K12 Tech Talk

Josh, Chris and Mark talk back-to-school anecdotes - Chromebook rollouts, teacher tickets, and custodial tech onboarding, then dig into the news headlines of the week.
First, Meta’s landmark $18 billion settlement with dozens of states over youth mental health concerns tied to Facebook and Instagram. The guys talk settlement terms, default safety measures for 13–17 year-olds (two-hour daily limits, night/school modes, restricted notifications), content-moderation defaults, and uncertainty about age verification.
Next, they review the growing pushback in New York City public schools against AI adoption.
Next, the guys dive into Microsoft’s move to make passkeys the default for Entra ID authentication. What is a passkey? How does it differ from SMS or authenticator codes? Microsoft's timeline?
Finally, Chris interviews Amy Bennett, Chief of Staff at Lightspeed Systems, about screen time visibility and the product Insight. Amy demonstrates how districts can use screen-time analytics to benchmark usage by grade and app, drill down to school - and student-level views, and share transparent data with parents and boards to inform policy decisions. 
FULL VIDEO OF THE INSIGHT DEMO PORTION IS HERE --> https://youtu.be/zoT2qGJonSg
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Music by Colt Ball
Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

In this episode, Josh and Chris kick off the school-year season with news, stories, and a CyberNut interview. They dive into federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Education on screen time and edtech procurement - recreational vs. instructional tech, evaluating products by outcomes and instructional value (not just screen minutes), and asking vendors for evidence of effectiveness and implementation support.
They also talk E-Rate and urge listeners to comment before the October 13th deadline.
Then, Josh and Chris trade back-to-school chaos stories - sticky smartboards, broken fobs, last-minute device orders, and a widespread phishing campaign that’s been compromising accounts.
Finally, the episode includes an interview with Frank Murray, CTO of Belton ISD, about CyberNut - a K12–focused cybersecurity platform. 
Old Frank Murray episode we reference - https://k12techtalkpodcast.com/e/episode-183-is-ai-replacing-teachers-and-librarians/
https://www.edsurge.com/news/department-of-education-issues-long-awaited-edtech-guidance-for-states-and-districts
https://www.fundsforlearning.com/news/the-e-rate-review-comment-window-is-open-comments-due-october-13/
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Sponsored by:
Meter
NTP
Fortinet
Lightspeed
Chromebookparts.com - Contact customersupport@chromebookparts.com with the code: WELCOME TO CHROME IMPROVEMENT for an additional 10% percent off your next order!
————
Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)
Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!
Email us at k12techtalk@gmail.com
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Music by Colt Ball
Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

Episode 277 examines the mounting policy fight over student safety online and the practical tech issues districts are facing as a new school year begins. Josh and Chris open with personal stories about moving kids to college and summer realities.
We break down two competing federal proposals: the Senate’s KOSA approach that leans on a "duty of care" - potentially holding platforms liable for harms - and the House’s KIDS Act that prescribes specific rules (and largely shields platforms from direct liability). The conversation explains the core differences, how each bill would affect targeted advertising and COPPA, First Amendment and privacy concerns, likely outcomes during the lame‑duck session, and how platforms might respond.
Links referenced:
From Screen Time Mandates to Purposeful Technology Policies and Guidance (CoSN)
CISA K-12 Cybersecurity Getting Started
CISA K-12 Cybersecurity Implementation
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Meter
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Fortinet
Howard
Chromebookparts.com - Contact customersupport@chromebookparts.com with the code: WELCOME TO CHROME IMPROVEMENT for an additional 10% percent off your next order!
Incident IQ
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Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)
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Music by Colt Ball
Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

Josh, Chris, and Mark talk about a New Mexico state-mandated AI reading tool stirring privacy concerns, Google rolling out a student-facing Gemini tab in Classroom by default, new survey findings about post-RFP vendor behavior, and the growing trend of "vibe coding" inside districts. Oh, and how to handle teacher/classroom movements and changes.
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Meter
VIZOR
Fortinet
Howard
ManagedMethods
Lightspeed
NTP
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Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)
Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!
Email us at k12techtalk@gmail.com
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Music by Colt Ball
Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.
 

On episode 275, Josh, Chris, and Mark jump into a back‑to‑school conversation covering AI policy, screen time, cybersecurity, and tech in the classroom. They start by sharing how 98 high school students from all 50 states convened at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute to run a mock Congress and produced a comprehensive AI model bill (and it's good stuff!).
The guys discuss the Enhancing K‑12 Cybersecurity Act, Tennessee’s new screen‑time law, and district strategies for the new school year, from gathering data on actual device minutes to defining "meaningful" versus "time‑suck" screen use.
Finally, Josh does some quick, fun interviews at MidwestTechTalk 2026.Articles Discussed:https://www.npr.org/2026/07/30/nx-s1-5853571/students-set-ai-policy
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/commonsensemedia_teensaipornographysexualcontent_2026_0.pdf
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/29/department-for-education-police-hackers-cybercrime
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Sponsored by:
Meter
VIZOR
Fortinet
Howard
ClassLink
Lightspeed
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Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)
Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!
Email us at k12techtalk@gmail.com
OR our "professional" email addy is info@k12techtalkpodcast.com
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Music by Colt Ball
Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.
 

Chris and Mark break down some headline stories and dig into a longer conversation about vibe coding in K12. They discuss Common Sense Media’s poor safety rating of Google Search’s AI mode, continued reporting from databreaches.net about the unresolved Navigate360 anonymous tip database breach, and ClassLink data analyzing device screen time across 5.5 million students.
The main conversation is vibe coding - using large language models (Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) to generate and deploy code. They talk practical use cases and big concerns. Should vibe coding be used in schools for small utilities? Classroom tools? IT automations? They talk about security, data exposure, maintainability, single‑person liabilities, and more.
————
Sponsored by:
Meter
NTP
VIZOR
Fortinet
Managed MethodsHowardIncident IQ 
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Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)
Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!
Email us at k12techtalk@gmail.com
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Music by Colt Ball
Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

Josh, Chris, and Mark unpack Anthropic’s surprise launch of "Claude for Teachers," a free‑until‑2027 offering that immediately drew criticism from district leaders for its bottom‑up signup model, suggested student data uploads, and potentially misleading FERPA claims.
The guys cover the ripple effects of the Canvas security incident, including Instructure’s paused notifications when a third‑party vendor (Progress Software) posed a new threat, leaving districts awaiting critical breach details. They summarize newly passed AI laws in Idaho, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Virginia as well.
Join us at MidwestTechTalk
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Sponsored by:
Meter
CyberNut
Fortinet
Extreme NetworksClassLinkIncident IQ 
 
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Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)
Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!
Email us at k12techtalk@gmail.com
OR our "professional" email addy is info@k12techtalkpodcast.com
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Music by Colt Ball
Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.

Recorded live from the GAMEIS Conference in Savannah, Georgia, this episode brings you interviews and conversations with district leaders and state education technologists. Josh, Chris and Mark hang out with attendees, presenters, sponsors, and some very special guests. Highlights are community-focused sessions, family events, and record attendance.
Special Guests:
* Daniel Pollack, Checkpoint
* Allison Kensey
* Jason Malick and Vicki Decker
* Craig Dinn
* Mark Kuczka and Clint Winter
* Rick Womack
* Keith Osburn, Georgia DoE
* Brian DeRose
* 2 of 3 Wives
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Sponsored by:
Meter
CyberNut
CDWG
Fortinet
Managed Methods
NTP
 
CDWG - K12 Solutions & Services Overview Video: https://webobjects2.cdw.com/is/content/CDW/cdw/on-domain-cdw/videos/ssi/k12/mkt94999-k12-ssi-video-full-with-captions.mp4
 
CDWG - Strengthening K12 Cybersecurity: https://webobjects2.cdw.com/is/content/CDW/cdw/on-domain-cdw/videos/ssi/k12-cybersecurity/mkt94971-k12-cybersecurity-ssi-full-video-with-captions.mp4
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Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)
Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!
Email us at k12techtalk@gmail.com
OR our "professional" email addy is info@k12techtalkpodcast.com
X @k12techtalkpod
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Music by Colt Ball
Disclaimer: The views and work done by Josh, Chris, and Mark are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions or positions of sponsors or any respective employers or organizations associated with the guys. K12 Tech Talk itself does not endorse or validate the ideas, views, or statements expressed by Josh, Chris, and Mark's individual views and opinions are not representative of K12 Tech Talk. Furthermore, any references or mention of products, services, organizations, or individuals on K12 Tech Talk should not be considered as endorsements related to any employer or organization associated with the guys.