HelpTank

With cybersecurity a ballooning top concern for ed tech leaders, the severity and scope of K-12 cyberattacks is also growing. Districts are also sorting through a time when school officials remain on high alert. School safety protocols vulnerable to cyberthreats can include building maps, evacuation plans, security camera layouts, network architecture and more.  Should these plans leak to the public following a cyberattack, there are strategies districts can use to avoid or better handle such a situation. We spoke with school safety and K-12 cybersecurity experts, who shared the fol..

With little progress on gun control measures in Congress, some envision next-generation weapons detection technologies as a potential deterrent to mass shootings. Why it matters: In theory, if authorities could use artificial intelligence to spot guns or identify potential shooters earlier, they might be able to head off gun violence like the school massacres in Uvalde, Texas, Oxford, Mich., and Parkland, Fla. Yes, but: Critics say AI surveillance systems aren't effective, and they worry about other issues, including the technology's record of bias, particularly against people of co..

A new threat report from data security firm CrowdStrike found that criminals engaging in intrusion into information systems are getting much more efficient at what they do. It also found that intrusions into academic systems are soaring. The report, Nowhere To Hide, 2021 Threat Hunting Report: Insights from the CrowdStrike Falcon OverWatch Team, found that, on the efficiency side, it takes an intruder significantly less time to begin moving into other systems on the network once they've made the initial breach — now just 1 hour and 32 minutes, down from four hours and 37 minutes in the prev..

By Kevin E. Baird Meta-analyst Dr. John Hattie, whose work on “visible learning” draws from one of the largest sets of research data ever assembled, asks the simple question, “What makes the biggest difference in educational outcomes?” Year after year, the findings are the same. Teachers’ self-confidence ranks at the very top of the highest-impact factors for learning. The idea for a book I co-wrote, Whole: What Teachers Need to Help Students Thrive, began with a provocative finding: teachers are the fourth-most stressed occupation in the United States. According to Gallup, more than one..

  What does it mean to use technology in the classroom? Students are digital natives. They’ve grown up with technology; it’s woven into their lives. In fact, it’s one of the basic 21st century skills that they’ll need in school and the workplace. But using computer technology in the classroom isn’t just about digital devices in class — it relates to anything that facilitates an interaction between teacher and student. Classroom engagement is at an all-time low and lecturers are competing against countless diversions from phones, tablets and laptops. Technology in schools could be se..

One thing we do know is coming over the course of 2019 is the U.S.-wide rollout of 5G technology.7 This is great news if your campus Wi-Fi network is starting to groan under the strain of hundreds of connected phones, tablets, laptops, and now (thanks to the Internet of Things) watches, vending machines, toasters and so on. 5G, which is in the early stages of implementation, is a new mobile spectrum meant to replace 4G/LTE, and it has two aims relevant to technology in education: it will be more robust for connecting large numbers of devices, and work equally well inside and outside of buil..

Findings In the early 1970s, in the wake of the civil rights movement, educators were faced with a social dilemma that had no obvious solution. All over the country, well-intentioned efforts to desegregate America's public schools were leading to serious problems. Ethnic minority children, most of whom had previously attended severely under-funded schools, found themselves in classrooms composed predominantly of more privileged White children. This created a situation in which students from affluent backgrounds often shone brilliantly while students from impoverished backgrounds often s..

By Dian Schaffhauser 11/01/18   An Illinois school district has tapped into "big data" analytics through a subscription model to help improve student outcomes. Meridian School District #223 is working with Qlik Analytics from the Copley Consulting Group. Previously, Meridian used a manual process to analyze district data and monitor school performance, but according to the school system, that wasn't delivering the desired results. Now, the district is paying $20 per student per year for access to the Qlik business intelligence and data analytics platform, which provides "g..

By Sara Friedman 09/18/18 Some schools might have a problem on their hands when it comes to the use of educational technology and the need to protect student privacy, according to an alert issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The alert warns schools that the widespread collection of student data could have privacy and safety implications if the information is compromised or exploited. The FBI recommends the following for parents and families: Research existing student and child privacy protections of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, the Protection of Pu..

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Wisconsin schools bracing for the next mass shooting are turning to gunshot-detecting sensors that police across the country rely on, hoping the technology will lead to faster response times when there's an active shooter.   Halting Gang Violence in the Heartland The sensors are among various security upgrades schools are rolling out when classes resume this fall, using grants Wisconsin state lawmakers approved this year after the shootings in Parkland, Florida. Since then, the number of schools around the country expressing interest in ..