CoSN's Belonging & Inclusion Goals
CoSN is committed to engaging in dialogues across perspectives within the K-12 EdTech field, to develop and promote strategies that strengthen inclusion.
Our goal is to create a professional learning community that encourages actionable changes within our CoSN volunteer committees, meetings, and activities.
Together with our board, staff, members, and corporate partners, we will continue to advocate by promoting collaboration and teamwork, effective management of dialogue, transparency, open communication, and skill-building to enhance interpersonal and working relationships.
CoSN staff contact: Jill Brown, MA, Ph.D., Director of Professional Learning, jbrown@cosn.org
Belonging & Inclusion Blogs
CoSN’s Belonging & Inclusion Call to Action Continuum
Recognize
Acknowledge that there is a choice between ambivalence and action. Systemic differences have led to a digital divide. We will work to ensure access to use of technology, through agency, while promoting inclusion in the field to better represent the communities whom education technology leaders serve.
Learn and Reflect
Assess your opportunities for action. We, at CoSN, in order to create change, will listen, learn, reflect, and take action to become more inclusive in promoting inclusion and belonging. We should identify opportunities to take action towards positive change.
Featured Belonging & Inclusion Blogs
Belonging & Inclusion Calendars and How They Affect Workplace Scheduling
By Farheen Beg Mohammad
Even in this age of heightened awareness of Belonging & Inclusion workplace and education leaders might not be aware of the advantages of instituting a Belonging & Inclusion Calendar. Creating a comprehensive calendar that includes relevant days of note helps engender a sense of belonging for all and helps efficient workforce scheduling. We chatted about Belonging & Inclusion calendars’ benefits and positive impact with Farheen Beg Mohammad, Director of Student Impact at Digital Promise.
Defining Technology Accessibility
By Rita Fennelly-Atkinson
Access covers many different and broad ideas that are important to student learning. Educational access requires that schools and districts implement systems that ensure that every student has a chance to achieve success. The goal of all learning with technology should be to provide all learners with access to opportunities that can lead to long-term opportunities for educational success.
IT & AT: How are inclusive tech practices being tackled to support access in your district?
By Christine Fox
District leaders, how are teams across your district ensuring that all students, including those with disabilities, have seamless access to instructional materials and tools for learning? Is there a leader from assistive technology (AT) on the technology planning team? Have AT users tested the accessibility features currently offered or being considered? Does your Information Technology (IT) and/or EdTech team meet with special education consistently? If you answered “no” to one or more of these questions, or if you are unsure of the answer to these questions, it is time to dig deeper to support access in your school systems.
