COSN Archives

Exploring generative AI products: Essential recommendations for schools on privacy and accessibility

October 16, 2024 by Fernanda Pérez Perez, CoSN 2024 Blaschke Fellow

GenAI tools should protect student data and comply with accessibility standards to create an inclusive and secure environment.

Districts must carefully select the right AI tools to meet their unique needs. This rapid adoption brings significant risks, particularly regarding data privacy and accessibility.

AI in Education

AI’s transformative role in accessibility

October 3, 2024 by Laura Ascione

Ongoing collaboration among educators, policymakers, and tech developers is essential to navigate the complexities of AI in accessibility.

AI has tremendous potential to enhance accessibility and support for students--particularly for students with disability, according to a new report from CoSN and CAST.

Student Data Security

Creating IEPs with GenAI while ensuring data privacy

September 25, 2024 by Fernanda Pérez Perez, CoSN’s 2024 Blaschke Fellow

When it comes to student IEPs, it’s crucial to balance AI's innovations with strong data privacy measures to protect student information.

All students have a right to privacy, and their personal and sensitive information must be kept confidential to protect them from unwanted exposure of their Personal Identifiable Information…

CoSN Corner

Interoperability is finally getting the spotlight it deserves

June 26, 2024 by Chloe Sanducci, Project Unicorn at InnovateEDU

For a secure data infrastructure, the foundational pieces of data ecosystems must be in place: interoperability, privacy, and cybersecurity.

Implementing interoperability can bring information from edtech tools together to holistically contextualize student learning, allowing educators, schools, and districts to understand their students better and support their paths…

Ancillary

CoSN IT Leader Spotlight: David Jarboe

May 23, 2024 by ESchool Media Contributors

These IT Leader spotlights highlight how innovative edtech and IT leaders are influencing teaching and learning across the nation.

In partnership with CoSN, eSchool News is highlighting the innovative and dedicated work of IT leaders in school districts across the country.

CoSN Corner

CoSN IT Leader Spotlight: Kley Todd

June 13, 2024May 23, 2024 by ESchool Media Contributors

In partnership with CoSN, eSchool News is highlighting the innovative and dedicated work of IT leaders in school districts across the country.

CoSN Corner

CoSN IT Leader Spotlight: Mike Daugherty

May 28, 2024May 23, 2024 by ESchool Media Contributors

In partnership with CoSN, eSchool News is highlighting the innovative and dedicated work of IT leaders in school districts across the country.

Community is Key to Saving Schools

May 17, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

While not a new concept, the importance of building a sense of community within school districts has never been more ... Read more

CoSN Corner

Beyond the visible: Recognizing and accommodating invisible disabilities

May 13, 2024 by Don Ringelestein, CETL, Yorkville CUSD #115

More conversations are needed around access and protections for those with invisible disabilities that aren’t always addressed.

The concept of accessibility for individuals with disabilities has been an evolving journey, significantly propelled by landmark legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

K-12 Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is top priority for K-12 edtech leaders

May 8, 2024 by Laura Ascione

Annual CoSN report highlights nationwide survey results of key trends and challenges for K-12 edtech leaders.

The majority of edtech leaders say they believe AI can benefit education, and roughly one-third have a general AI initiative, according to the 2024 State of EdTech District…

Podcast Articles

The Best of CoSN 2024

May 1, 2024April 30, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

In this episode of the Innovation and Education Podcast, hosted by Kevin Hogan, the focus is on the insights and experiences gathered from the 2024 CoSN conference. The…

Innovation Insights

Big Deals: Edtech Industry News from Google, ETS, Raspberry Pi Foundation, and More

April 29, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

4 questions every district leader should consider when choosing an edtech partner

TeachAI, an initiative led by Code.org, ETS, the International Society of Technology in Education, Khan Academy, and the World Economic ... Read more

CoSN Corner

CoSN IT Leader Spotlight: Lisa Higgins

April 26, 2024April 25, 2024 by ESchool Media Contributors

In partnership with CoSN, eSchool News is highlighting the innovative and dedicated work of IT leaders in school districts across the country.

Live @ CoSN2024

Meet the Winners—Dr. Kellie Wilks, Chief Technology Officer, of Ector County Independent School District, TX (ECISD)

April 12, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

The CoSN Withrow CTO Award recognizes an exceptional district CTO who serves as a true technology champion and whose leadership has been ... Read more

Live @ CoSN2024

Meet the Winners—Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) in Manassas, Virginia wins the 2024 Community Leadership Award for Digital Equity.

April 12, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

The CoSN Community Leadership Award for Digital Equity recognizes a district that is working to address digital equity, narrow the Homework Gap ... Read more

Live @ CoSN2024

#CoSN2024 Conversation – Tom Ryan Co-Founder K-12 Strategic Technology Advisor Group (NM)

April 10, 2024April 10, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

Tom Ryan wins CoSN’s Seymour Papert Lifetime Achievement Award, a recognition that has only been bestowed seven times in CoSN history.

Student Data Security

It’s not business, it’s personal: Building a culture of trust to protect personal data

April 8, 2024 by Laura Pollak, CoSN Student Data Privacy Committee

A culture of trust encourages and enables the smooth adoption of effective data protection, like those that require multiple steps.

Protecting our privacy and security is challenging. Really challenging. It is also inconvenient, time-consuming, and sometimes frustrating. Forgot your password? Yeah, that’s going to take some time to…

Live @ CoSN2024

Admins need PD too— Insights on CoSN’s CTO Academy

April 8, 2024April 5, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

What does it take to run the tech for a school district in 2024? A lot more than resetting the ... Read more

Live @ CoSN2024

Show Stopper—CTL on Connected Chromebooks

April 3, 2024April 3, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

CTL, a global cloud-computing solution leader for education, will present at the upcoming Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) conference in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, ... Read more

Ancillary

CoSN2024 Wrap-Up

April 26, 2024March 29, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

Live @ CoSN2024

CoSN: The Basics

April 1, 2024March 28, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

What is CoSN? The Consortium for School Networking is the national professional association of K-12 EdTech leaders, their teams, and ... Read more

Live @ CoSN2024

Raising Bids to Raise the Bar in Edtech

April 2, 2024March 28, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

A large part of CoSN’s mission is to participate in edtech-related policy discussions at both national and state levels. Their ... Read more

Live @ CoSN2024

#CoSN2024 Remote—How to Do It

April 2, 2024March 28, 2024 by ESchool News Contributor

CoSN2024’s Virtual offering is “The CoSN Experience.” The event will no longer be a hybrid event, but a fully virtual ... Read more

CoSN Corner

CoSN2024 Wrap-Up

April 26, 2024March 19, 2024 by Kevin Hogan

Read and see highlights of the speakers, topics, and technologies showcased this year.

CoSN Corner

CoSN IT Leader Spotlight: Don Wolff

April 26, 2024March 6, 2024 by ESchool News Contributor

In partnership with CoSN, eSchool News is highlighting the innovative and dedicated work of IT leaders in school districts across the country.

Edtech Trends

CoSN names 9 edtech hurdles, trends, and tools

February 27, 2024 by Laura Ascione

CoSN's annual Driving K-12 Innovation report reveals significant shifts in the K-12 innovation landscape, impacting edtech and learning.

Teacher retention, learner agency, and, yes, generative AI are among the Hurdles (challenges), Accelerators (mega-trends) and Tech Enablers (tools) impacting education innovation for the year ahead.

Innovation Insights

Big Deals—AI GUIDANCE for Schools Toolkit, Assessment PD for Teachers, and EV Buses Hit the Road.

October 27, 2023 by Kevin Hogan

New resources from Code.org, ETS, the International Society of Technology in Education, Khan Academy, the World Economic Forum, ISS, and more.

CoSN Corner

10 key CoSN back-to-school resources for edtech leaders

September 26, 2023September 26, 2023 by CoSN Staff

As edtech leaders head back to school, resources touching on equity, cybersecurity, asset management, and more can make for a smooth start.

This collection of CoSN resources can help guide K-12 edtech leaders through the beginning of a new school year.

CoSN Corner

Digital citizenship, digital literacy, and education

December 11, 2023August 23, 2023 by Kathleen Stephany, Technology Integration Coach, Oshkosh Area School District

The Oshkosh Area School District is actively addressing digital citizenship in schools with students in elementary, middle, and high schools.

Sometimes it feels as though social media has taken over the world. We live in an age of competing attention to hold our interest. If you have ever…

Innovation Insights

Data Dump

July 11, 2023July 11, 2023 by Kevin Hogan

Highlights from the CoSN 2023 State of EdTech Leadership Survey; PowerSchool 2023 Education Focus Report Spotlighting Top EdTech Challenges and Priorities; and the Department of Education’s State of…

Newsline

Lightspeed Systems’ New ‘Digital Equity’ Module Provides Actionable Insight Into Students’ Internet Connectivity And School-Issued Device Health When Learning Outside of School

May 5, 2023 by ESchool News Staff

AUSTIN, TX – Lightspeed Systems, the leader in safe, secure and equitable education technology, announces Digital Equity—a module that provides ... Read more

DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access)

4 ways school leaders can target the homework gap

March 24, 2023 by Laura Ascione

The pandemic spread awareness about the challenging in eliminating the homework gap--here's what schools can do to connect students.

While the homework gap has existed for some time, the massive virtual learning spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic shed a bright light on the challenge of ensuring all…

IT Innovations

7 facts about the state of edtech in schools

December 5, 2022May 19, 2022 by Laura Ascione

Districts are modernizing their edtech strategies, but IT leaders still grapple with near-constant cybersecurity risks.

School networks are getting faster and more modern, but school IT departments struggle to keep up with the demand for remote access and support, according to an annual…

eSchool Media

Safely embracing digital learning with managed network security

December 3, 2021 by Richard Twilley, Group Vice President, Vertical Markets, Spectrum Enterprise

Managed network security services can mitigate the risk of service interruptions and also may free up school IT professionals for strategic projects

Digital learning surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it isn’t going away with the return to in-person classrooms.

Ancillary

11 facts about K-12 IT leadership

November 10, 2021 by Laura Ascione

Access to high-speed internet and challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic top the list of hurdles IT leadership departments have tackled this year

Broadband access and the ever-growing equity gap are among K-12 IT leaders' top concerns, according to CoSN's annual IT Leadership Survey.

DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access)

4 things we need to realize about digital equity

December 7, 2022June 16, 2021 by Laura Ascione

The pandemic moved digital equity concerns to the forefront--here's how to support robust access to online learning resources.

COVID caused an unprecedented and massive shift to online learning, and while online learning isn't new itself, it became the primary mode of education delivery for most students.…

Featured on eSchool News

11 facts about today’s K-12 IT leadership

November 4, 2021June 10, 2021 by Laura Ascione

Broadband access and the ever-growing equity gap are among K-12 IT leaders' top concerns, according to CoSN's annual IT Leadership Survey.

Digital Innovation

Here’s what helps–and hinders–K-12 innovation

December 7, 2022February 23, 2021 by Laura Ascione

K-12 innovation comes in many forms, but there are certain things that help it on its way in classrooms and schools

A personalized, learner-centered educational experience is one of the main drivers of K-12 innovation and extraordinary student outcomes, according to CoSN's annual innovation survey. The survey includes three…

District Management

Talking tech: Enabling digital transformation through collaboration

May 14, 2020May 13, 2020 by Coby Gurr

True digital transformation relies on a strong implementation strategy--here's how to achieve it

There’s no question that digital transformation is dramatically shifting the education landscape. In the Consortium for School Networking’s (CoSN) 2019 survey, 55 percent of respondents say they have…

Featured on eSchool News

10 priorities for K-12 IT leaders

March 2, 2020March 2, 2020 by Laura Ascione

With increased data and connectivity come threats to school networks and a focus on equity--and K-12 IT leaders have their plates full managing these challenges, and more.

School districts are moving to highly digital ecosystems, and K-12 IT leaders have more and more to manage to ensure that teaching and learning can go on uninterrupted…

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