With an enormous increase in phishing scams, malware attacks, ransomware schemes, and serious data breaches, the past two years have demonstrated that a strong cybersecurity system is essential for K-12 schools just as much as it is for corporations. The lack of adequate protection can be extremely disruptive and costly: from completely shutting down school operations to exposing students’ personal records, to costing millions of taxpayer dollars to pay ransoms.
In any environment, a broken device can be a big disruption to workflow. For K-12 schools where it is less common to have the budget to keep backup laptops or tablets on-hand and ready to go, broken devices can cause wasted time and learning distractions. Proactively managing the lifecycle of classroom devices—from purchase, to maintenance, to disposal—can seem pricey or time consuming up-front but offers significant benefits in the long run. Administrators should invest in a well-defined plan to deploy and manage devices across their schools and districts so that they are not surprised with unexpected delays, expenses, or security breaches down the road.
Cyberattacks on schools and academia in general are on the rise again. According to Checkpoint Software, weekly attacks against education organizations increased 30% quarter over quarter last year compared to a 6.5% increase across other US sectors. Hackers are homing in on soft targets, and some of the hackers are coming from inside. In September 2020, a Florida teen launched “a series of DDoS attacks that helped shut down one of the nation’s largest school districts for its first three days of virtual […]
As the old adage commonly attributed to Benjamin Franklin goes, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” This nugget of wisdom especially rings true in education. This is why after the last bell rings and children file out of the halls in retreat for the summer, educators begin prepping lesson plans and district leaders begin searching for […]
For many of us, textbooks were the pivotal source of information during our time in the classroom at school. It was impossible to even think about discussing the course material each day without them. Although textbooks have not been completely phased out, their importance has greatly diminished in recent years. Textbooks are often digital nowadays and computer programs and software […]
Recent research has repeatedly shown us that a hands-on, multi-sensory learning method is the strongest way to reach students and improve overall engagement. Interactivity in technology is something that is almost expected in today’s world. We have long since moved past the days of marker whiteboards and overhead projectors. No longer are teachers required to spend time preparing flash cards […]
“Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – commonly attributed to Albert Einstein One of Albert Einstein’s most commonly attributed quotes involves the outlandish analogy of a fish climbing a tree to represent the improper merit of one’s intelligence and […]