Technology Dept Info and Updates

Appreciations and gratitude for all of the dedicated and hard work by CVUSD teachers and staff. Thank you and have a great summer!

This edition will have information about upcoming changes and updates for CVUSD technology:

• End of Year Tech Reminders
• Cyber Security - Emails, Phishing, Password Security
• Email Phishing and Safety Campaign - Starting in May 2023.
• AI - ChatGPT and other AI in CVUSD
  

All staff are allowed to keep their devices over the summer. Please use your best safety and security:

• be careful of Spam/phishing emails, and
  
• do not leave your device in your car while shopping or dining - car thefts are real!
  

Are you retiring or leaving CVUSD?

Staff that are retiring or leaving CVUSD should turn their devices in to their school site office.

Your Google accounts will be closed 7 days after your last day of official work.

You can use Google Takeout to transfer important docs from your Google Drive.

- How to Download Your Google data

- How to Use Google Takeout

As spam and phishing attempts are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous, email password security is an essential to protecting your information and data. Strong email passwords are considered to be at least 8 characters including a Capital letter, lowercase letter, number, and special character. Consider using a PassPhrase that is easy to remember and even longer than 8 characters. Sample Passphrases can be: Icaneat4piecesofPizza! or Mydogsnameis@lfred1. Think of your own common PassPhrase that is easy to remember.

Digital Security is everyone's responsibility and a team effort!

To change your CVUSD email password, follow the directions here: New Email and Email Password Change

If you would like to turn on 2-Step Authorization for your Google account, this can be done by going to Account ->Security -> (You can pick your form of authorization).

Email security is an essential component to CVUSD's cyber security efforts.

Phishing emails have become a significant entry point for compromising the users' accounts. Phishing attempts try to trick the user to enter personal identifying information which can lead to unauthorized hacking into financial websites, accounts, as well as our network. Phishing attempts are prevalent on both work as well as personal email accounts.

We are excited to announce the launch of our anti-phishing email campaign aimed at increasing awareness and protecting our customers from the growing threat of phishing attacks. Phishing attacks have become more sophisticated and widespread, and we are committed to keeping our users safe and secure online. Our campaign will provide educational content to help identify and avoid these types of attacks, along with tips and best practices for safe online behavior.

Starting this month, we will be utilizing software to periodically send fake phishing emails to CVUSD staff users. When users "click" on these emails, they will receive an educational page to explain the danger of clicking on phishing emails.

Remember, if you do not recognize the sender, or "It's too good to be true" it often is...

Do not click on the email or click inside of the emails for "special offers".

We encourage all of you to take advantage of this campaign and stay vigilant against phishing attempts. Thank you for your continued trust and support as we work together to keep our digital data safe!

**All data will be kept internal to the Technology Department to guide future education and training.

As many of you know, ChatGPT and other AI systems have become big news in the past few months. The emergence of easily accessible AI interfaces has brought about challenges to education towards student authenticity of work, as well as learning how to maximize AI to benefit teaching and learning.

CVUSD's goal is to have new AI Guidelines in time for the upcoming school year. Look for more information in August 2023-24. Technology, Ed Services, and some teaching staff will meet to review and discuss these guidelines for next year. If you are interested, please email gko@cv.k12.ca.us stating your interest.

Please see Peter Vallejo our Tech TOSA's AI Webpage.

Now that students have their own Chromebooks, how can we extend and maximize the life of our CB's? Creating strong classroom practices will help support at-home use.

CB's are designed to be inexpensive and affordable internet-accessibility tools. The units that we buy are ~$300. While the units that we buy are designed for the rugged student population, some basic care will help these devices last longer.

Follow these tips to help maximize our Chromebook life:

1) Students should handle with care - elementary students should have a two-hand carry policy. Broken screens and cracked cases from dropped devices are generally not worth the cost of repair.

2) Charging ports and cables break easily. The charging ports are often broken by the repeated use of plugging in/out. Did you know that CB's have a battery life of 8+ hrs? They only need to be plugged back in at the end of the day, or maybe every other day. Consider their total usage and plug them in when needed (rather than between periods).

3) Establish classroom rules/best practices for CB use. This can include rules about how to carry, no food/drinks, wash hands before using, etc... students that respect their devices will care for them better and they will last longer.

Peter Vallejo's EdTech Website

Please see the CVUSD Technology Website . This page has information for Google Account info, Chromebook FAQ, and Parent/Student Tech Support Request.

Greg Ko, Director of Technology

Yann LeRoy, Computer Operations Technician

David Chaney, Computer Operations Technician

Chi-Wei Lee, Computer Operations Technician

Nalong Vongtharangsy, Computer Operations Technician

Samantha Brown, Software Systems Specialists -Aeries Support

Rita Ochoa, Software Systems Specialists - Aeries Support

Harry Hui, Network System Admin

Michael George, Network System Admin

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