Lisa McComsey, Author at K12USA

Protect Your Network From Hackers

Could your school district be next? Here’s how to protect your network from hackers.

Hack jobs are on the rise. Every week, it seems, we hear stories about someone infiltrating a K–12 network. Sure, you do your best to protect your network from hackers. But it’s not so simple.

Among these hackers are crafty scammers, ranging from sophisticated evildoers to casual pranksters.

Cyber criminals are the big villains—they might plant malware, hijack networks, steal identity, or seize a hard drive for ransom. Then ...

Continue Reading →

20
SEP
2016

0

Cybercrime, Security

brute force attack, Computer hackers, cyber crimes, cybercriminals, DDoS, man in the middle, network hackers, network security protection methods, protect your network from hackers, ransomware, secure your network from hackers, securing your network, social engineering, stop hackers, viruses

The Ultimate Back-to-School EdTech Checklist

Posted by: Lisa McComsey

New school year—new headaches? With the ever-changing landscape of K–12 technology (New products! New rules! New needs!), the job of an IT director can be heartburn inducing.

A little bit of planning will go a long way. To help you get organized, we’ve compiled this handy EdTech checklist, so nothing slips through the cracks as you dive into the year ahead.

Make sure your budget is up to date and that you’ve accounted for all your school’s needs.

Review your school’s ...

Continue Reading →

19
SEP
2016

0

E-Rate, Tools & Resources

back-to-school edtech checklist, E-Rate, EdTech, edtech checklist, Education Technology, K12

Get Smart About Spending Tech Dollars

Posted by: Lisa McComsey

Budgeting for next year? Here’s how to get the best bang for your buck.

There’s a lot of pressure on IT directors to find excellent products and stay within (ever-shrinking) school tech budgets. It’s a tough balancing act. But with some careful planning and not-too-painful frugality, that mission can be accomplished. Read on.

Evaluate Your Current Resources

With rapidly changing technology, staff turnover, and everyone getting lost in the daily grind, it’s easy to lose track of what’s being used ...

Continue Reading →

18
SEP
2016

0

Budget

budgeting for educational technology, school district technology budget, school tech budget, school technology budget

Everyone Says They Have “Great Customer Service.” Truth? Or Baloney?

Posted by: Lisa McComsey

World’s most-told lie? “We have great customer service.” Your due diligence will uncover the truth.

So, you just purchased an expensive system for your school. You were wowed by the product and impressed with the promise of “great customer service.”

You may even have paid for an enhanced service plan, which would surely guarantee top-notch support.

When something went wrong (as it inevitably does), you called the tech-support hotline. After punching through a phone tree, you sat on hold for a very ...

Continue Reading →

15
SEP
2016

0

Customer Service

customer service, EdTech, educational technology, great customer service, tech support

The Terrible Perils of Cyberbullying

Posted by: Lisa McComsey

No black eyes involved. But cyberbullying can have bruising, lifelong consequences. Here’s what you need to know.

Bullying used to take place on the playground or in school hallways: an insult here, a shove there, the occasional black eye. Now there’s a new threat in town: cyberbullying.

This behavior plays out online—in emails and text messages; and on websites, blogs, and social-media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Cyberbullying can happen at home or at school. It occurs more ...

Continue Reading →

12
SEP
2016

2

Student Safety

cyberbully, cyberbullying, cyberbullying victim

How Students Bypass School Internet Filters and What You Can Do About It

Posted by: Lisa McComsey

Savvy students can bypass school Internet filters to access prohibited info. What can you do? Plenty.

We’ve promoted our SecureSchool Internet filter on Google AdWords, and we’re (perhaps naively) surprised to find that many searchers are looking not for school Internet filters—but for ways to bypass those filters.

Go ahead: Google “how to bypass school Internet filters,” and you’ll find a slew of results devoted to this topic.

With kids so technologically astute nowadays, it’s becoming more and more ...

Continue Reading →

8
SEP
2016

1

Security

bypass internet filters, bypass school filter, bypass wifi restrictions, get past school filters, how students bypass school internet filters

The Pleasures and Perils of BYOD – Part II: The Perils

Posted by: Lisa McComsey

The popularity of “bring your own device” is growing. But have you considered the disadvantages of BYOD?

BYOD (bring your own device) has caught on like wildfire, and K–12 schools throughout the country (and world) are madly adopting it. The benefits are many (see our rundown in Part I of the Pleasures and Perils of BYOD).

However, BYOD is not all a bed of roses. Beware the challenges you may face—and prepare to meet them head on with these ...

Continue Reading →

6
SEP
2016

0

BYOD

advantages and disadvantages of byod, advantages and disadvantages of byod in schools, advantages vs. disadvantages of byod, cons of byod, disadvantages of byod, downside of byod, pros and cons of byod

The Pleasures and Perils of BYOD – Part I: The Pleasures

Posted by: Lisa McComsey

What are the benefits of BYOD in K–12 Schools?

Over the past few years, BYOD (bring your own device) has exploded in the K–12 classroom. Most high schools, middle schools, and even elementary schools have hopped on the BYOD bandwagon.

With the proliferation of personal gadgets, downsizing of IT budgets, and sheer impracticality (and expense) of issuing devices to every student, the momentum appears unstoppable.

Where mobile phones, tablets, and the like were once prohibited in schools, they’re now embraced ...

Continue Reading →

4
SEP
2016

0

BYOD

advantages and disadvantages of byod, advantages and disadvantages of byod in schools, advantages of byod, benefits of byod, benefits of byod in schools, byod, byod in schools, pros and cons of byod

Tech Support Often Gets a Bad Rap. Is it Deserved?

Posted by: Lisa McComsey

These days, lousy tech support is not only accepted, it’s expected. How to find the “good guys.”

A new thread was recently posted on one of the IT forums we follow. The topic was, “How have you resolved a problem when (Big-Name Tech Company) is non-responsive?”

Answers ranged from a suggestion to fib to customer support—pretend you’re interested in buying a product, then subtly ask the rep for help with your issue—to an outright diss: “Industry-worst customer service.”

The one that took ...

Continue Reading →

1
SEP
2016

0

Customer Service

bad tech support, find good tech support, finding good tech support, good tech support, how to find good tech support, how to find reliable tech support, reliable tech support