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Your Monthly Update from CNYRIC Administration

PROMINENT TOPICS

The Consortium for School Networking released the Driving K-12 Innovation Report to help guide district strategic planning for 2025 and beyond. You can review some of the highlights below:

Biggest Challenges:

• Attracting and keeping educators and information technology professionals due to low pay, burnout, and competition.
• Adapting education to accommodate new methods.
• Ensuring all students have equal access to technology and digital learning.

Biggest Opportunities:

• Giving students more control over their education.
• Investing in professional development for all staff.
• Rethinking how we assess student learning.

Key Technologies:

• Using artificial intelligence (AI) ethically in order to personalize learning and help teachers, while also teaching AI literacy.
• Using analytics and adaptive technology to customize learning.
• Ensuring reliable internet access for all.

Important Themes:

• Ethical innovation.
• Personalized learning.
• Future of work.
• Critical media literacy.

Remember:

• These challenges aren't new; they need ongoing work.
• Focus on human needs when innovating.
• Collaborate inside and outside the district.
• Keep your educational vision in mind when using tech.

PROVIDE LEADERSHIP, ASSISTANCE, AND RESOURCES TO ENHANCE DISTRICTS’ DATA ECOSYSTEMS IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND STATE PRIORITIES

At the CNY Tech Collaborative held on March 21, 2025, several exciting updates and upcoming features for SchoolTool were presented by CNYRIC employees: 

• Systems Consultant Kelly Covert provided insights into how to provision accounts for the SchoolTool Base Dashboards within Advanced Analytics. 
• Supervisor of Data Analysis Services Lori DeForest previewed key features from the upcoming SchoolTool 22.2 R3 release, which launched on April 1, 2025, and includes the new option to disable local logins when using single sign-on capabilities in SchoolTool. 
• Systems Consultant Brenda Wiseth introduced a valuable new feature in the CNYRIC-designed Attendance Marking Period Tallies Report, which allows schools to export student attendance rates and contact information for use in mail merges for attendance letters. 

Additionally, registration details and key topics for the upcoming Spring CNYRIC-Mindex SchoolTool User Group meeting were also highlighted. The user group is scheduled for April 30, 2025.

PROVIDE LEADERSHIP, ASSISTANCE, AND RESOURCES TO ENHANCE DISTRICTS’ SECURITY POSTURE IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND STATE PRIORITIES

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) continues to observe phishing attacks whereby perpetrators pose as NYSED to collect credentials and other confidential information. These emails contain information from SEDREF, and prompt the recipient to click on a link for verification. This link directs users to a fraudulent NYSED website that requests personal information. This type of attack was reviewed at the most recent Data Privacy and Security Service meeting, and awareness information was provided to data protection officers.

PROVIDE LEADERSHIP, ASSISTANCE, AND RESOURCES TO ENHANCE DISTRICTS’ TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEMS IN SUPPORT OF LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND STATE PRIORITIES

The CNYRIC is continuing to explore the managed defense response and email security markets. We recently presented findings and trends in these markets, and explored available solutions at the Central New York Directors of Technology meeting. Managed defense response provides a 24/7/365 security solution that takes action on cyber threats. Email security products manage spam/phishing, email encryption, and data loss prevention.

IN THIS SECTION, WE WILL PROVIDE SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN DISCUSSING TECHNOLOGY WITH YOUR DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY.

April’s focus will be on patch management:

Q: Can you provide an overview of our current patch management solution, including the frequency of patching, the systems covered, and the tools we utilize? Specifically, how are we prioritizing critical security updates?

Q: How do we ensure that all devices, including those used by staff and students, are consistently patched?

Q: How are we incorporating "Internet of Things" devices into the patching process? Specifically, physical security devices like security cameras?

Q: How do we stay informed about emerging vulnerabilities and security threats, and how quickly can we deploy critical patches in response to these threats?

Q: What are the costs associated with our current patch management strategy, including software, personnel, and potential downtime, and how can we optimize these costs while maintaining a strong security posture?