GAB’er Page: 1 September 10, 2019

THE
GAB’ER
Newsletter of the Greater Albany AppleByters: September , 2019
GAAB is celebrating its 36th year (2019-2020).

GAAB Meeting Agenda

Greetings and Dinner

Discussion of the Apple Swptember 2019 Apple Event

Discussion: Topics presented by members and

News from Apple including Mac OS X and iOS Updates

GAAB Help Desk: Bring your questions

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Apple Event 2019: iPhone 11 Pro,

Apple Arcade, iPad, Watch 2019

The iPhone 11 Pro with upgraded photo and video chops debuted. Apple Arcade,
Apple's game subscription service, goes live with iOS 13 and a new, more powerful
iPad is ready.

BY PATRICK HOLLAND
SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 11:33 AM PDT
• •
tications,

Analysts were speculating that the unreleased iPhone 11 will be a disappointment and not attract the
buyers Apple is hoping for, which put the company in the unenviable position of needing to make
modest upgrades sound sexy. Regardless, you'll be able to win one for free in our Apple Core
giveaway.

The most surprising development leading up to Apple's annual announcements of its new iPhones? For
the first time, the company is simultaneously streaming the event on YouTube as well as its own site.
The times they are a changin'.

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iPhone 11 and 11 Pro

The expected iPhone 11 debuted with a dual-camera configuration in a new design in six colors.
Features include Dolby Atmos audio, WiFi 6, an ultrawide camera lens and enhanced camera features.
You'll be able to take landscape selfies and videos and slo-mo video. It gets a power boost in the form
of a new A13 Bionic processor (with a faster graphics processor). We saw a new action RPG game,
Pascal's Wager from Giant Network, to show off the GPU performance and spatial audio. It isn't an
Apple Arcade title, though, which is interesting.

• Apple iPhone 11's camera gets Night Mode to catch up with Google and Huawei
• Apple's iPhone 11 camera packs wide-angle photography punch
• iPhone 11 Pro has triple rear cameras, cheaper iPhone 11 costs $699
• Whoa, the new iPhone 11 starts at $700
It starts at $699.

Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller shows off the iPhone 11 Pro's three cameras.
Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET
The iPhone 11 Pro has a "Super Retina XDR" display that's based off the Pro XDR Display. It has
the fidget-spinner mocked tri-camera setup, a new matte finish, uses the A13 Bionic as well. Apple
claims longer battery life, though. It comes bundled with the fast charge adapter.

The cameras are all new and include an ultrawide -- for Apple's claim of 4x zoom -- edge-to-edge
focus signals and updated signal processing. Apple was also very proud of its new Deep Fusion
technology, a 9-shot multishot mode that merges them to deliver an HDR image.

• Apple's iPhone 11 drops 'X' and 'R'

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Apple Arcade and Apple TV Plus

Apple took the opportunity to introduce us to some new games for its upcoming all-you-can-eat game
subscription service, coming later this month which will run $4.99 per month per family, with a 1
month free trial. You can get Apple TV+ for free for a year if you buy Apple devices.

• Konami -- Frogger in Toy Town

• Capcom -- Shinsekai Deep Sea
• Annapurna Interactive -- Sayonara Wild Hearts
Apple TV Plus launches November 1st in over 100 countries, for another $4.99 per month for a family
subscription. We saw a longer trailer of Jason Momoa's new show.

iPad 2019
The company is replacing its sixth-generation model with a new 10.2-inch seventh-generation
model optimized for the new iPad OS. It's got improved brightness, a better viewing angle, A10 Fusion
chip and adds Smart Connector plus a new smart keyboard cover. So you can enjoy all the new games
and content! For the same price as before, starting at the end of the month.

Apple Watch Series 5

The new Watch Series 5 features a new always-on display that can drop as low as 1Hz refresh to save
power, compass and optimized faces. With fancy new bands and faces! GPS models will start at $399
and $499 for cell models. Series 3 stays in the line, but the price has dropped to a start of $199. The
company also announced three new health studies: hearing, heart and movement and menstrual-cycle
tracking.

• Apple Watch Series 5 smartwatch: Always-On display, new compass, price, specs
and more
• Apple Watch Series 3 is now $199
• Apple announces Research app for iPhone and Apple Watch

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• Apple WatchOS 6: How to track your menstrual cycle and fertility

This is a developing story. Our original post follows.

It's official: The Apple store is down and we're counting down the hours. Today, on Sept.
10, Apple will hold its annual fall event where it will likely announce the iPhone 11 along with other
products and services. The event begins at 10 a.m. PT at the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple's campus in
Cupertino, California. Apple is expected to announce three new phone models, replacing the iPhone
XS, XS Max and XR with the rumored iPhone 11, 11 Max/11 Pro and 11R. The phones will likely add
improved cameras, faster processors and iOS 13. We also expect to see an Apple Watch update.
However, whether this is a brand new Apple Watch 5 or a more minor Apple Watch upgrade remains
to be seen.

Two weeks back, Apple sent out invitations to some members of the media. The invite shows the
Apple logo made up of five different bright colors that harken back to the old six-color logo Apple
used years ago. Analysts are speculating that the unreleased iPhone 11 will be a disappointment and
not attract the buyers Apple is hoping for.

CNET will have a livestream before, during and after the keynote out of our New York office. Join
Senior Editor Bridget Carey, Senior Editor Iyaz Akhtar and Editor at Large Jeff Bakalar at 9 a.m. PT
before the event to hear their insightful hopes for Apple day 2019. You can watch directly below.

iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max have three rear cameras, longer battery life•

Apple's iPhone 11 drops ‘X’ and 'R'•

WatchOS 6 coming Sept. 19 with cycle tracking and hearing health Money,

Data, Security: The Biggest Challenges Facing K-12

Tech Leaders
By Benjamin Herold June 11, 2019 Edweek.org

The biggest challenges facing today's K-12 technology leaders are no real mystery.

School technology chiefs are worried about cybersecurity. They have limited budgets, which
have to be stretched to manage a flood of new devices, software, and apps. And they're focused
on how all that new technology and data can support schools' bottom

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line: good classroom instruction.

"In addressing the myriad issues related to managing a district's digital ecosystem, IT leaders
have not lost sight of the big picture," according to the Consortium for School Networking's 2019
K-12 IT Leadership Survey Report, which outlines the priorities and hurdles reported by 335
respondents.

To better understand the big issues facing the K-12 sector's chief technology and information
officers, Education Week spoke with officials from five school districts around the country.
Here's what they told us:

1. Beefing up cybersecurity: "If it can't run on our network securely, there's not much reason to
have it."

Joe Phillips' leap from the U.S. Army-where heserved as an intelligence analyst and IT director,
among other roles-to director of technology forthe 16,000-student Kansas City, Mo., school
district was an eye-opening experience for a number of reasons.

The biggest difference may have been in how the two institutions approached protecting and
securing sensitive information.

"In the Army, cybersecurity was second nature," Phillips said. "Coming to education was a lot like
going back in time."

In recent years, educational data has become a valuable black- market commodity. Districts
around the country have fallen victim to phishing scams, hacks, ransomware attacks, and
missteps by their own staff and students. The fallout has included millions of lost taxpayer
dollars, tens of

thousands of teachers and children who have had their personal data compromised, and an
erosion of public trust.

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It's no wonder, then, that the CoSN IT Leadership survey identified cybersecurity as technology
chiefs' top priority. More than two-thirds of survey respondents told the group that the privacy
and security of student data was more important to them now than in previous years.

In Kansas City, there's been a commitment to putting cybersecurity first in the district's five-year
technology plan, Phillips said. His department is seeking funds for new firewalls, network
switches, and wireless access points; new backup and recovery systems; an endpoint detection-
response system that can be used to identify and investigate suspicious activity, such as potential
phishing scams; and a new disaster recovery data center. By modernizing the district's
infrastructure, Phillips hopes to plug the holes that malicious actors might seek to exploit.

The work isn't sexy, he said. Five years ago, it might have been a tough sell to the district's
leadership and board.

But not any more.

"Putting out classroom devices is great," Phillips said. "But if it can't run on our network securely,
there's not much reason to have it."

2. Budgeting on a shoestring: "We can get by with less funding because we have good systems in
place."

Mary Wegner knows a thing or two about stretching resources in a difficult financial
environment.

She's now in her 5th year as superintendent of Alaska's 1,200-student Sitka school district,
serving a remote island community that "sits on a rock at the edge of the Pacific Ocean," as the
district's website puts it. During Wegner's tenure, the district's annual operating budget has
declined 5 percent, to a little over $20 million.

"Technology has taken a cut," she said. "But we've learned that we can get by with less funding,
because we have good systems in place."

One example: Sitka's leadership team and teacher- chaired technology committee recently
committed to focusing on technology as a support for classroom instruction, rather than an end
unto itself. That, in turn, led the district to change its staffing patterns. A standalone 6th grade
technology teaching position was eliminated, and Sitka schools moved instead to integrate into
all classrooms the tech skills and digital literacies that used to be taught in standalone fashion.
The moved saved $100,000, Wegner said.

Such tough decisions are common in K-12, the CoSN IT Leadership survey suggests. School
technology chiefs identified budget constraints as a major barrier for the third year in a row.
One-fourth of them said they didn't have enough resources to meet school board expectations.
Many said they tried to supplement their funding by seeking out grants.

That's been Wegner's approach. The money that has come in, she notes, hasn't been for
technology per se. Rather, it's been for priorities like culturally responsive teaching for the Sitka
district's large indigenous Tlingit population.
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The lesson?

"It's not about finding money in the budget for tech as an isolated thing," she said. "It's really
about helping teachers change in the classroom."

3. Leveraging data to drive instruction: "Instead of digital tools being used as a babysitter, we've
grown a lot more focused."

Using ed tech to improve teaching and learning is the Holy Grail for many K-12 technology chiefs.
Often, that means getting actionable data in the hands of teachers in time for it to actually inform
key decisions, such as how to group students or what needs to be re-taught.

Three-fourths of the tech leaders surveyed by CoSN, for example, said they are

working to be more responsive to educators' IT needs. Nearly half said they're focused on
"surfacing real-time data for educators pulling together multiple sources of information."

It's not as simple as it may sound, especially for small and rural school districts, said Jaraun
Dennis, the chief technology officer for Wyoming's 3,000-student Uinta County School District
#1.

"In our elementary schools alone, we have five or six different options for digital tools," Dennis
said. "Imagine the gamut of data generated when you have teachers logging into all those
different places, then going to another place to look at state assessments, and somewhere else for
literacy assessments."

Uinta doesn't have instructional coaches to help. The district's IT staff are stretched thin.
Convincing people who understand both the technical and the educational side of the work to
come work for low pay in Southwest Wyoming isn't easy either.

But progress has come, Dennis said, as the district has become more intentional about how and
why it's using classroom devices and instructional software in the first place. From a hazy plan to
use technology to support "blended" and then "personalized" learning, Uinta has grown into a
model where teachers use specific software programs to identify and fill gaps in students'
learning.

"Instead of digital tools being used as a babysitter, we've grown a lot more focused," Dennis said.

4. Breaking down information silos: "It's hard to keep up." Even for large, well- resourced
systems like Texas's 80,000-student Katy Independent School District, getting actionable
information in the hands of educators in a timely manner is a major challenge.

"That's the way it is with any large organization," said Jamey Hynds, the district's director of

business intelligence. "Data are siloed, and people in different departments are trying to put that
information together to fulfill their own needs."

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A variety of efforts to make the flow of information more seamless fall under the general
umbrella term of "interoperability." The CoSN leadership survey shows just how rare most are:
27 percent of respondents said their districts have fully implemented single-sign on solutions to
make it easier for students and staff to access multiple software programs. Fifteen percent make
regular use of data dashboards to visualize and analyze information. Just 8 percent say their
digital content is fully interoperable.

Hynds has led Katy ISD's efforts to address such challenges. The district has its own data
warehouse, used to store information from a wide variety of

sources, including assessments, the district's student information system, and human resources
and financial software. Hynds' team has developed "well over 100 dashboards," he said,
including one to track legislation that could affect the district.

How do such tools improve decisionmaking?

When teachers or counselors are meeting with parents, they can open the district's "student
viewer" to quickly see an individual child's full academic history, allowing for instructional
decisions to be made on the spot.

Central office staff use other dashboards and data to project new student enrollment, including
where English language learners are likely to be, and plan future facilities and staffing patterns
accordingly.

And Katy principals can now easily track all the student devices used on their campus, seeing
how they're used and when they need to be replaced.

It's just the beginning, Hynds said.

"Think about the Internet of Things, creating information about HVAC systems and lights and
letting us predict energy costs," he said. "Everything is exploding. It's hard to keep up."

5. Improving training and professional development: "It's a cool tool. But how is it going to
impact student learning?"

Perhaps the biggest issue school technology chiefs must help address isn't really IT-related at all.

It's about improving teaching and learning in the classroom.

Austin Houp, now in his second year as the director of curriculum, instruction, and technology
for Missouri's 800-student Ash Grove school district, described the challenge.

"At times, some teachers have a tendency to use tech for tech's sake, with no clear pedagogy or
learning objectives behind it," Houp said. "I'm able to have the conversation with them, 'Yes, it's a
cool tool. But how is it going to impact student learning?'"

There's a lot of evidence that training and professional development around K-12 technology use
is spotty. It's also highly inequitable: A 2017 analysis by the Education Week Research Center
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found that students in high-poverty schools were much less likely than their counterparts in
wealthier schools to have teachers who had received training on how to effectively integrate
technology into their classroom instruction. Houp outlined the contours of the challenge in Ash
Grove.

For years, Houp said, any training he provided came on top of his regular duties as a social
studies teacher, basketball coach, and football coach. That meant that most of his work with
other teachers was focused on the basics of how to operate the iPads and Chromebooks the
district had recently purchased.

In his current position, though, he's been able to branch

out a bit. Now Houp works with teachers to analyze data from benchmark assessments. There
are conversations about which digital curricular materials might make the biggest classroom
impact. He's even working with teachers and principals to reduce student screen time, including
implementing plans to forego Chromebook time and promote board games and social interaction
during recess.

"The biggest impact has been a higher level of consistency in how we view technology in our
district," Houp said. "All of us are on a much better page."

© CBS INTERACTIVE INC.

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