This Friday, November 8th, my colleague Diana Benner and I will get a chance to present on the following three topics at the TCEA SysAdmin event being held in Georgetown, Tx. You can find out more registration information online…the event runs for two days, November 7th and 8th.

About the Event

Find out more about the event using the links above. Here’s a quick overview:

To us, it’s clear that what you do is crucial to maintaining high-quality, tech-focused education. As a vital part of the team working to improve students’ classrooms, it’s important that you have access to the training, resources, and support that you need, too. This one-of-a-kind, two-day conference brings together hundreds of CTOs, IT directors, network specialists, technology coordinators, network administrators, technology support specialists, and others in similar roles at the Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel & Conference Center to connect on a multitude of relevant and critical topics in educational IT.

That’s why TCEA created our System Administrator and Technical Support Conference (SysAdmin). It’s the conference just for you – the professionals who provide hardware, software, network, and infrastructure support in PreK-16 settings. At SysAdmin, you’ll discuss and learn about topics like software, device and network management, tech support, cybersecurity and internet safety, and so much more, all with other tech professionals just like you.

SysAdmin completely sold out last year, so make sure to secure your spot today!

My Role at SysAdmin

As a presenter, I’m looking forward to the event to showcase three areas:

• AI-Powered Planning: Discover how to leverage AI to analyze and optimize your technology and network plans. This session will explore using custom GPT models to assess disaster recovery, cybersafety, and network architecture strategies, ensuring robust and efficient systems.
• **TCEA PROTECT Privacy: **Learn how to safeguard student data privacy with TCEA’s PROTECT rubric. This session provides K-12 technology leaders with a practical framework to evaluate and implement privacy-conscious edtech tools, ensuring compliance with regulations like FERPA and COPPA while maintaining transparency and security.
• Responsible AI Adoption: Explore the Five Phases of District AI Adoption to responsibly integrate AI into your school system. This session provides a roadmap for K-12 technology leaders, guiding them through secure, phased AI implementation that aligns with district policies, curriculum integration, and community outreach.

Teaser Preso

“We need more storage on the server?” asked the district’s network engineer. He reached into a cardboard box. It contained the second-hand hard drives. These donations had come from the nearby Air Force base in years past. Appalled, I did my best to not scoff at his approach to upgrades. He smiled, an apology in his voice. “I haven’t been given much of an equipment budget.” At that moment, I knew what I needed to do to ensure success in my district: I would need to focus on the equipment replacement plan. Many districts put it aside until it’s a budget-devouring behemoth. Let’s take a look at one approach I took as a technology director to ensure campuses had needed technology that avoided upgrading from donated equipment.

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Three Project Management Tips and a De-Implementation Process

Wish you could solve problems through projects and initiatives? Looking for a process that will prevent “misfit projects” that die out quickly or continue moving forward even though they shouldn’t? You can put new processes in place to save you time, money, and effort. Whether you are at the campus or district level, your project management will reflect on you. Here are three tips to make the job easier.

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