Learning Tools Developer, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
-Dayna Aravich & Dan Stoneman, Gartner
-Shahryar Khazei, retired CIO of Los Angeles Unified, CoSN Board
-Tom Ryan, Co-Founder at K-12 Strategic Technology Advisory Group, former CIO of Albuquerque Public Schools, and member of the Council of Great City Schools
-Jan Mills, Senior Vice President of Sales, ClassLink
-Steve Langford, CIO, Beaverton School District, Retiring CoSN Chair
-Marlo Gaddis, CTO, Wake County Public School System
-Keith Krueger, CEO, CoSN
ClassLink - Cybersecurity Rubric for Schools
https://www.classlink.com/news/groundbreaking-new-cybersecurity-rubric-guides-schools-toward-improved-security-practices
ClassLink – DataGuard
https://www.classlink.com/news/classlink-announces-dataguard-and-advanced-iam-tools



Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Episode 110 - 3 Years Later
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
Thursday Mar 16, 2023
In tonight's episode Josh, Mark, and Eric the Intern chat about CISA's new K12 Cyber Report and their 3 fundamental items that all districts should be tackling... *hint, hint* one is MFA. Josh talks about his 3 internet outages that took place in the last 10 days and how that is causing him to look at backup WAN connections. The guys also spend time talking about the 3 year anniversary of when schools first shut down for COVID. It's hard to believe that was 3 years ago this week!
Listen here (and on all major podcast platforms).
Hang out with us at K12TechPro.com (and join the Community).
Buy our merch!!!
Vizor - 20% Off
Fortinet - Email [email protected]
SomethingCool.com - Cybersecurity Solutions
Extreme Networks - Email [email protected]
Provision Data Solutions
Oh, and...
Email us at [email protected]
Tweet us @k12techtalkpod
Visit our LinkedIn page HERE
Reddit



Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Episode 109 - K12 SIX Conference Recap and Doug Levin Interview
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Chris is on leave again this week, so Mark and Josh do their best to proceed without him.
Mark recaps the K12 SIX Conference that was held in Austin, Texas. Josh talks about trying to change a SSID over to WPA3 and it did not go well. They also talk about a new method students are using to attempt to crack WPA2 passphrases on Chromebooks using the chrome://net-export page.
The majority of this episode is an interview that Chris and Mark conducted with Mr. Doug Levin, founder of K12 SIX. Doug sat down with the guys to talk about what K12 SIX offers to districts and what the goal of the conference is.
LISTEN HERE (and on all major podcast platforms).
Hang out with us at K12TechPro.com
Buy our merch!!!
Vizor - 20% Off
Fortinet - Email [email protected]
SomethingCool.com - Cybersecurity Solutions
Extreme Networks - Email [email protected]
Provision Data Solutions
Oh, and...
Email us at [email protected]
Tweet us @k12techtalkpod
Visit our LinkedIn page HERE
Reddit



Thursday Mar 02, 2023
Episode 108 Part Deux - Part 2 of the Interview with Soheil Katal, LAUSD CIO
Thursday Mar 02, 2023
Thursday Mar 02, 2023
This is the second part of the interview with Soheil Katal, the CIO for LAUSD. In Episode 108 Interview Part One, we set the stage and talk through the first few days of the cyber incident that took place in September 2022. Go back and listen to Part One if you have not already.
In this episode Soheil talks about bringing in the FBI and how their goal was not necessarily the same goal that Soheil and his team had. We also crack a few jokes about the news stories that said LAUSD "picked up the phone and called the Whitehouse" asking for more assistance from the Federal Government, and yes, it pretty much happened that way.
We would like to thank Soheil for taking the time out of his schedule to grant us this interview. Like we said before, we are pretty certain this is the first and only one on one interview that Soheil has granted since the event took place, and we are VERY grateful that he was willing to talk to us.
LISTEN HERE (and on all major podcast platforms).
Hang out with us at K12TechPro.com
Buy our merch!!!
Vizor - 20% Off
Fortinet - Email [email protected]
SomethingCool.com - Cybersecurity Solutions
Extreme Networks - Email [email protected]
Provision Data Solutions
Oh, and...
Email us at [email protected]
Tweet us @k12techtalkpod
Visit our LinkedIn page HERE



Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Episode 108 - Soheil Katal (LA USD, CIO) Interview Part One
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
In part one of our exclusive 2-part interview on K12 Tech Talk, we sat down with Soheil Katal, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Los Angeles School District, to discuss the recent ransomware attack that rocked the district's systems and caused disruption for students and staff alike. Katal shared his firsthand account of the impact of the attack and the challenges of trying to restore the district's systems and data.
But that's not all. Katal is a seasoned technology leader, and he shared his invaluable perspective on the broader issue of cybersecurity and how organizations can better protect themselves from ransomware attacks.
In part two of this interview, which will publish next week, Katal provides deeper insights into the broader issue of cybersecurity, including practical steps that organizations can take to better protect themselves. He also discusses the importance of regular backups, employee training, and the need for a comprehensive security strategy.
If you're an educator, IT professional, or simply someone who wants to learn more about how to protect yourself from cyber threats, you won't want to miss this 2-part interview. Katal provides valuable lessons and takeaways that you can apply in your own life and work.
So stay tuned for part two of K12 Tech Talk's exclusive interview with Soheil Katal, the CIO of Los Angeles School District, as he shares his insights and experiences in the wake of the district's recent ransomware attack.
LISTEN HERE (and on all major podcast platforms).
Hang out with us at K12TechPro.com
Buy our merch!!!
Vizor - 20% Off
Fortinet - Email [email protected]
SomethingCool.com - Cybersecurity Solutions
Extreme Networks - Email [email protected]
Provision Data Solutions
Oh, and...
Email us at [email protected]
Tweet us @k12techtalkpod
Visit our LinkedIn page HERE



Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Episode 107.5 - The Setup
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
BIG NEWS! In this episode, we set up Episode 108, an interview with Soheil Katal, the CIO of Los Angeles Unified School District. We are pretty certain this is the first one on one interview he has given, and we got it! As you can tell, we're excited.
But first, in this episode, we mention a cheating scandal at a High School in Florida that involves... you guessed it... everyone's favorite AI bot, ChatGPT. We have a listener email about the blurred lines between door access control systems and security camera systems, and when is it an IT issue, a Maintenance issue, or a Safety issue.
Come back for Episode 108 (and it will probably be split into two episodes).
Hang out with us at K12TechPro.com
Buy our merch!!!
Vizor - 20% Off
Fortinet - Email [email protected]
SomethingCool.com - Cybersecurity Solutions
Extreme Networks - Email [email protected]
Provision Data Solutions
Oh, and...
Email us at [email protected]
Tweet us @k12techtalkpod
Visit our LinkedIn page HERE



Thursday Feb 09, 2023
Episode 107 - Esports, MFA Settings, & Listener Emails
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
Our influx of listener emails continues, and we field a question about esports, one about recovering from COVID challenges, and we say G'day to a listener from Australia. We also spend a good amount of time talking about rolling out MFA requirements and a few settings in Google Admin Console that might make that rollout easier. We also talk about some upcoming conferences that "we" will be attending including but not limited to K12Six, CoSN, and NHCTO.
Hang out with us at K12TechPro.com
Buy our merch!!!
Vizor - 20% Off
Fortinet - Email [email protected]
SomethingCool.com - Cybersecurity Solutions
Extreme Networks - Email [email protected]
Provision Data Solutions
Oh, and...
Email us at [email protected]
Tweet us @k12techtalkpod
Visit our LinkedIn page HERE