This Indiana School District Partners With ManagedMethods To Help Keep Its Data Secure And Students Safe In Google Workspace
Background
Located in Indiana, Plainfield Community School Corporation (PCSC) is home to over 5,900 students and 650 staff members across its eight schools. From pre-kindergarten to high school and all grades in between, PCSC considers itself a community of values. In fact, one of its 10 core values is responsibility — a concept that rings especially true when it comes to technology.
As Director of Technology, Jeff Collins is responsible for overseeing the district’s IT environment. “Of course, all our tech staff are involved,” he said. “But we have one person who leads our efforts.”
Read on to learn how Collins simplified cloud security with the help of ManagedMethods’ automated monitoring platform.
Challenge
“Some of our biggest pain points were related to Google Drive with large files being stored there, identifying personally identifiable information (PII), and unacceptable student content. We were having difficulty managing inappropriate content across various areas of our students’ Google Workspaces. When we demoed Cloud Monitor, it was the ease of visibility that stood out to me. Just having information more available and in an easy-to-digest format is the biggest benefit.”
— Jeff Collins, Director of Technology, Plainfield Community School Corporation
Although many school districts leaped into the cloud during the pandemic, PCSC was way ahead of the curve. As Collins explained, the district first moved to Microsoft 365 in 2012 but also adopted Google Workspace as its primary platform in 2018.
“Initially, the challenge was doing things differently,” he said. “Our first focus was minimizing spam and other unwanted messages. As the need for improved security and visibility has grown, the included tools no longer fully fit our needs.”
Unfortunately, their cloud platforms’ native tools weren’t easy to use. Even worse, they lacked full visibility over the cloud environment, which made managing and understanding activity a constant struggle.
“Some of the biggest pain points were Google Drive and large files being stored there, personally identifiable information (PII), and unacceptable student content,” Collins added. “We were having difficulty managing inappropriate content across various areas of our students’ Google Workspaces.”
Solution
Why did PSCS decide to find a new cloud security platform? It wasn’t just because their current tools lacked control or capability. According to Collins, many forces led to the decision.
“One factor that spurred our action was Google enforcing Drive space limits,” he said. This created a big problem for school districts nationwide, especially those that didn’t have oversight into unnecessary files in cloud storage. “Another was the realization that students were finding ways around our traditional process of email monitoring.”
“Using Cloud Monitor, we found that we had staff and students with movies and content we didn’t want in their Drives. Of course, we’ve found many documents where students were chatting, even cautioning their classmates about using appropriate language. We have also referred students to counseling based on clear warning signs of suicidal thoughts.”
— Jeff Collins, Director of Technology, Plainfield Community School Corporation
So, Collins and his team set off to solve the problem. They didn’t know what they were looking for at the time — just that their current process wasn’t working. Luckily, their previous technology director suggested Cloud Monitor.
“After the demo, we really liked what we saw and made it happen,” Collins explained. “The ease of visibility is what stood out to me.”
Results
Now, PCSC leverages Cloud Monitor as a security dashboard for its Google domain. According to Collins, he’s enabled reporting capabilities, Google Drive enforcement policies, and PII alerts.
“Certainly, just having information more available and in an easy-to-digest format is the biggest benefit,” he added.
Cloud Monitor’s added visibility has already helped him uncover several potential risks.
“We had staff and students with movies and content we didn’t want in their Drives,” Collins explained. “Of course, we’ve found many documents where students were chatting, even cautioning their classmates about using appropriate language. We have referred students to counseling based on clear warning signs of suicidal thoughts. We have also been able to improve our staff’s email etiquette because Cloud Monitor alerts us about emails from friends, cohorts, social media, and businesses that are better suited for going to a personal email. With this level of visibility, we’re able to educate our staff on why district email accounts are best used strictly for school business.”
Given his positive experience, Collins highly recommends trying a live demo.
“The support and customer engagement is among the best I have encountered,” he said. “We hope to continue our growth and use of Cloud Monitor, especially as the platform itself grows.”
Schedule a free 30-day audit to learn more about how Cloud Monitor can help you protect your school district.
