K12 Tech Talk

Episode 247 - Senate Hearing on Screen Time

On this episode we talk about free certifications, Google Gemini updates, and updates to Microsoft’s Copilot Teach and Study & Learn Agents. We discuss SSL certificate lifetime changes and ACME automation. Finally, we unpack and react to last week’s Senate hearing on screen time led by Senator Ted Cruz - including perspectives from Dr. Jean Twenge and Senator Markey.
Senate Hearing on Screen Time:https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/lawmakers-hold-hearing-on-the-impact-of-screen-time-on-kids/671683
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Rise Vision
Interactive Digital Signage Templates + Touchscreen Displays
Screen Sharing
Emergency Alerts 
Lightspeed Systems
 
Meter - meter.com/k12techtalkVisit meter.com/k12techtalk to book a demo!
 
NTP - dwren@ntp-inc.com
Extreme Networks - dmayer@extremenetworks.com
Fortinet - fortinetpodcast@fortinet.com
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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 246 - Monkeys in St. Louis & Frustrations in Denver

Hosts Josh, Chris, and Mark unpack a week of wild headlines and K12 tech policy: viral AI images that complicated a search for wild vervet monkeys in St. Louis, Denver Public Schools’ decision to block ChatGPT for students, and a preview of a Senate hearing on kids and screen time.
They discuss a Texas district fighting state regulators over bell‑to‑bell phone bans, cybersecurity warnings about teen recruitment by criminal hacking groups, and district‑level debates over academic integrity, AI pilots (including Gemini), and practical controls schools need before adopting consumer‑grade LLMs.
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Sponsored by:
Rise Vision
Interactive Digital Signage Templates + Touchscreen Displays
Screen Sharing
Emergency Alerts 
VIZOR
 
Meter - meter.com/k12techtalkVisit meter.com/k12techtalk to book a demo!
 
Managed Methods
 
Incident IQ
 
Fortinet - fortinetpodcast@fortinet.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 245 - New Year, New Cyber Attacks

And we're back! We discuss the New Year spike in cyber attacks on schools over the holiday break and practical strategies for vacation periods - automated alerting, third‑party monitoring, suspending or shutting down non‑critical services.
Other topics include what to look for when hiring technician, the rise of remote psycho-educational testing, early findings from the E‑Rate cybersecurity pilot, vendor liability caps in data privacy agreements, and a listener email about student account compromises from downloaded apps and VPNs.
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Meter - meter.com/k12techtalk
Visit meter.com/k12techtalk to book a demo!
 
Rise Vision - Interactive Digital Signage Templates + Touchscreen Displays
ClassLink
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Fortinet - fortinetpodcast@fortinet.com
NTP - dwren@ntp-inc.com
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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.

Episode 244 - 2025 Recap and 2026 Predictions!

Josh, Chris, and Mark close out the year on Episode 244 with a fast-paced, candid recap: reviewing last year’s predictions, unpacking the biggest 2025 themes, and making bold calls for 2026. Chris shares a story about Missouri-flavored smoked ribs and a district core switch outage.
Key topics include the mainstreaming of AI in K12, vendor security scrutiny (PowerSchool and Infinite Campus MFA), continued funding uncertainty, device cost, student data privacy, and looming screentime debates.
The hosts share practical takeaways and predictions for 2026! AI, screentime, vendor accountability, tighter budgeting, and more!!!
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Managed Methods - managedmethods.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 243 - Screens & Smart Glasses

Josh, Chris, and Mark discuss students and screen time - including Australia’s ban on social media accounts for under 16, a NTIA listening session on excessive screen time in schools, and proposed Missouri legislation limiting K‑5 screen use and tech‑required homework. They dig into enforcement and equity concerns, district reporting and instructional use of devices, and the tension between digital literacy and reduced screen exposure.
The main topic is on the rising issue of wearable smart glasses (Meta/Ray Ban) on campus - privacy, covert recording risks, policy implications, and how districts might respond.
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Meter - meter.com/k12techtalk
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NTP - dwren@ntp-inc.com
Fortinet - fortinetpodcast@fortinet.com
Managed Methods - managedmethods.com
 
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Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!
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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 242 - ChatGPT Stumbles into K-12 Classrooms

Episode 242 digs into the messy rollout of ChatGPT for Teachers and what it means for districts. We discuss the first‑in admin problem, educator verification (pay‑stub/DNS issues), SSO/SAML concerns, the 18‑month trial/pricing uncertainty, and whether OpenAI rushed the launch to capture market share.
We also cover recent news: the FTC’s action against Illuminate over a 2021 data breach and the Department of Education’s tentative agreements to shift programs to other federal agencies. Plus Jeff from VIZOR joins to explain asset and device management features, repair workflows, and budgeting/ROI.
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Meter - meter.com/k12techtalk
Visit meter.com/k12techtalk to book a demo!
 
Extreme Networks - dmayer@extremenetworks.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 241 - Free ChatGPT for Teachers and Snitch Boxes

Episode 241 covers ChatGPT’s new free teacher tier (available through June 2027), Google’s Gemini 3.0 release, and Wired’s investigation into bathroom vape detectors (aka “snitch boxes”) that raise serious privacy and microphone concerns.
The guys also discuss the Canadian Privacy Commissioner’s findings on the PowerSchool breach, camera and sensor policy questions, and a tip to reduce calendar‑invite spam in Google and Microsoft environments.
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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.

Episode 240 - Block TPT? And an Interview with Joey Wender, SHLB

On this episode of K12 Tech Talk, we cover a busy week in school tech: Linewize and Google outages, handling suspicious Google logins, parental pushes to tighten cell phone rules, and worries about AI being used to draft IEPs and 504 plans. We discuss reports of malware tied to Teachers Pay Teachers and discuss the question - Should schools block Teachers Pay Teachers? 
Guest Joey Wender from the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB) joins to break down the Supreme Court ruling preserving the Universal Service Fund/E‑Rate, the future of E‑Rate funding, cybersecurity pilots, school bus Wi‑Fi and what these changes mean for district planning and broadband equity.
Our new Swag Store is OPEN - Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!
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Lumu
VIZOR
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Extreme Networks
Fortinet
Lightspeed Systems
--------------------
Join the K12TechPro Community (exclusively for K12 Tech professionals)
Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!!
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OR our "professional" email addy is info@k12techtalkpodcast.com
Call us at 314-329-0363
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.