K12 Tech Talk

Dr. Richard Charles, Denver Public Schools CIO and PhD mathematician leading the district’s AI governance. He explains Denver’s ChatGPT block over privacy and safety, the procurement and vendor criteria they put in place, plans for an AI whitelist, and district AI projects like knowledge management and vendor partnerships.

Explore the latest updates on free educator certifications from Google and Microsoft, including exciting AI tools. Discover insights on SSL certificate management and innovative uses for digital signage. Delve into the recent Senate hearing on screen time, where experts debate the effects of devices on children and the importance of distinction between educational tech and social media. Hear perspectives on policy critiques and the need for balanced tech integration in schools.

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. ———— Sponsored by: Rise Vision Interactive Digital Signage Templates + Touchscreen Displays Screen Sharing Emergency Alerts  VIZOR   Meter - meter.com/k12techtalk Visit meter.com/k12techtalk to book a demo!   Managed Methods   Incident IQ   Fortinet - fortinetpodcast@fortinet.com ———— 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 Facebook Visit our LinkedIn 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.

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. ———— Sponsored by: Meter - meter.com/k12techtalk Visit meter.com/k12techtalk to book a demo!   Rise Vision - Interactive Digital Signage Templates + Touchscreen Displays ClassLink Lightspeed Fortinet - fortinetpodcast@fortinet.com NTP - dwren@ntp-inc.com ———— 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 Facebook Visit our LinkedIn 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 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!!! ———— Sponsored by: Meter - meter.com/k12techtalk Visit meter.com/k12techtalk to book a demo!   NTP - dwren@ntp-inc.com VIZOR Lightspeed Fortinet - fortinetpodcast@fortinet.com Managed Methods - managedmethods.com   ———— 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 Call us at 314-329-0363 X @k12techtalkpod Facebook Visit our LinkedIn 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 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. ———— Sponsored by: Meter - meter.com/k12techtalk Visit meter.com/k12techtalk to book a demo!   NTP - dwren@ntp-inc.com Fortinet - fortinetpodcast@fortinet.com Managed Methods - managedmethods.com   ———— 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 Call us at 314-329-0363 X @k12techtalkpod Facebook Visit our LinkedIn 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 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. ———— Sponsored by: Meter - meter.com/k12techtalk Visit meter.com/k12techtalk to book a demo!   Extreme Networks - dmayer@extremenetworks.com Fortinet - fortinetpodcast@fortinet.com Lightspeed - lightspeedsystems.com VIZOR - vizor.cloud/k12techtalk   ———— 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 Call us at 314-329-0363 X @k12techtalkpod Facebook Visit our LinkedIn 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 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. Our new Swag Store is OPEN - Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!! -------------------- VIZOR ChromebookParts.com YouTube Channel NTP Fortinet Managed Methods -------------------- 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 Call us at 314-329-0363 X @k12techtalkpod Facebook Visit our LinkedIn 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.

Joey Wender, Executive Director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB), brings a wealth of telecom and tech policy experience to the conversation. They dive into the Supreme Court's ruling on the Universal Service Fund, discussing the future of E-Rate funding and its transformative impact on broadband in schools. Wender addresses concerns about cybersecurity pilots and the implications of recent policy changes for district planning. They also touch on the challenges faced by schools regarding the security of platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers.

Join Josh and Mark on this week’s K‑12 Tech Talk as they break down the real-world effects of the federal government shutdown on schools, walk through a new federal AI bill (the GARD Act) and discuss major service outages that disrupted classrooms — including Chromebook/Google login problems, recent AWS and Entra incidents, and how districts should respond. Topics include the shutdown’s impact on SNAP, Head Start and school nutrition programs, proposed age‑verification and disclosure rules for AI chatbots, Character.ai’s under‑18 ban, Jamf’s acquisition by Francisco Partners, and practical outage response tactics (status checks, communications, and redundancy thresholds). Expect hands‑on advice about managing departed staff accounts and shared Drive ownership, recommended tools and resources, plus sponsor shoutouts and listener contact info. A concise, actionable episode for district tech leaders and educators navigating policy, reliability, and student safety. Our new Swag Store is OPEN - Buy some swag (tech dept gift boxes, shirts, hoodies...)!!! -------------------- NTP Lumu ChromebookParts.com YouTube Channel Jurassic Parts with ChromebookParts.com Extreme Networks Fortinet Managed Methods -------------------- 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 Call us at 314-329-0363 X @k12techtalkpod Facebook Visit our LinkedIn 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.