Professional Development

You asked, NIESC is delivering:  Join us for a 45 minute preview of IncidentIQ, the all-inclusive helpdesk, asset management and customized self-help knowledge base for your parents, students, staff and techs!  Learn how area schools are using the tools and decreasing the number of requests and response times at their district.

Thursday, December 15th   10:30am EST  9:30am CST  

IncidentIQ PDF

IncidentIQ Website


School Cybersecurity Overview with Center for Internet Security
 
Tues. Jan 17th
10am EST / 9am CST
 
Virtual or in-person

With Cybersecurity threats targeting schools, it is important to make sure school districts are improving their cybersecurity posture. Join us for a 2 hour session that can send you on an intentional path, learning how to navigate the free resources available to each of our schools.  We will provide a high level overview of the following:

  • MS-ISAC: No cost services overview.
  • NCSR: The NCSR is our cybersecurity maturity self-assessment. We will go over the assessment’s uses and how to leverage your org’s report: 
  • Workbench Platform: Take a deep dive in how to use our platform that houses our CIS Benchmarks and Controls with a FSS team member.


Digitize District Forms with
Google Templates

Join  Darlene Kennedy in The Learning Lab as she guides you through quick setup & creation of digitizing your common district forms and making them accessible to staff through Google Doc Templates.  How nice would it be to get rid of paper submission & handling for the common forms:
  • Bus/Transportation Request
  • Field Trip Requests
  • App approval for students/staff
  • Special Use / Checkout Requests

January 24th - 2pm - 3pm EST
Indiana STEM Education Conference

E-RATE 2023 Admin Window Open

The administrative window is the period during which applicants can make updates to their entity profile information in EPC to prepare for the upcoming FCC Form 471 application filing window. The administrative window opens Tuesday, October 25 and will close shortly before the FY2023 application filing window opens early in 2023 when applicant entity profiles will be locked.  Here are a few things to think about:

  • Update Category Two Student Counts
  • Need to add an entity? Do it now.
  • Have RAL modifications or appeals for FY2022 applications? Submit those before you update your EPC profiles.
  • Are you a small school district (ten or fewer schools)? Consider reporting your student counts for Category Two (C2) budget purposes on a school-by-school basis.
  • Are you an independent school with only part-time students? You can count those students as full-time.
  • Are any of the schools in your school district showing zero students? Make sure they can still count toward your C2 budget calculation.

Need more information on updating entity profiles? Attend our EPC Administrative Window webinar.  The EPC Administrative Window webinar (October 27) will include additional information on recent changes to EPC entity profiles for FY2023. You can also open a customer service case in EPC or call CSC at (888) 203-8100.  Check website for recording.

Tech Purchasing
 

Train Your Tech Staff with Stormwind!

For the 3rd year in a row, we are partnering with Stormwind to offer steep discounts on user licenses.  Attend unlimited live classes from the comfort of your own office or watch the recordings anytime! Gain access to over 150+ Industry-standard courses with a 12-month license per user with our service center discounted pricing. 


Our Indiana ESCs are working together to develop partnerships with a wide variety of organizations to support the needs of our member districts. The value brought to our members includes savings in both purchasing cost and employee time, which equates to even greater cost savings.

FROM THE IDOE

REMINDER: STN & SPN Transition to State Ed-ID Portal: IDOE is excited to announce Ed-ID, a new system for generating IDs for students and educators. Ed-ID will provide IDs to educators from early childhood settings through secondary settings. This new approach will allow more versatility for the generation and use of IDs across a variety of state agencies involved in student learning and will improve the management of these IDs through a centralized service. The transition will begin on Wednesday, December 14, with the new Ed-ID portal up and running shortly afterwards. IDOE expects the upgrade to take one week to 10 days and will communicate when the new Ed-ID portal is available for use. More information may be found in this memo

REMINDER: Data Exchange Upgrade Planned for 2024: Data Exchange (DEX) will be moving to Ed-Fi ODS/API for Suite 3 v6.0 (Data Standard for Suite 3 v4.0a) for the 2023-2024 school year. Contact IDOE's Data Exchange Team with any questions.

Update G-Suite / Microsoft Credentials in IDOE LINK Portal for Form 9: IDOE has modernized the Form 9 Financial Data system utilizing newer technologies. Please read this memo regarding the update. As a part of this upgrade, IDOE will release the new Form 9 system within the IDOE LINK Portal, which recognizes all local schools' Google G-Suite or Microsoft credentials. This increased security means that financial staff will no longer need an IDOE username/password for this site. 

ILEARN, IREAD-3, and I AM: Secure Browser Updated for Chromebooks: Cambium Assessment, Inc. (CAI) and Google released an updated Secure Browser on Saturday, October 29, to resolve an issue wherein the Secure Browser was not loading or initializing on ChromeOS devices. Please use the Google Admin console to ensure this update (v. 8.0.0.1) has been installed on all testing devices. CAI and the Indiana Department of Education appreciate the educational community’s patience as we work to ensure optimal system performance. Contact the Indiana Assessment Help Desk with any questions.

NEW: 2023-2024 Course Titles and Descriptions Now Available: The 2023-2024 Course Titles and Descriptions provide important guidance as school leaders prepare their school’s course and content offerings for the upcoming year. In addition to core content and general elective course updates, the 2023-2024 Course Titles and Descriptions include updates specific to career and technical education course offerings as transitions occur for the Next Level Programs of Study (NLPS).

2022-2023 Digital Learning Parent and Family Support Grant: Applications for the 2022-2023 Digital Learning Parent and Family Support Grant are now open. The grant allows a school or corporation to design a plan to support parents with topics related to educational technology and blended/virtual learning environments. The grant application window will be open until 5 p.m. ET on Friday, December 2. See this memo for additional information. A recording of the grant support session is now available in the Learning Lab.

NEW FROM THE COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION (CSTA): Reserve Your Spot for CSPDWeek 2023: Indiana is proud to announce we are now accepting initial applications for Indiana CSPDWeek brought to you by the national CSTA, the Indiana CSTA Chapter, Nextech, and IDOE. Save the date for June 26 to 30, 2023 where hundreds of Indiana K-12 teachers will come together to learn, network, and create community on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington. Learn more and indicate your interest here. Contact Stephanie Zircher with questions.

 
Tech Study Councils

STEM EDUCATOR NETWORK 

Sign up today to join this NEW developing network of STEM focused educators to share resources, discuss state-wide initiatives and meet professionals from area districts.  This fall we will develop meeting format, dates/times and contacts.  

Northern Indiana Tech Coach Network

Are you a Digital / EdTech Coach in your district who is looking to create a collaborative network of professionals that are responsible for digital integration in the classroom?  Sign-up to be part of our NEW Northern Indiana EdTech Network that will carve out time to collaborate on effective practices empowering today's classroom teacher.  You don't have to do it all alone...don't miss out on the first meeting coming this fall!
 
Next Meeting: December 9th @ River Forest Schools

NORTHERN INDIANA TECH LEADERS  
 
Gathering Technology Directors from the North & Northwest area to focus on the challenges presented to school technology leaders and discuss solutions directly impacting education.  
 
2022-23 Meeting Dates / Locations 9:30am EST
Dec 9th: River Forest Community School Corp
Jan 13th: Elkhart Community Schools
Feb 10th: Wa-Nee Schools
Mar 10th: John Glenn School Corp
May 12th: Concord Schools
Jun 16th: Summer Cookout @ Plymouth Middle School
 
NEISSC Tech Study Council (Northeast Indiana Area) meeting information can be found here

NORTHERN INDIANA NETWORK ADMINS
Gathering school network administrators to chat about challenges schools face with providing a stable, reliable network in the ever-changing environment of school technology.  
 
2022-23 Meeting Dates:
Nov 15, Dec 13, Jan 10,
Feb 14, Mar 14, Apr 11, May 9
June 16th: Summer Tech Cookout
 

CYBERSECURITY PLANNING TEAM
Interested in staying up to date on school cybersecurity tools, in-depth discussions on protecting schools from external and internal threats, and available resources?  Join our monthly cybersecurity roundtable, where we gather virtually to discuss the impact of insurance requirements, policy updates and more! 
 
2022-23 Meeting Dates
Nov 15, Dec 13, Jan 10,
Feb 14, Mar 14, Apr 11, May 9
 

SCHOOL STATE REPORTER NETWORK
Calling all State Reporters to this newly formed study council that meets virtually every Tuesday morning to discuss the state reports due, error rectification and chat up those who use the same SIS.  Whether you are new to the position or have been around for years, this group has found most value in "I am not the only one who..."   
2022-23 Meeting Dates
Every Tuesday  @ 9:30am EST
 
SPECIAL NOTE: There will be a special session at the HECC Conference on Friday, November 11th at 9:45 in Victoria Station AB for all State Reporters Meet & Greet / Round Table Discussion.  Come make new friends and chat about your role as a State Reporter.

Darlene Kennedy

Director of Technology Integration

NIESC & NWIESC

Email:  dkennedy@niesc.k12.in.us

Phone: (574) 254-0111 ext 104

56535 Magnetic Drive
Mishawaka, IN 46545

 

Phone: (574) 254-0111
www.niesc.org

www.nwiesc.k12.in.us

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