IT Management

Interoperability: Is it really an all or nothing concept?

My name is Terry Allen and I work for Morgan School District in a rural area in Utah. Being in a small district means that our administrators wear multiple hats.  For me, that means that I oversee the areas of Assessment, Title 1 and IT. Over the last few months, I have had the opportunity to serve on a committee for CoSN about developing an Interoperability Maturity Model rubric. This has been an awesome experience to meet other IT leaders from across the country to discuss and share my perspective as an IT Director from a rural community regarding Interoperability.

New CoSN Briefs Untangle the K-12 Online Tracking and Privacy Knot

CoSN today issued two member exclusive briefs, including a publicly available summary, on the fundamentals of privacy and online tracking for school technology leaders.

The first report details the use of online cookies and tracking technologies and explains the implications for school privacy. The second brief outlines Google Analytics – the widely used free service that measures and captures website and app activity.

Tags: 
Data-driven decision making
Emerging Technologies
IT Management

CoSN Issues Updated Toolkit to Tackle Nation’s “Homework Gap”

 
CoSN today released an updated version of its digital equity toolkit, titled “Supporting Students & Families in Out-of-School Learning.” The resource, which provides school leaders with strategies to help students and families who do not have adequate Internet access at home, includes a new section on how districts can partner with their local governments and communities to improve digital equity.
 
Tags: 
Broadband
Data-driven decision making
Framework of Essential Skills
IT Management

Small and Large School Systems Recognized for Commitment to Student Data Privacy

 CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking) today announced two new recipients of the national Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal: Virginia’s Loudoun County Public Schools and Alabama’s Satsuma City Schools. Both schools were awarded the Seal for committing to rigorous practices and policies to protect student data.
 
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IT Management

School Infrastructure Report: Strong Gains in Broadband Connectivity, But Challenges Persist

Majority of school districts today (85 percent) fully meet the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) short-term goal for broadband connectivity of 100 Mbps per 1,000 students. However, recurring costs remain the most significant barrier for schools in their efforts to increase connectivity, CoSN revealed today in its 2017 Annual Infrastructure Survey Report.
 
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IT Management

3.5GHz Innovation Band Becoming Available

Last year the FCC finished its rules for opening up previously restricted spectrum at 3.5GHz to experimental public use. In particular, this now permits commercial operations in 150MHz of new spectrum in the 3550-3700MHz band which was previously reserved for the Defense Department for coastal navigation use, and fixed satellite services. What does this mean for public school districts? A potential new path and service set for mobile data communications. This is another step in the Obama administration’s effort to expand broadband access.

How School Systems can Establish Reliable Internet and WAN Connections

With the exponential increase of access needed to cloud-based applications for instructional and operational use, Internet reliability is becoming paramount in school systems. So how can school systems provide the necessary access by having multiple Internet connections, or a fiber ring for their Wide Area Network (WAN)? The short answer we found in my school district is to provide additional Internet connections where the school system divides Internet traffic between schools. Let’s take a hypothetical example of a school district with 20 schools.

New School Leadership Toolkit Advances Digital Equity Nationwide

Washington, DC (February 17, 2016) – To improve digital equity in school systems nationwide, CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking) today launched the Digital Equity Action Toolkit for district leaders.

Introduced through CoSN’s new Digital Equity Action Agenda leadership initiative, the toolkit provides school system leaders with thoughtful strategies to address and narrow the “homework gap” in their communities.

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IT Management
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