Name: Arizona Virtual CIO/CTO Forum 2020
Start: 2020-10-27T08:00

Overview

This year’s Arizona CIO/CTO Forum was digital! The forum was held in a virtual format over the course of two days. This event is designed to specifically address the unique interests and needs of Arizona’s K-12 educational IT community. Be part of a thoughtful networking and professional development opportunity that is designed for CIOs, CTOs, instructional technology leaders and their teams from around the state.

The forum is hosted by the Center for Digital Education, a national research and advisory institute specializing in K-12 education technology trends, policy and practices.

A message from our Keynote Speaker

CDE’s Arizona Education CIO/CTO Forum is the only event that’s “by us and for us.” The original event was founded by AZ school tech directors thirteen years ago, and to this day a steering committee of these individuals determines the scope and focus of the event. In light of the recent pandemic, this year we will host our first ever virtual Forum! The event will explore topics that are relevant to our current climate. Some examples include: how districts are quickly and effectively scaling online learning and also ensuring connectivity for all families, as well as how districts are supporting teachers and staff through expanded professional development. We can’t wait to gather virtually for two days of sharing and learning!

– Matt Federoff, Chief Information Officer, Vail School District

Speakers

Mark Breen

President, AzTEA

Mark Breen serves as the director of technology for the Vail School District where he helps to oversee and implement technology initiatives in the district. He further oversees the technical side of the district’s Beyond Textbooks program – an online curriculum program where educators across Arizona, Alaska, California, Idaho, Kentucky and Wyoming are coming together “digitally” to improve education. Mark also works closely with teachers and leaders to integrate computer science and computational thinking into the classroom and serves on the CSforAZ Task Force. He was awarded the AzTEA Technology Director of the Year award in 2015 and was recently named as a 2020 Leader to Learn From by Education Week for his work in improving technology in education. Mark also serves as president for the Arizona Technology in Education Association (an ISTE affiliate).

Dan Thurmon

Author, Peak Performance Coach and Hall of Fame Speaker

Dan Thurmon is the founder and president of Motivation Works, a company that helps leaders and their organizations move confidently through change and transformation so that they achieve and contribute MORE. Dan is an expert speaker and performer. He has delivered thousands of presentations across six continents for audiences including world leaders, Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, educators and even troops on the front lines of battle. In 2011, he was inducted into the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame. Dan recently served as president of the National Speakers Association. During his tenure, he led the Board of Directors and the 3,000+ member organization through a critical transformation, which included new governance, a new mission, higher member value and greater financial accountability. He’s authored two books: Success in Action and Off Balance On Purpose. Dan produces an ongoing weekly video coaching series and podcast in which he shares leadership principles and life-enhancement strategies in under three minutes. He is a health and fitness advocate. In his 50s, Dan continues to train and perform advanced acrobatics and enjoys hobbies such as golf, mountain unicycling and the flying trapeze.

Jeff Anderson

Chief Executive Officer and President, Audio Enhancement

As CEO and president of Audio Enhancement, Jeff Anderson is leading the company to develop and deliver technology solutions to enhance interactions and empower learning. Best known for his authenticity, values and personal belief that all students and teachers can be successful with the right environment, Jeff has spent the past 25 years building partnerships in education and researching next-generation technologies to advance his mission and company. Audio Enhancement’s products serve over a million students across the United States. Jeff received his bachelor’s degree in Economics, Business and Spanish from Brigham Young University.

Jeff Billings

IT Director, Paradise Valley Unified School District

Jeff Billings holds a BS and MBA, operating his own environmental consulting firm for 16 years, wherein he developed and licensed four U.S. patents and one German patent for the bioremediation of hazardous waste. For the last 20 years, he has had the honor to serve as the director of information technology for Paradise Valley Unified District. During this tenure, he served on the Arizona Data Governance Commission, has been an expert to the Arizona legislature and a consultant to the Arizona Superintendent for Public Education. He currently serves at the national level on Cisco’s and Google’s K12 advisory councils.

Leo Brehm

Product Manager, ENA/CatchOn

Leo Brehm is a career school CIO for public schools, serving education for over 22 years. He has supported education in a variety of roles, including a technology support specialist, instructional technology specialist, network administrator, director of technology, CIO/CTO and adjunct professor in four districts and a higher education institution. He spent most of his career as CIO/CTO with the Sharon and Newton Public Schools in Massachusetts. As a product manager, Leo is actively involved in the design and development of CatchOn; he is leading the development of CatchOn’s learning analytics platform.

Oceana Covington

Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District

Oceana Covington is a graduating junior at Paradise Valley High School and has been involved in WIT for two years. Through WIT, she has been involved with CyberPatriots and presentations at several conference (AZ CIO/CTO, ASU Unconference 2019), as well as taking professional certification tests. Outside of computer science and cyber security, she enjoys adventuring in the outdoors, learning languages and fostering kittens.

Josh Douglas

Vice President of Product Management, Mimecast

Josh Douglas joined Mimecast in 2019 after a stint as chief information security officer for TRC Companies Inc. He has two decades of experience in helping global organizations secure their most prized business/mission assets.

Janice Dwosh

CyberPatriots and Women and Information Technology Advisor, Paradise Valley Unified School District

Janice is one of Paradise Valley Unified Schools WIT advisors, working with high school women throughout the district interested in pursuing careers in computer science. She has helped with the CyberPatriots competition, as well as the WIT summer internships researching COVID analysis and response. Janice retired from PV district in 2018 after over 20 years as a full time elementary gifted specialist. In her spare time, she enjoys travel, reading and relaxing with family, as well as continuing to support public education and mentor educators as well as students.

Renda Fisk

Educational Technologist, Flagstaff Unified School District

Renda Fisk is an educational technologist at Flagstaff Unified School District, supporting teachers in leveraging technology and innovative design in their classrooms to transform student learning. She believes that technology, in the hands of exceptional educators, develops students who are lifelong creators, learners and problem solvers.

Ari Flewelling

K12 Education Strategist, CDW-G

Ari Flewelling is a K-12 education strategist with CDW-G. She specializes in partnering with districts to help them plan and reach their strategic goals for 21st century teaching. Ari has experience with both short- and long-term planning for providing distance learning for adults and students. By working with your technology and curriculum personnel, Ari can help you assess the continuum of available strategies and resources for distance learning. She can help districts capitalize on CDWG's nationwide network by providing best practices for integrating educational technology across the curriculum to help deliver high-quality educational opportunities.

Trenton Goble

Vice President of K12 Product Strategy, Instructure

Trenton Goble serves as the vice president of K12 product strategy at Instructure where he works to support educators worldwide. As a former teacher, three-time principal and director of elementary schools at Canyons School District, he has over 20 years of experience in leadership and education. With a passion for data-driven instruction, Trenton embarked on a mission to create a formative assessment tool that would allow teachers to better understand what their students know and don’t know. Trenton co-founded MasteryConnect in 2009 and served as the chief academic officer until its acquisition in 2019. During that time, he was instrumental in MasteryConnect becoming the leading education software solution for mastery-based learning and formative assessment. He is an industry thought leader, innovator and published author, with his latest book, “Reclaiming the Classroom,” that focuses on empowering teachers and administrators.

Aileen Hammer

Paradise Valley Unified School District

Alieen Hammer is a multi-year participant in WIT (Women & Information Technology), serving significant projects such as Cisco Live, CyberPatriots, LoLa Connect and Internships. She is a senior at Paradise Valley's Center for Research, Engineering, Science and Technology, graduating in the Computer Science domain.

Megan Howell

Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District

Megan Howell is a junior at PVHS and this is her second year in WIT. She is a member of CyberPatriots and helped code LoLaConnect, a Smart Cities project, last year. A fun fact about her is that she plays violin and is the section leader for the Violin II section this year at PVHS!

Mary Knight

Director of Technology, Flagstaff Unified School District

As director of technology, Mary Knight provides leadership in the use of robust, innovative and effective digital resources for student learning, student information and the information technology environment for Flagstaff Unified School District.

Lindsey McCaleb

Technology Instructional Coach, Balsz Elementary School District #14

Lindsey McCaleb has been an educator for over 11 years, and has taught kindergarten, 1st grade and 3rd grade, all at Title 1 Schools in Arizona. She was a flipped teacher for four years. This is her second year as an edtech coach. She is Google, Microsoft and Apple Certified and is pursuing her ISTE certification.

Lilly Mcgever

Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District

Lilly Mcgever is a sophomore at Pinnacle High School. She is new to WIT, having just joined this summer, and she is loving learning so many new things and meeting such an amazing group of people! Her hobbies include sewing, horseback riding and running, and she absolutely loves musical theatre and acting.

Stephen Mirante

Vice President, North America, FileWave

As the vice president of North America at FileWave, Stephen Mirante has served school districts for the last 10 years, demonstrating how their IT staff can manage multiple OS types with a single solution while ensuring students, administrators and other school staff have the necessary resources at a moment’s notice. Technology continues to advance and most all environments are now responsible for managing a mixed device landscape. Whether teams need help managing Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android and/or ChromeOS devices, Stephen loves being the one resource they can come to.

Julie Morgenthal

Technology Director, Balsz School District

Julie Morgenthal began her career in education and taught junior high and high school for six years. Then, in 2000, after completing a Computer Information Systems degree, she pivoted into a technology director position in the education space. She has been doing this work for the last 20 years. She is very interested in data analytics and artificial intelligence. Julie is always trying to learn more about how this technology can be used to help personalize learning content and experiences for students.

Shiza Naiyer

Paradise Valley Unified School District

Shiza Naiyer is a senior at Paradise Valley High School! This is her first year with WIT, and she is super excited to get to know all of the amazing women. A fun fact about her is that she likes drawing and loves to play soccer.

Aly Norling

Paradise Valley Unified School District

Aly Norling is a senior at Pinnacle High School and this will be her third year as a WIT intern. The past couple years, she has presented at various conferences such as Cisco Live and the State of the Smart Region Gala, along with having competed in last year's Cyberpatriots competition. She is fascinated with math, specifically complexity mathematics and chaos theory, and she has an interest in cybersecurity. When she is not partaking in WIT activities, she spends her time playing hockey and rock climbing.

Tim Roemer

Chief Information Security Officer, State of Arizona

Tim Roemer has been the chief information security officer for the State of Arizona for over a year. Prior to that, he served as Governor Doug Ducey‘s public safety advisor, deputy director of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security and ten years in the CIA, including a two-year assignment in the White House Situation Room.

Chloe Rozalsky

Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District

Chloe Rozalsky is a junior at Paradise Valley High School, and this is her first year in WIT. She is also involved in CyberPatriots and is in the CREST Bioscience Program. One fun fact about her is that she is involved in community theater and has been involved in over 30 productions.

Lasya Sreenivasan

Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District

Lasya Sreenivasan is a senior at Paradise Valley High School and has been with WIT for three years now, making her a veteran of sorts! She has been involved in CyberPatriots and LOLA. A fun fact about her is that she loves learning languages, playing tennis and going to bookstores!

Isabella Swanson

Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District

Isabella Swanson is a junior at Paradise Valley High School. She has been working with WIT and its amazing group of girls for about a year. A fun fact about her is that she can create origami paper cranes!

Nan Williams

Executive Director, AzTEA

Over the past 30 plus years, Nan Williams has been a classroom teacher, an instructional technology coach, the director of educational technology for the Arizona Department of Education, a district administrator role as the director of technology for an urban school district in the Phoenix area and now fulfills the role of executive director for AzTEA. She has facilitated online courses for over 10 years. Nan believes that education is the great equalizer in our country and that it is our responsibility to prepare our students for any opportunity they wish to pursue.

Laura Wojciechowicz

Learning Management System Administrator, Mesa Public School District

Laura Wojciechowicz is the learning management system administrator for the Mesa Public School District. She graduated from Arizona State University with her Bachelors in Multilingual/Multicultural Education in 2005. In March of 2013, she completed her Education Specialist degree in Educational Technology through Walden University. Laura oversees Canvas and the online instructional design coaches at the high school and also supports PreK- 12th grade Canvas use. She also regularly collaborates and works with other Canvas admins in Arizona and across the country.

Heather Zeigler

Educational Technologist, Flagstaff Unified School District

In the role of educational technologist, Heather Zeigler guides educators in their roles as facilitators of learning by planning technology-rich projects and encouraging practices of integrating technology into education in a positive manner that promotes a more diverse, rigorous and personalized learning environment for the digital learners in our schools today.

Tuesday, October 27
9:00 am Mountain no DST	Welcome
9:05 am Mountain no DST	Opening Remarks Mark Breen, President, AzTEA
9:15 am Mountain no DST	Keynote – Off Balance and In Control Dan Thurmon, Author, Peak Performance Coach and Hall of Fame Speaker The events of 2020 have delivered the most widespread disruption in generations. The impacts have been enormous and deeply personal on many levels. Everyone is off balance to some degree – and there is no doubt that the challenges to our society, cultures, families and technologies will be long-lasting. Yet, in many ways, these circumstances contain the greatest opportunities of our lives! Dan Thurmon, author of the book, Off Balance On Purpose, shows us how to harness the positive aspects of disruption, find more confidence in the midst of change and take purposeful actions to create what is most needed – both in our lives and in our vital work.
10:00 am Mountain no DST	Break
10:15 am Mountain no DST	Concurrent Sessions 1 Apps, Portals, Extensions and Add-Ons Use of online tools, referred to as “apps,” for enhancing educational technology have significantly increased in the K12 space. More so than ever, likely due to required online/hybrid learning, educators have a strong need to use these apps, many times without a complete understanding of the security, privacy and risk implications. Under guidance of PVUSD’s Data Governance and Cyber Security (all stakeholders) task force, a risk process is in place where thousands of apps have been *trusted* and thousands more *banned. Technical tools and frameworks for assessing privacy, security and filtering are carried out by IT staff and WIT student interns and the process is presented. Moderator: Jeff Billings, IT Director, Paradise Valley Unified School District Oceana Covington, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Aly Norling, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Chloe Rozalsky, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Engaging Students in Remote Learning through Video Keeping students engaged in remote learning can certainly be a challenge. There are many tools available to support teachers and engage students through video. In this session, we will showcase some of the tools and best practices FUSD teachers utilize to engage students and provide quality learning opportunities through the creation of videos. Renda Fisk, Educational Technologist, Flagstaff Unified School District Mary Knight, Director of Technology, Flagstaff Unified School District Heather Zeigler, Educational Technologist, Flagstaff Unified School District CyberPatriots Founded by the U.S. Air Force Association, CyberPatriots is a national technical competition to engage students and encourage consideration of cyber security as a future career path. Rich in job and scholarship opportunities (technical, social, mathematical, governance, criminal, psychological, risk management), there is a large gap between demand and supply that the U.S. must fill. Secondary WIT interns competed last school year and are competing again this year. In this session, interns will share procedures for getting started, their experiences and their future goals. Moderator: Janice Dwosh, CyberPatriots and Women and Information Technology Advisor, Paradise Valley Unified School District Aileen Hammer, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Megan Howell, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Lasya Sreenivasan, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Hybrid Learning and Student Engagement Given the Continuum of School Learning Scenarios and the potential to shift classes, schools or districts back to virtual or hybrid learning, it is essential to think about technology and student engagement. Whether teachers are teaching from classrooms or working remotely, there are pedagogical and technological options to consider to help students participate in education. We'll cover some pedagogical considerations and technology educators could use through the lens of student engagement for both remote and hybrid learning. Ariana Flewelling, K12 Education Strategist, CDW-G Using Analytics to Blend District Curriculum/Technology Regardless of Location With schools strategizing how to develop and provide additional options for “anywhere” methods of instruction, curriculum and technology teams must be aligned and cohesive. That’s why visibility into the plethora of digital applications accessed via district devices is more critical than ever. Protecting staff and student privacy, stretching budgets, ensuring professional development for teacher effectiveness and maximizing student engagement will be the new normal regardless of location. Data analytics is an invaluable resource needed for districts to effectively evaluate device usage, curriculum alignment, student engagement and compliance with federal and state data privacy guidelines. Leo Brehm, Product Manager, ENA/CatchOn Managing All OS-Types in an Era of Schools Without Walls FileWave will share how they have been empowering IT teams throughout the lifecycle process of imaging/provisioning, deployment, management, tracking and maintenance from any network. FileWave’s all-inclusive, highly scalable software solves the many challenges of managing a diverse and growing population of users, devices and content by ensuring IT teams have a comprehensive solution that supports both client (desktop/laptop) and mobile devices across Windows, macOS, iOS/iPadOS, tvOS, Android and Chrome. Stephen Mirante*, Vice President, North America, FileWave
11:15 am Mountain no DST	Break for Lunch
1:45 pm Mountain no DST	Concurrent Sessions 2 Equity Exposed The COVID-19 global pandemic has exposed many societal challenges. Secondary WIT interns present their findings and perspectives on three specific equity themes: health, education and justice. These themes have garnered national/international attention, challenging the very essence of citizenship and societies. Consideration for open, classroom discourse on equity in society is called for, with direct implications for critical thinking and media literacy in our digitally-rich environment. Moderator: Jeff Billings, IT Director, Paradise Valley Unified School District Lilly Mcgever, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Chloe Rozalsky, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Isabella Swanson, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Data and Computation Analytical, algebraic, calculus and computer programming techniques all combined in the secondary 2020 summer WIT internship on COVID-19. Use of the fundamental algorithmic approach, called SIR (Susceptible, Infectious and Recovered), this presentation facilitates conceptual modeling and some of the mathematics and computation involved. Interns provide use of data analytics, mathematical basis, conceptual and physical abstractions and social media applications in a literacy, numeracy and scientific presentation. Moderator: Janice Dwosh, CyberPatriots and Women and Information Technology Advisor, Paradise Valley Unified School District Shiza Naiyer, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Aly Norling, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Lasya Sreenivasan, Student, Paradise Valley Unified School District Learning from the Pandemic – IT to the Rescue Between device preparation, hot spot purchasing, inventory control and technical support open to the public, distance learning and the pandemic have truly challenged resource-stretched district technology staff. In this session, we will present our wins, losses and new learning. Lindsey McCaleb, Technology Instructional Coach, Balsz Elementary School District #14 Julie Morgenthal, Technology Director, Balsz School District The Next Normal Educators need innovative tools for today’s unique challenges. With masks and remote learning the reality for many schools, classroom audio and video solutions offer timely benefits for educators. Come learn about new research that demonstrates the necessity of amplifying teachers’ voices when speaking through a mask and the difference that a classroom audio system can make to student engagement, achievement and focus. We’ll also discuss how an effective classroom video solution can boost remote learning through simple recording, management and delivery options, including streaming live video to remote students. Jeff Anderson, Chief Executive Officer, Audio Enhancement Navigating the Security Challenges of a World Turned Upside Down New realities are creating fresh challenges for those tasked with keeping the education sector secure. Join this session to learn how effective triage of cyber events and a comprehensive strategy for protecting the top cyberattack vectors can help education organizations build true resiliency and maintain focus on their top priority – serving citizens. Josh Douglas, Vice President of Product Management, Mimecast The Case for an LMS: Five Questions Every Leader Should Ask More than ever before, the benefits of having a reliable, connected learning management system (LMS) has been front and center as educators face the challenge of keeping teaching and learning going. As you continue to navigate this year and beyond, it's a great time to understand the impact of an LMS. Whether you're looking to evaluate, expand or upgrade your existing digital learning environment, tune into our session to hear highlights, valuable insights and lessons learned from fellow edu leaders. Trenton Goble, Vice President of K12 Product Strategy, Instructure Laura Mae Wojciechowicz, Learning Management System Administrator, Mesa Public Schools
2:45 pm Mountain no DST	End of Day 1 Program

Wednesday, October 28
9:00 am Mountain no DST	Welcome
9:05 am Mountain no DST	General Session Panel Discussion Cyber Landscape: What Arizona School Districts Need to Know Cyber security is a challenge under the best of circumstances, but 2020 is a whole new ballgame. Bad actors thrive in times of confusion and disruption. Though the pandemic might have initially caused a lull as hackers pivoted to a new landscape, it was just the calm before the storm. Preparation, as always, is key to the months and years ahead. This session will discuss current threats and trends, as well as offer up prevention strategies so that Arizona school districts are prepared and alert in the event of an attack. Moderator: Mark Breen, President, AzTEA Mary Knight, Director of Technology, Flagstaff Unified School District Tim Roemer, Chief Information Security Officer, State of Arizona Nan Williams, Executive Director, AzTEA
10:00 am Mountain no DST	Closing Remarks and End of Day 2 Program Conference times, agenda and speakers are subject to change.