Fremont #1 Tech News

Each issue of our Tech News focuses on the great things we have going on, including our subscriptions and resources! We'll develop and refine these over time and your feedback will help us guide these efforts, so let us know what you'd like to see and learn about!

Your District Technology Office has two staff members, Chris Brown and Kassy Jarvis. Use the TechRequests@landerschools.org address to quickly contact both of us.

A quick summary of what's new this year:

• Zoom phone system replacing the old CenturyLink system
• Conversion to Chrome desktop PCs for many staff, replacing Microsoft Windows with its usability and security limitations.
• AI application changes: Gemini and Brisk are now our official and approved AI tools
• Other applications: Google Vids (for video generation) and EdPuzzle (for YouTube student access). You'll be hearing more about these in the months to come.

For us, the start of the school year generally lasts 2-3 weeks after it actually happens. Some projects, like the phone rollout, didn't get completed until the first week staff returned. We do appreciate everyone's patience as we get caught up.

We're excited for the upcoming year! 😀

(the first in a series of articles regarding purposeful and directed edtech usage.)

Phishing has become our top concern for security in the district. Last year saw a significant uptick in phishing attacks, many specifically targeted Fremont #1 by using staff names and current situations. Expect this to get much worse in 2026-2027 😯

Just this month, we've seen compromises from local entities. Fremont #25, the Lander Chamber, and the Lander city government. We've also had a few outbreaks of our own.

CyberNut is the fastest and most secure way to report phishing emails that you receive. CyberNut is available to all staff through Gmail (look on the toolbar along the far right edge of Gmail).

Remember the difference between phishing and regular spam:

• Phishing: You need to "do something" or "open something", usually in a hurry or under a threat. Phishing often impersonates or mentions a District staff member or circumstances.
• Spam: General marketing email. It may be annoying, but it's not malicious or deceiving.

The Tech Office can no longer respond to "Is this phishing" emails. Please use the CyberNut extension to report these, not forwarding through email. Also, for "regular" spam, you can use the Spam button in Gmail to classify those and stop receiving them.

Compromised accounts are being used in a variety of malicious ways. Because of this, starting this month, a compromised account will be suspended for at least one working day so we (Tech) can work through our checklist of steps to ensure the account is secured before reactivating.

Compromised accounts are being used in a variety of malicious ways. Because of this, starting this month, a compromised account will be suspended for at least one working day so we (Tech) can work through our checklist of steps to ensure the account is secured before reactivating.

We have also followed several strategies on the back end to mitigate phishing attempts and damage. These include:

• We have turned off scripting of certain document types in Google Workspace. For a very small handful of users, this limits some functionality; however for nearly all staff, you will not see a practical difference in how Docs, Sheets, Keep, or Slides operate.
• Our migration to Chrome OS for staff, replacing Microsoft Windows. While this will not affect the amount of phishing, it greatly limits the "blast radius" malicious software can access.
• Soon we will be applying an AI-based tool within CyberNut that will automatically score reported emails, and if it determines that to be phishing, quarantine it from all mailboxes. That way, Tech doesn't have to race back to our desktops to remove an email -- we can check the quarantine at our leisure

Now, the default is that you have to approve an invite from someone before it appears on your personal calendar. If you wish to have invites automatically accepted from known senders, you can change this default in your Calendar settings. Go to Settings - Event settings and see the image below.

And it's time for everyone's favorite activity ... phishing simulations! Starting within the week, we will open a new "campaign" of phishing test emails to all staff. These emails will look pretty realistic, as those are the emails we're receiving.

• Gemini is integrated into the Google Workspace core product, so its data and privacy protections are equal to Gmail and Drive.
• Google Vids is a video creation and editing tool that is tied into Gemini, as well as content stored within Drive. Vids leverages AI to summarize your slideshows and documents to make a succinct and appealing video presentation, with an optional AI voice reading your narration.
• Gemini also includes an image creator, Nano Banana 2. You can access this from Images on gemini.google.com

Brisk is an additional educator-focused AI agent available to all staff.

• Brisk is an extension within Google Chrome. Sign into your Workspace account to get its Pro features.
• Brisk is purchased annually by the Curriculum Office and the Tech Office.

These AI subscriptions are available to all staff. There are also additional District applications with some AI abilities; namely Canva and Adobe Express.

Please let your building's Instructional Facilitator, or the Tech Office staff, know if you have any questions regarding these applications, and keep an eye out for upcoming professional development opportunities!

Built into our Gemini subscription, Nano Banana 2 is Google's generative AI image creator. All you need to do is give it a prompt (and remember, the more detailed the prompt, the better the initial result) and Nano Banana 2 will generate an image.

To access Nano Banana 2, visit gemini.google.com in Chrome, or click on Gemini in the "waffle" menu in any Workspace product.

We will have some information about our new EdPuzzle subscription, Notability, and more AI follow-up!