In this episode of The K-12 Tech Experience, Jake Kasowski interviews Michael Townsend, the Director of Technology at Tuscaloosa County School Systems in Alabama. Jake and Michael discuss the recent Alabama Educational Technology Conference (AETC) and Michael shares what he's focused on, in regards to the future of K-12 cybersecurity in Alabama schools. Michael shares what the 2020-21 school year was like for Tuscaloosa County School System (05:14); how Michael saw online activity change during remote and blended learning (09:17); how Michael's role has changed and how he expects it to continue changing (10:54); Michael provides an overview of AETC and recaps the 2021 event (13:58); Michael shares about the Alabama Leaders in Educational Technology (ALET) conference (19:28); Michael discusses the need for a growing cloud focus by technology departments in Alabama school districts (20:23); how the past year has changed Michael's thinking toward cybersecurity in school districts (22:05). Resources Michael uses to stay up to date on the latest news and trends: industry data provided by vendors, news headlines, EdTech conferences. Share us your thoughts on Twitter @managedmethods @jakasowski and on LinkedIn. Learn more about ManagedMethods at https://managedmethods.com/