SWWC IT² 2026

Firewalls, endpoint protection, and email filters are all important parts of cybersecurity. But in K-12 environments, the everyday actions of staff can have just as much impact on a district’s overall security posture. Something as simple as clicking a phishing link, reusing a password, or ignoring a suspicious email can create real risk across the district. On the other hand, a staff member who recognizes something suspicious and reports it quickly can help stop an incident before it spreads. This session looks at the human side of cybersecurity in schools, including common social engineering tactics, real examples of how user behavior affects security, and practical ways districts can improve staff awareness. Attendees will leave with ideas for improving training, encouraging faster reporting, and helping staff become an active part of the district’s cybersecurity defense.

Target audience identified by presenter: All Conference Attendees

This session covers our ongoing partnership with SentinelOne and the case for managed detection and response in K-12. Over a year into the program, we're covering not only how we got here, but what went right, where there were challenges, and where we're headed next.

Target audience identified by presenter: Cybersecurity ;Technology Leadership

This practical and technical session is designed to equip IT professionals and security technicians with a free, accessible toolkit and accompanying methodology to safely identify, triage, and analyze suspected malicious PDFs. Using a real-world hypothetical scenario involving a compromised corporate account, attendees will learn how to safely dissect a PDF's anatomy and uncover hidden threats without risking organizational data privacy.

The Toolkit: Discover how to leverage free analysis tools for initial triage, mapping object logic trees, and extracting and deobfuscating embedded JavaScript payloads.

Safe Handling & OPSEC: Learn industry-standard safe-handling techniques coupled with important data-privacy strategies to avoid accidental detonation, alerting threat actors and inadvertent data leaks.

Analysis Methodologies: Explore both traditional code-to-behavior analysis workflows and unconventional "lazy-analyst" approaches to efficiently pivot from static observations to dynamic detonation.

Unmasking Anti-Analysis Tactics: Learn how malware authors hide their payloads to evade analysts.

Enterprise Mitigations: Walk away with actionable strategies to harden your infrastructure.

Target audience identified by presenter: Cybersecurity

K-12 technology teams face growing technical and cybersecurity demands while operating under constant pressure, limited staffing, and nonstop interruptions. This interactive session explores how stress, burnout, communication breakdowns, and unrealistic expectations often create technical and security problems long before technology fails. Through real-world examples and audience discussion, participants will examine the human side of cybersecurity culture and leave with practical strategies for building healthier, more resilient technology environments in schools.

Target audience identified by presenter: All Conference Attendees;

AI has been overwhelming our professional agendas lately. Every device we use, every app we engage with, advertises its immense educational potential. But as an IT leader, do you feel informed enough on the subject to make critical leadership decisions on AI's placement in the educational setting? In this session, we'll engage this question by studying how AI actually works and functions, analyzing the authenticity and integrity of its creations, then evaluating AI's current integration within the classroom.

Target audience identified by presenter: Technology Leadership

In this session, we will explore what makes a modern classroom function with the wide ranging types of technology and needs that teachers and students have to learn in our current day. We will explore interactive displays, classroom audio, digital signage, and wireless casting as the four key elements that schools are updating and implementing to impact teaching learning. We will also explore other areas and topics and open the floor to discussion. New interactive displays and how you can update your existing fleet; How wireless casting can simplify and get you connected not just to the device; Classroom audio isn’t just about amplifying the teachers voice, but now how it integrates with emergency alerts and provides quick access to support; How digital signage is changing how schools represent themselves while also keeping everyone safe

Target audience identified by presenter: Technology Leadership;Technology Systems and User Support;Technology Integration

Attacks get all the attention, but what happens after a breach is just as critical. In this session, we'll step into the shoes of an incident responder using Velociraptor, a free open-source DFIR tool. You'll see how analysts collect evidence from a compromised endpoint, spot signs of malicious activity, and reconstruct a timeline of what happened.

Target audience identified by presenter: Cybersecurity ;All Conference Attendees;Technology Leadership;Technology Systems and User Support;Network Support ;Technology Integration

Generative AI is moving quickly, and many rural and small districts are trying to make important decisions without the same staffing, time, or capacity as larger systems. This session shares how the A.I.D.E. Team at SWWC created a regional AI guidance website, aligned with the Minnesota Department of Education’s AI Guiding Principles, to help schools get started in a practical and approachable way. Participants will see how regional support can help districts move from big-picture AI principles to local guidance that actually fits their context. The session will focus on starting the right conversations, building a team that reflects the district, promoting AI literacy, thinking through policy, and creating a roadmap for responsible implementation. This includes considering voices from administration, teaching staff, technology, support staff, students, families, and the broader community. Instead of handing districts a one-size-fits-all plan, this session will show how shared resources can help schools create guidance that reflects their own values, needs, and capacity.

Target audience identified by presenter: All Conference Attendees