Key points:

• The structure to develop, implement, and sustain a privacy program may not yet be in place across all districts
• The advantages of edtech compliance for schools and vendors
• Protecting our students: The urgency of securing education data
• For more on data privacy, visit eSN’s IT Leadership hub

Protecting student data is critical for school district IT leaders, but many cite leadership and training gaps, along with time and manpower, as obstacles in that pursuit, according to the 2025 National Student Data Privacy Report from CoSN.

The report is based on results of a survey of school district edtech leaders from across the country. The report, divided into two parts, provides an unprecedented look into how districts are managing the critical task of safeguarding student data.

With more than 130 state student data privacy laws that have proliferated across the country and a steady stream of headlines highlighting data breaches in schools, the importance of safeguarding student data has become more critical than ever. The report examines how those responsible for student data privacy programs assess their district’s privacy practices, the tools and resources available to them, additional supports they find valuable and barriers to improvement.

“The 2025 National Student Data Privacy Report underscores the urgent need for stronger leadership, training and resources to protect student data in an increasingly digital world. The report provides a roadmap for districts to build stronger, more resilient privacy programs and highlights the significant impact of CoSN’s Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal in fostering leadership alignment and cross-departmental collaboration,” said Keith Krueger, CoSN’s CEO.

CoSN surveyed more than 400 edtech leaders from across 39 states and the District of Columbia. Key findings from the report include:

Leadership and training gaps: Nearly 90 percent of edtech leaders who participated in the survey noted that they oversee their district’s student data privacy program, yet 73 percent say it’s not part of their job description and 17 percent have never received any relevant privacy training. A quarter of those trained paid out of pocket.

Barriers to improvement: Time and manpower (60 percent), guidance on federal laws (47 percent), state laws (46 percent) and privacy expertise generally (38 percent) were more frequently cited as barriers than financial resources (36 percent).

Employee-related concerns: Eighty-nine percent cite employee-related issues as extremely or very concerning, including challenges managing behavior (76 percent), controlling the influx of free and low-cost classroom technologies (69 percent), enforcing policies (55 percent) and mandating privacy training (49 percent).

Program performance disparities: Districts that have earned the CoSN Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal, or have indicated that they are working towards obtaining one, are far more likely to outperform other districts with respect to the breadth and maturity of their student data privacy programs.

Opportunities for improvement: While district edtech leaders are committed to student data privacy, the necessary organizational structure to develop, implement and sustain a privacy program may not yet be in place across all districts. The report’s findings indicate the importance of reinforcing a commitment to student data privacy from leadership as a core priority while providing district EdTech leaders with training and implementation support to strengthen privacy practices.

“Protecting student data privacy has never been more important. The report demonstrates–for the first time–what school districts really need to be successful in their privacy efforts and the steps that every district can take to improve,” said Linnette Attai, project director of the CoSN Student Data Privacy Initiative and Trusted Learning Environment Program, and president of PlayWell, LLC.

The CoSN TLE Seal and the new TLE State Partnership Program are designed to close these gaps by equipping districts with actionable resources, training and a proven rubric of 25 data privacy practices.

States like Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina and South Carolina are already partnering with CoSN to empower districts through this initiative. By achieving the TLE Seal, districts not only reinforce their commitment to protecting student information but also build trust within their communities, setting a standard for excellence in data privacy and security that benefits students, families and educators alike.

This press release originally appeared online.

Key points:

• CoSN 2025 will tackle AI in education, among other topics
• CoSN outlines trends, challenges in K-12 innovation
• 10 tips for using analytics and adaptive tech in schools
• For more news on CoSN, visit eSN’s CoSN Corner

Like it or not, AI is evolving, and it is cementing its place in education. And the CoSN 2025 Conference is preparing attendees to meet the AI challenge head-on, focusing this year’s conference theme on human leadership in an AI world.

Register here to attend this year’s conference in Seattle.

Ken Shelton, an independent consultant, speaker, advisor, and strategist, opens the conference on Monday, March 31 with his keynote, Reimagining Learning with AI: A Path to Empowerment. Shelton will explore the promises and perils of leveraging AI in education and will delve into strategies for maximizing AI’s benefits while addressing its risks, ensuring that AI becomes a tool for true empowerment in education.

On Tuesday, April 1, panelists Lindsay E. Jones, CEO of CAST, Lindsay Kruse, CEO of All Means All, and Rachell Johnson, director of assistant technology at SCATP, will participate in a general session, Leadership, Not Bystanders, moderated by Sarah Radcliffe, director of Future Ready Learning in the School District of Altoona. Panelists will discuss how can to ensure that no student is overlooked as AI continues to reshape education.

The closing keynote on Wednesday, April 2, Beyond the Algorithm–Building Trust, Access, and Purpose in AI-Enhanced Education, features Richard Culatta of ISTE + ASCD, Victor Lee of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University, Pati Ruiz, EdD, of Digital Promise, and Kris J. Hagel of the Peninsula School District. The discussion will focus on ensuring AI enhances, rather than diminishes, human potential in education.

Workshops include:

• Student data privacy
• Generative AI implementation
• Education leadership in the digital age
• AI and leadership
• Organizational change management for digital transformation

Spotlight sessions cover cybersecurity and physical security, tackling cell phones in classrooms, top edtech trends in 2025, edtech and AI quality indicators, and FERPA.

Wondering what the CoSN conference has for you?

Chief Technology Officers 

• Learn proven strategies for getting the dollars you need to build the infrastructure for today and tomorrow
• Connect with your peers and build your community of practice
• Discover how to stretch scarce resources to make the greatest impact on teaching and learning Instructional Technology Directors

Instructional Technology Directors 

• Hear about new tools and models for engaging students and personalizing instruction
• Strategize about how to bridge the gap between the technical and instructional silos
• Improve your leadership skills and how to scale technology beyond islands of innovation

Superintendents, District Teams, and Education Service Agencies 

• Hear from thought leaders on how to create a vision for digital conversion and continuously improving innovative culture in your district
• Learn tips for breaking down the silos and leveraging technology to enable a 21stcentury school system
• Share creative and strategic solutions about how to create robust learning environments at school and at home 

Industry, Government, and Nonprofit Representatives 

• Understand what is keeping school system technology leaders up at night 
• Share information on emerging tools and services for learning
• Learn about better strategies and models for implementing, maintaining, and evaluating technology for learning

Key points:

• An 18-month study informs key recommendations to defend against cyberattacks
• How schools can fight growing ransomware attacks
• Preparing for evolving ransomware threats in 2025
• For more news on cybersecurity, visit eSN’s IT Leadership hub

The long-term impacts of K-12 cyberattacks, including lost learning time and disruptions to school operations, are just as damaging as stolen data, according to a new report from the Center for Internet Security, Inc. (CIS).

The 2025 CIS MS-ISAC K-12 Cybersecurity Report, released at the SXSW EDU conference, details the increasing sophistication, frequency, and impact of cyberattacks against K-12 schools.

This is the third annual CIS report dedicated to K-12 cybersecurity, and the second year CIS has partnered with the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), to direct attention and resources to this critical issue.

Key findings

• Eighty-two percent of reporting K-12 organizations experienced cyber threat impacts
• Nearly 14,000 security events were observed, with 9,300 confirmed incidents
• Cybercriminals target human behavior at least 45 percent more than technical vulnerabilities
• Attacks surge during high-stakes periods like exams, disrupting education and forcing difficult decisions

Impact on communities

“The long-term impacts of stolen student and faculty data are only part of the story,” said Randy Rose, VP of security operations and intelligence at CIS. “Schools are a vital part of our local communities and cyberattacks against these institutions can have real-world consequences that include missed days, canceled exams, wasted food, and disruptions to child care among other things.”

Building cyber resilience: 

CIS emphasizes the importance of a collaborative approach to cybersecurity. Early engagement with the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) improves outcomes, and schools that leverage no- and low-cost cybersecurity resources from the MS-ISAC significantly increase cybersecurity capabilities at a fraction of the cost. MS-ISAC services blocked more than one billion attempts to connect to malware domains, and over 320 million attempts to connect to phishing domains.

Recommendations

To better protect against cyberattacks:

• Create a culture of shared responsibility
• Establish direct lines of communication between IT teams and educators
• Implement smart technical controls that support learning without hindering it
• Strengthen partnerships, as collaboration amplifies impact

Final takeaways

Cybersecurity in education isn’t just about protecting data, it’s about protecting the students and families, as well as the services they rely on every day. Through proactive cybersecurity strategies and collaboration, K-12 schools can greatly improve their cyber defenses against a pervasive and evolving cyber threat.

This press release originally appeared online.

Key points:

• As learning evolves, leaders will take steps to ensure their districts innovate as they educate
• The psychology of Disruptive Innovation
• Leveraging connectivity to tackle K-12’s biggest challenges
• For more news on K-12 innovation, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub

A new annual report from CoSN outlines the challenges, mega-trends, and tools set to impact education innovation in 2025–and for the first time, the report also highlights key themes connecting present-day education challenges with future opportunities.

The 2025 Driving K-12 Innovation Report identifies Hurdles (challenges), Accelerators (mega-trends) and Tech Enablers (tools), along with Key Bridges (connecting themes) selected by CoSN’s Driving K-12 Innovation Advisory Board, which includes global educators, technologists, changemakers, and industry partners.

“The 2025 Driving K-12 Innovation Report urges education leaders to take a holistic approach to the challenges schools face, crafting solutions uniquely tailored with their needs,” said Keith Krueger, CoSN’s CEO. “The report isn’t a blueprint for one-size-fits-all answers–it’s a catalyst for meaningful dialogue. We hope it inspires leaders to reflect, collaborate and take bold steps to create learning environments where every student and educator can thrive.”

Hurdles: Roadblocks that force schools to slow down, prepare themselves, and make a leap

• Attracting and retaining educators and IT professionals: Hiring and keeping school staff is a significant problem for school systems; many educators are experiencing low financial compensation and social and emotional burnout, causing them to set aside their passion for teaching and leave the field.
• Evolution of teaching and learning: The Evolution of Teaching and Learning is driven by the need to prepare students for a dynamic and interconnected world. As society and technology continue to evolve, education must also adapt to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
• Digital equity: Digital Equity includes three, interrelated components: digital foundations (including digital literacy), conditions for learning and meaningful learning opportunities.

Accelerators: Real-world megatrends or catalysts that help motivate and increase the speed of innovation

• Learner agency: Learner Agency is all about students as active choice-makers in their education; it’s about reconceptualizing their role from that of “student” to that of “learner.” Combined with a strong learning environment, students with agency could transform from order-takers to innovators, experience a state of “flow,” in their learning experiences and learn far more authentically.
• Building the human capacity of leaders: Strengthening the professional community of schools and providing opportunities for educators and all K-12 professionals to learn and master new skills can open the door to innovative practices that can enhance student experiences.
• Changing attitudes toward demonstrating learning: There is a rising groundswell of discussion around assessing, documenting, communicating and assigning value to student learning. Memorization, cultural biases, limited real-world applications–these are just some of the reasons why traditional testing may not be an effective means of assessment and may not accurately reflect a student’s true understanding of a subject.

Tech Enablers: The tools that grease the wheels for schools to surmount Hurdles and leverage Accelerators

• Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI): In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, Gen AI has emerged as a transformative force in education. As school systems worldwide explore the benefits and challenges of this technology, they are working hard to meet the urgent need for safe, effective and responsible use of Gen AI.
• Analytics and adaptive technologies: These are digital technologies–often powered by AI–that collect and use data related to teaching and learning. Analytics refers to the process of analyzing data collected about student learning and the opportunity to leverage data to inform instructional decision making. Adaptive technologies are tools that adapt to the student based on their interactions with the technology. ​​​​​​​​​
• Untethered broadband and connectivity: Ubiquitous broadband Internet and the underlying technologies that enable robust connected learning–without requiring devices to be physically connected (via cables, for example). These technologies enable mobility and learning anytime, anywhere.

Key Bridges: Themes connecting today’s education challenges with tomorrow’s opportunities.

• Ethical innovation centers on the “why” of change, aligning efforts with educational goals like fostering growth, equity and responsible digital citizenship. It emphasizes the importance of responsible design and implementation of new technologies, safeguarding student privacy and promoting equitable access and benefit.
• Personalization emphasizes the need to tailor learning experiences to meet the diverse needs, strengths and aspirations of every student, fostering engagement, learner agency and equity.
• The future of work highlights how the rapid and accelerating pace of change (in technology, society, communications, environment and other aspects of life) is transforming the future of work and placing students in an emerging world with social-technical dynamics both congruent and dis-contiguous from ours.
• Critical media literacy stresses that students must develop the ability to critically analyze, evaluate and discern the authenticity and credibility of information across various media platforms, giving them the skills needed to distinguish between primary sources, manipulated media and fabricated information.

CoSN gratefully acknowledges its sponsors for supporting the Driving K–12 Innovation series: ClassDojo, CDW Education, Palo Alto Networks and T-Mobile for Education.

Material from a press release was used in this report.

This article originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

CoSN’s Driving K-12 Innovation initiative recently announced that Analytics & Adaptive Technologies as a Top Tech Enabler (tool) for 2025 and it’s appeared on the list five of the past seven years. The Driving K-12 Innovation Advisory Board defines Analytics & Adaptive Technologies as: these are digital technologies that collect and use data related to teaching and learning. Analytics refers to the process of analyzing data collected about student learning and the opportunity to leverage data to inform instructional decision making.

Adaptive technologies are tools that adapt to the student based on their interactions with the technology. ​​​​​​​​​These adaptations could be in the form of suggesting next steps, providing remediation, controlling pacing, or providing feedback based on analysis of the student’s performance.

But what is this topic exactly and why is it important for moving education forward?

During the November 2024 meeting of CoSN’s EdTech Innovation Committee, participants were asked those same questions, and shared their perspectives on what educators should do about the topic. Read on for 10 key takeaways from the discussion.

1. How much is too much data? “When I moved to Virginia [from Ireland], what struck me about the U.S. education system was your engagement with data,” said John Heffernan (CEF Professional Development, Ireland). “In Ireland, we don’t use data in the same way. We don’t collect the same amount of data, and I just wonder, is this a U.S.-centric thing that everything has to be measured?
2. We need common language and understanding around these terms. During the conversation, there was a need to define terms and shared language. For example, Analytics & Adaptive Technologies or Personalization? Personalized or Individualized Learning? Committee member Ruben Puentedura (Hippasus, Massachusetts) explained that we also need to distinguish between traditional data, like test scores, and the much bigger world of data that “can be used creatively and usefully applied by students and teachers that can include a range of things from students’ interests and type of social networks that exist in a classroom.” Puentedura added: “The data can be used, not just as a question of how to assess something, it can be used to scaffold and underpin what happens in a classroom. AI allows you to take rich worlds of quantitative data and qualitative, narrative data and do qualitative analysis on a scale that you couldn’t do before.”
3. Just as EdTech innovators need common terminology, we then need to be able to communicate it with leadership. “As we look at what the messaging should be, how can it be simplified for both school leaders and for teachers in understanding what it is? And then, what workload that we can eliminate from districts from an already full agenda,” asked Andrew Fekete (Community Consolidated School District 93, Illinois). “There’s a lot of resistance in saying that we don’t have time for this conversation. And my pushback is, we don’t have time to not have this conversation.”
4. Challenges in data collection and usage.” Right, wrong, or indifferent, we still have significant pockets of school districts that don’t grasp even the basics of data,” said Beverly Knox-Pipes, EdD (Former CTO/Education Consultant, Michigan). “As a result, they are often reactive rather than proactive, failing to plan and strategize effectively for what they truly need. This includes not only setting up and managing their student information systems but also understanding how to gather and use data to drive student achievement—the ultimate purpose of education.”
5. The impact of AI and machine learning on educational data. “With the advent of AI and small language models, we’re going to be more and more dependent on our own data internally,” said Pete Just, CETL (Just Strategics, Indiana). “I’ve been talking to a lot of school districts about this as they’re trying to figure it out. But the number one thing is: you have to have good data. So if you’re going to try to make decisions and try to go deep on using an AI tool to help make those decisions. They’re going to be off if your data is not quality.”
6. The importance of digital literacy. A high school teacher in Committee member Kathleen Stephany (School District of Holmen, Wisconsin)’s district is piloting a new course called Data Science, which will have a math component, content knowledge, and communication. “The teacher, when she proposed it, talked about how much data is created per minute,” said Stephany. “If you think about Venmo transactions, streaming videos – there’s tons of data. [The course is about] how to use that data and what goes into that.”
7. Since the beginning, this topic has been about student agency. “The role of adaptive technology and analytics was to grow student agency in their own learning path, whether it’s mastering outcomes or failing forward. To learn from it and the process,” said Janice Mertes (CDW Education State Level Ambassador). “There is an adult use of the term and a student use of this term, to the point of adding knowledge of data, literacy, and analytics.”
8. Analytics & Adaptive Technologies are about teacher agency, too. “We should also be talking about the need for teacher agency at the same place where we need student agency in conversations like these, especially when we’re talking about professional development of staff and being able to choose their pathway and have more choice in the targeted professional learning that we offer. We need ways that allow our educators to follow those paths based on the needs that they’re identifying and thinking about how we design those,” Nick Stoyas (Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205, Illinois).
9. Current concerns about data privacy. “I worry about how the data will be used after the student’s assessment. I’m a big believer in analytics and adaptive tech. I think that there’s some definite positives, but I just want to make sure we don’t lose track of that data privacy piece that protects our kids,” Ryan Cox (Osseo Area Schools – District 279, Minnesota).
10. The role of vendors when it comes to ethics and transparency in educational technology. A lively discussion arose about the need for vendors to be transparent about how student data is used and assessed, and Puentedura stated that if the vendor cannot share that information, they could not be considered. Many Committee members agreed. “It should be a checkbox, if they’re not transparent in what they’re doing with student data and supporting their privacy, the school should automatically pass and move on,” Emily Marshall (Vail School District, Arizona).

Thanks to all EdTech Innovation Committee members who participated in this essential discussion!

This article originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

• AI tools can benefit students, but student privacy must be protected
• Creating IEPs with GenAI while ensuring data privacy
• It’s not business, it’s personal: Building a culture of trust to protect data
• For more news on GenAI in schools, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

In recent years, school districts have shown increasing interest in the potential of Generative AI (GenAI) to revolutionize education. GenAI offers the promise of enhancing personalized learning, streamlining administrative tasks, and providing innovative educational resources. However, as districts rush to adopt these cutting-edge technologies, they must carefully select the right AI tools to meet their unique needs. This rapid adoption brings significant risks, particularly regarding data privacy and accessibility.

Ensuring that AI tools protect student data and comply with accessibility standards is crucial for creating an inclusive and secure educational environment. This blog post will explore expert recommendations for selecting GenAI tools, helping districts navigate these challenges effectively. 

Data privacy considerations and recommendations for GenAI adoption in schools 

Linnette Attai, Project Director for CoSN’s Student Data Privacy Initiative and President of the compliance consulting firm PlayWell, LLC, shares insights on data privacy risks associated with adopting GenAI tools and offers guidance for responsible implementation. 

While security breaches are a common concern, Linnette emphasizes that protecting students’ privacy and data involves more than just avoiding breaches. There is a broader responsibility to safeguard students’ emotional well-being and personal information, or as she calls it, a ‘responsibility of care.’ Key privacy considerations include: 

Ownership and control of data:

District leaders should be cautious when using large language models not specifically designed for educational purposes. These models might use student data to further train the AI, raising concerns about the commercial use of personal information and potential exposure of sensitive data. In addition, for some districts, any type of commercial use of personal information is unlawful. 

Linnette advises districts to adhere to fundamental practices when adopting new tools: 

1. Have a clear objective: Despite the growing popularity of GenAI tools, districts should identify a specific reason for their use. This approach ensures that the tool aligns with district needs and maximizes its impact on student outcomes. 
2. Be informed before testing: Districts must thoroughly understand the tool, including its privacy practices, security measures, and contract terms, before making a commitment. Especially, districts must ensure that the tool will be used solely for educational purposes. 
3. Start with staff: Testing AI tools with staff, rather than students, helps avoid premature exposure of student data. Some companies offer beta tests or sandboxes for staff to simulate student experiences, which can be a valuable way to assess the tool’s effectiveness. 

A practical example: Hinsdale Township High School District 86 

Keith Bockwoldt, Chief Information Officer for Hinsdale Township High School District 86 in Illinois, shares his district’s thoughtful approach to GenAI. Keith’s ‘Reimagining Learning through Innovation’ program allows teachers to pilot new tools funded by the district’s IT budget. Teachers submit proposals for evaluation, which are assessed for compliance with data privacy policies before pilot implementation. Teachers must then provide evidence of the tool’s impact by year-end, and the department reviews whether the tool should be adopted more broadly. 

Keith highlights two critical considerations: 

1. Vendor compliance: He ensures vendors are aware of and comply with data privacy policies, such as the Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA). He discusses data protection measures, including data purging and storage practices. 
2. Ongoing vendor engagement: Continuous communication with vendors is crucial for maintaining compliance with data privacy standards. 

Ensuring accessibility 

Jordan Mroziak, Project Director for AI and Education at InnovateEDU, emphasizes the need for a deliberate approach to adopting new technologies. He warns against the educational arms race of adopting unproven or potentially unsafe AI products. Instead, districts should focus on meeting the needs of all students, particularly those who are underserved or disadvantaged. As a helpful resource, Jordan shared his and his colleagues’ work with the EdSAFE AI Industry Council, which aims to offer guidance and reliable standards for districts exploring GenAI tools. Companies join this alliance by demonstrating how their products adhere to the SAFE framework for AI, which focuses on safety, accountability, fairness, equity, and efficacy. This collective effort ensures that AI tools are developed with these critical principles in mind, promoting responsible and effective use. 

Additionally, the recent update to ADA Title II requires that accessibility is prioritized from the beginning. Districts must choose AI tools that comply with ADA standards and ensure equitable access for all students. This process includes assessing tools for adherence to accessibility guidelines, involving diverse stakeholders in testing, and making adjustments to meet various learning needs. By addressing these requirements proactively, districts can ensure that their AI tools are inclusive, effective, and legally compliant, thereby maximizing technology’s benefits for every student. 

For more recommendations on accessible GenAI implementation, read Blog 5 of this series: Adapting to ADA Title II: Effective Strategies for Accessible AI in Education. 

The integration of Generative AI tools into education offers significant opportunities for enhancing learning and efficiency. However, it also poses challenges related to data privacy and accessibility. Thoughtful implementation and ongoing evaluation are essential to maximize the benefits of these tools while ensuring the protection and support of all students. 

This story on data privacy in special education originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

• Ensuring data protection helps prevent discrimination and stigmatization
• How to maintain secure access and data privacy
• It’s not business, it’s personal: Building a culture of trust to protect data
• For more news on data privacy, visit eSN’s IT Leadership hub

Adam Garry is the former Senior Director of Education Strategy for Dell Technologies and current President of StrategicEDU Consulting. Through his expertise as a professional development strategist, he has supported districts in the implementation of Generative Artificial Intelligence in their schools. CoSN approached him to discuss the importance of data privacy and the different approaches towards creating IEPs with GenAI while ensuring student data privacy. 

Protecting the data of students with disabilities is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, 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 (PII) and its potential misuse. Ensuring the protection of this information helps prevent discrimination and stigmatization, and in more critical cases, identity theft. To ensure data privacy, legal standards such as FERPA and IDEA have been designed, which require schools to limit the access to the students’ PII. When it comes to the use of Generative AI tools, educators must be aware of the data privacy risks that their implementation entails. 

Special education professionals have started to notice the potential of Generative AI to create Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), as it could help provide recommendations of personalized learning experiences by analyzing vast amounts of data, and tailor educational paths to each student’s unique needs. However, there is a critical concern: IEPs require detailed information about students’ disabilities, learning needs, medical history, and academic performance. Because many AI tools and platforms used in education are developed by third-party vendors, sharing student data through these tools requires trusting that vendors will handle the data responsibly and securely. Any lapse in their data protection practices can result in unauthorized access or exposure. 

Adam suggests a three-level solution for the safe implementation of Generative AI in school districts. The levels are organized in terms of how much personalization of the tool is possible. For each level, he mentions that it is necessary to ponder their risks and rewards. 

General level: Utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) like Google’s Gemini or Microsoft’s Copilot 

Google and Microsoft have created their own GenAI tools specifically targeted for educators. At a more general level, these tools could be valuable to create personalized content for students. 

1. Reward: Microsoft and Google ensure their tools comply with student data protection regulations. These tools protect user and organizational data while chat prompts and responses are not saved. Additionally, these companies ensure that students’ information is not retained or used to train the AI models (Microsoft Education Team, 2024; Google for Education, n.d.). 
2. Risk: The risk is very low in terms of security, yet it exists. Moreover, there might be some loss in functionality compared to other tools, as it cannot build on from a prompt standpoint. In other words, the prompt cannot “learn” from previous answers, as the latter are not saved by the model.

Small Language Models

Educators could utilize technology from Microsoft or Google to build a Small Language Model. Small Language Models are simpler, more resource-efficient text processors that handle basic language tasks and can be easily deployed on everyday devices like smartphones. Districts can strip out the LLM functions they do not need and focus the tool on specific tasks, such as creating IEPs. 

1. Reward: An SLM maintains the privacy protections established by Google or Microsoft while personalizing the tool for a specific need. By targeting a specific task, it is also easier to set specific guardrails and train teachers. 
2. Risk: In addition to the risks mentioned with LLMs, they might have a more limited knowledge base compared to an LLM. 

The Open-Source Model

The district could create their own GenAI application through the use of an open-source model. This model is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) where the underlying code and data are made publicly available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. 

1. Reward: The models are highly customizable, allowing districts to tailor them to their specific needs and integrate them with existing systems. This allows them to maintain control over their data, ensuring it is used in compliance with privacy regulations and local policies. 
2. Risk: Setting up and maintaining an open-source model requires significant technical expertise and substantial computational resources, which may necessitate additional investments in infrastructure and staff training. There are security risks involved in handling sensitive student data, and ensuring robust protection is essential. Unlike proprietary software, open-source projects may lack formal customer support, and ensuring legal and regulatory compliance can be complex and challenging. 

Whatever option is selected, Adam highlights the importance of merging the framework that the district has already in place to protect data privacy and go about specific tasks (such as the creation of IEPs) while detailing the tools, guidelines, and resources required in the implementation of GenAI tools. 

Integrating Generative AI tools in school districts offers significant benefits, particularly in creating personalized learning experiences and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). However, it’s crucial to balance these innovations with strong data privacy measures. By choosing the right AI model—whether a general Large Language Model, a tailored Small Language Model, or a customizable open-source model—districts can enhance education while protecting sensitive student information. With careful planning, school districts can use AI to support diverse student needs in a secure, inclusive environment. 

References: 

Microsoft Education Team. (2024, January 23). Meet your AI assistant for education: Microsoft Copilot. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/blog/2024/01/meet-your-ai-assistant-for-education-microsoft-copilot/ 

Google for Education. (n.d.). Guardian’s Guide to AI. https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/guardians_guide_to_ai_in_education.pdf

This post on mobile and broadband speeds originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

• School districts can connectivity information to address the digital divide
• Demystifying network speed: Measuring true Wi-Fi and wired network needs
• Reliable internet and Wi-Fi in schools should be top priority
• For more news on internet connectivity, visit eSN’s IT Leadership hub

In today’s digital age, understanding mobile and broadband speeds is crucial for school administrators and educators to ensure students have access to adequate internet connectivity.

This article aims to clarify key terms, discuss the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent changes to minimum speed requirements, and explore how school districts can use this information to address the digital divide.

Key terms

• Upload speed in kbps: Kilobits per second (kbps) is a unit of measurement for data transfer speed. Upload speed refers to the rate at which data is sent from a user’s device to the internet. Higher upload speeds are important for tasks like video conferencing and sharing large files.
• Download speed in kbps: Download speed is the rate at which data is received by a user’s device from the internet. Higher download speeds are crucial for streaming video, downloading files, and browsing the web.
• Latency: Latency is the delay between a user’s action and the response from the network. Lower latency is essential for real-time applications like video calls and online gaming. High latency can cause noticeable delays and poor user experience.

FCC minimum speed requirements

In March 2024, the FCC raised the benchmark for broadband speed for the first time in nearly a decade:

• Fixed broadband: 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload (previously 25/3 Mbps)
• Mobile broadband: 35 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (new category)
• Schools: 1 Gbps per 1,000 students and staff (previously 500 Mbps)

The FCC also set a long-term goal of 1 Gbps download and 500 Mbps upload for fixed broadband. These new standards will be used to determine if broadband is being deployed in a reasonable and timely manner.

Mobile vs. broadband speeds

Mobile broadband relies on cellular networks to provide internet access to devices like smartphones and tablets. It offers portability but may have lower speeds and higher latency compared to fixed broadband. Fixed broadband, such as cable, fiber, or fixed wireless, provides internet access to a specific location. It generally offers higher speeds, lower latency, and more reliability than mobile broadband.

Addressing the digital divide

School districts can use the FCC’s new speed benchmarks to assess the adequacy of internet access for students and staff. By identifying areas with insufficient broadband coverage, districts can prioritize resources and partnerships to improve connectivity.The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) provides a Digital Equity Dashboard that helps districts visualize and analyze data related to the digital divide. The dashboard includes information on broadband access, device availability, and digital literacy. By leveraging this tool, administrators can make data-driven decisions to promote digital equity.

Conclusion

Understanding mobile and broadband speeds is essential for school administrators and educators to ensure students have the necessary internet access for learning. The FCC’s recent changes to minimum speed requirements provide a framework for assessing connectivity needs. By using tools like the CoSN Digital Equity Dashboard, districts can identify gaps and take action to bridge the digital divide.

This post on interoperability originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

• As privacy and security become increasingly important, so has the need for interoperability
• 3 strategies to streamline K-12 data management
• 3 ways a modern data solution can improve student outcomes
• For more news on interoperability, visit eSN’s IT Leadership hub

Interoperability is the seamless, secure, and controlled exchange of data between applications. 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 to graduation. Executing data interoperability standards creates a modern data infrastructure by supporting improved development, privacy, and cybersecurity practices while ensuring compliance with industry best practices.

Interoperability has often been seen as an extra step that districts couldn’t necessarily implement due to capacity. However, as privacy and security become increasingly important due to advancing technology, so has the need for interoperable systems.

As Project Director of Project Unicorn, my role has been to show educators and edtech vendors why interoperability is a critical foundational component of a data ecosystem. I often speak with district administrators or edtech vendors who have never heard of “interoperability” or don’t know about using K-12 data standards. This is why Project Unicorn was created; to build a movement for data interoperability and ensure that everyone can access important knowledge about the building and implementation portion of data interoperability.

Project Unicorn works with early adopters who are ready to start their interoperability journey, knowing they have the privacy and security practices to begin. But as new technologies emerge, like generative AI, and as cybersecurity breaches continue to increase (80 percent of school IT professionals reported that their schools were hit by ransomware in 2023, up from 56 percent in 2022, noted in a recent article), educators, solutions providers, and government officials alike have realized that interoperability, privacy, and security enhance each other, and an integrated ecosystem matters.

“The importance of interoperability’s intersection with privacy and security cannot be overstated,” said Paula Maylahn, CoSN, Interoperability Project Director and Principal Consultant at Paula Maylahn Consulting. “Often, the focus on interoperability is on one side of the coin–getting data where it needs to go. Equally as important is the flip side–keeping data from where it should not go.”

How interoperability, privacy, and security enhance each other

Practicing data interoperability can support improved development, privacy, and cybersecurity while ensuring compliance with industry best practices from both districts and vendors in these ways:

Interoperability standards add clarity to data collection and management
Interoperability has the potential to support data portability and ownership
Interoperability standards can improve product usability and security
Supporting interoperability increases transparency around data practices
Interoperability standards can help simplify the process of compliance with privacy laws

(Learn more about Privacy, Security, and Interoperability at https://www.projectunicorn.org/resources/privacy-security-interoperability)

Interoperability at the White House

On Monday, August 7, 2023, a group of school superintendents, educators, and education technology vendors met at The White House with First Lady Jill Biden, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to unveil the new Infrastructure Briefs, a series of three documents by the Office of Educational Technology, one including Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). They spoke on the importance of interoperability and cybersecurity in building safe and resilient data ecosystems in K-12. This “Back to School Safely” event framed how to build an interoperable, secure, and privacy-enabled ecosystem for education technology and support the field.

A national plan for edtech

Following the Infrastructure Briefs, the United States Department of Education released the 2024 National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) on January 22, 2024.

Since 1996, the NETP has served as the flagship educational technology policy document for the United States, setting a vision and plan for K-12 learning enabled by technology across the U.S., territories, tribal lands, and DoDEA schools worldwide. This latest iteration of the NETP delves into the transformative potential of educational technology, highlighting systemic solutions to bridge the digital divides in use, design, and access, particularly in the context of educational equity.

The 2024 NETP aligns with the Activities to Support the Effective Use of Technology (Title IV A) of the Every Student Succeeds Act and continues to promote a vision of equity, active use, and collaborative leadership. It aims to ensure equitable access to technology and the transformative learning experiences that technology enables.

“In the real, day-to-day work of interoperability in a K-12 school district, the goal is to get actionable data in the hands of administrators and educators to make the best possible decisions to ensure all of our students succeed,” said Dr. Chantell Manahan, Director of Technology (MSD of Steuben County & CoSN Board Member) “While we can achieve this through hard work by intentionally designing infrastructure, building local capacity, aligning with vetted data standards, and choosing the EdTech vendors who also champion this vision, it is never easy. And we have an obligation to achieve this interoperability at scale, all while protecting student data privacy. This means ensuring access to student data on a need-to-know basis, following all federal, state, and local laws and community norms. It’s a delicate balancing act of access to the right data for the right decision-makers, and support from the federal level through the infrastructure briefs and the NETP provide the guidance and prioritization of interoperability for achieving this digital equity.”

Don’t fall behind: Steps districts can take

To keep up with emerging technologies and keep your data infrastructure and student data secure, you must ensure the foundational pieces of the data ecosystem are in place: interoperability, privacy, and cybersecurity. With that foundation in place, your technology can advance, benefiting students without worrying about security.

Use the Project Unicorn School System Data Survey tool to assess your data ecosystem. The brief survey is designed to help the education sector better understand current K-12 school system capabilities for leveraging education data. Review your results with free personalized resources and technical support from the Project Unicorn team.

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

The spotlight is on Kley Todd, Assistant Director for Technology Integration in Virginia’s Albemarle County Public Schools.

1. What is your biggest IT challenge today?

Our biggest challenge is currently ensuring that our instructional technology resources and curricular outcomes are delivered equitably to all students, in such as way that they work to close and not expand achievement gaps.

2. What project, initiative, or accomplishment are you most proud of?

I am most proud of how our learning technology team has collaboratively worked to develop an in-house technology survey which is used to specifically generate data round the needs of our students and teachers in terms of which technologies best support their learning. This survey was designed to be filter-able along various student academic and demographic lines, so that we can determine which technologies have the greatest impact on student engagement and closing achievement gaps.

I’m also quite proud of our digital equity report, which uses data to make recommendations on technologies to our various division departments

3. What are your top 3 priorities over the next few years?

Instructionally: Closing achievement gaps through effective technology integration and leveraging AI in the classroom while teaching towards it’s potential pitfalls.

IT: Increasing cybersecurity threat readiness.

4. Technology evolves at such a high rate–what are some of the school IT innovations you see coming down the pipeline, and which are you most excited for?

Artificial intelligence as it applies to shifting the landscape of learning, while also preparing students to use it ethically.

5. What advice would you give to other school IT leaders and school IT teams?

Collaborate with instructional leaders! As technology leaders, it can be easy to become bogged down by the “IT” aspects of our role and lose sight of the larger mission of education. Sometimes, the unique nature of working for schools requires that we think differently and in more diverse ways to meet diverse student needs. Always create pathways to keep instruction and students in the conversation.

For more news on IT leadership and innovation, visit eSN’s IT Leadership page.

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

The spotlight is on Mike Daugherty, Director of Technology and Innovation in Ohio’s Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District.

1. What is your biggest IT challenge today?

Cybersecurity continues to be a major challenge for K-12. Schools often do not have the resources to invest in adequate cybersecurity measures. They may also lack the time and expertise to implement and maintain these measures effectively. The lack of funding, time, and expertise to address these concerns at the district level make it the most significant IT issue schools are facing.

2. What project, initiative, or accomplishment are you most proud of?

Our district is embracing artificial intelligence. We are working to provide professional development on various generative artificial intelligence tools to our staff this year. We are focusing on the efficiencies AI can create, how AI can be used to increase student learning, and the ethics of using this new technology. We are excited to see how AI can transform education in the coming years. We believe that this technology has the potential to improve student learning, increase teacher productivity, and make education more accessible to all students.

3. What are your top 3 priorities over the next few years?

AI, cybersecurity, and interoperability

4. Technology evolves at such a high rate–what are some of the school IT innovations you see coming down the pipeline, and which are you most excited for?

Generative artificial intelligence (GIA) is the next big edtech advancement that I expect will impact students in the coming years. GIA is a type of AI that can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way. This means that students will soon be able to use GIA to complete their homework, write essays, and even create their own works of art.

However, GIA also poses some challenges for educators. For example, how will we create assessments that cannot be easily completed by GIA? How will we ensure that students are using GIA for the right purposes and not simply plagiarizing content? These are all questions that educators will need to address as GIA becomes more widespread.

I believe that the best way to address these challenges is to teach students how to use GIA effectively. This includes teaching them how to write prompts that generate the response they are looking for, how to fact-check that response, and how to cite the portions of the response they use. By teaching students how to use GIA responsibly, we can ensure that they are using this powerful tool to enhance their learning, not to cheat.

I am excited to see how GIA will impact education in the coming years. I believe that it has the potential to revolutionize the way we teach and learn. However, it is important that we address the challenges that GIA poses early on so that we can ensure that it is used for good.

5. What advice would you give to other school IT leaders and school IT teams?

Building relationships is essential for CTOs to be successful. This means making time to walk the halls, visit classrooms, and be visible in the school community. Be present and approachable. Listen to people’s concerns. Figure out how to say Yes when possible. By developing these relationships, you can gain the trust and support of teachers, staff, and students. This will be key when rolling out new initiatives or pushing for change.

For more news on IT leadership and innovation, visit eSN’s IT Leadership page.

This post on accommodating invisible disabilities originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

• There are accommodation challenges in areas such as technology and infrastructure
• DEI in action: eSN Innovation Roundtable
• How your school’s design can promote equity through access
• For more news on DEI, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub

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). Enacted over three decades ago, the ADA has catalyzed a transformative shift towards creating more inclusive spaces and opportunities, ensuring that people with disabilities can navigate and access public spaces, employment, and services on an equal footing with others. However, despite these advancements, the journey towards full accessibility is ongoing. Challenges remain in areas such as technology, infrastructure, and societal attitudes, underscoring the need for continuous efforts and innovations to break down barriers and foster a genuinely accessible world for everyone.

First importantly, it is imperative to know that those with disabilities are not disabled. In fact, there are no people who are “disabled,” but there are people with disabilities. It is very important to know that the disability a person may have does not define who they are – those with epilepsy aren’t “epileptics,” for example. People in chairs have disabilities; they aren’t disabled. Having a disability, then, doesn’t define anyone as being disabled.

But what we don’t talk a lot about, in terms of access and protections for those with disabilities, are the more subtle, non-apparent disabilities that affect many people that aren’t addressed by the efforts to provide access to public spaces, at least to this point. According to the Invisible Disabilities Association, 26 million Americans have a severe disability, while only 1.8 million use a chair, and 5.2 million use a cane, crutches, or walkers. This is not, of course, to discount those who use those devices but rather to illustrate the prevalence of disabilities that aren’t apparent to the naked eye. Of the 61 million people that the CDC identifies as having a disability of some kind, 10% of those are people with disabilities that are invisible or offer no evidence of their presence through visual clues.

One of these is PTSD, a focus area given the epidemic of PTSD among active and retired military personnel. According to the USO, over 30,000 active duty and veterans have died by suicide since 2001. 519 active-duty personnel died by suicide in 2022 alone, according to the Department of Defense. Clearly, PTSD is a silent, invisible malady that has been responsible, according to the USO, for more deaths in service members than actual battlefield fatalities.

The ADA also recognizes people with major depressive disorders among those that have disabilities or depression that “substantially limit one or more major life activities,” as defined by the ADA. Not all of these limits can be considered as being visible. For example, one’s productivity, accuracy, and other job-related metrics can be affected by major depressive disorders. Still, these metrics can manifest themselves, to employers and others, as simply an inability to perform job functions. Thus, the disability, if not disclosed, can result in reasons for discipline, termination, and other workplace problems. Given the stigma that is still associated, for some, with problems that are related to mental health, some may not come forward to an employer and specifically request accommodations.

Another form of invisible disability is a neurological problem, epilepsy. According to the National Institutes of Health, temporal lobe epilepsy is the most common seizure disorder, affecting roughly fifty million people worldwide. Roughly 90 percent of these cases manifest in Focal Impaired Seizures, or seizures that are almost completely invisible, don’t involve convulsions, and yet involve a total loss of consciousness for those having seizures. Individuals with focal impaired seizures may not even know that they are suffering from seizures at all. Traumatic Brain Injuries can be classed in this category as well, the symptoms of which can also be construed as reasons for misunderstanding a person’s behaviors in the workplace and society at large.

The Invisible Disabilities Association puts this succinctly: “Unfortunately, people often judge others by what they see and conclude a person can or cannot do something by the way they look. This attitude can be equally frustrating for those who may appear unable but are perfectly capable and those who seem able but are not.”  The key point here is that every disability is different. We can’t judge people as having a disability or not simply using our eyes. None of this is intended, of course, to downplay disabilities that affect some with very visible challenges. Accessibility is, and will continue to be, incredibly important. The point here is that there are invisible disabilities that may be embarrassing for those suffering from them, and thus, in some cases, make those with disabilities disinclined to request accommodations. 

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

This month, the spotlight is on Lisa Higgins, Chief Technology Officer in Tennessee’s Collierville Schools.

1. What is your biggest IT challenge today?

Cybersecurity, for us, is the biggest challenge. Tennessee’s Department of Education (TDOE) has initiated an assessment of over 150 controls at varying levels. As one of three districts to pilot the program, completing the survey was an hours-long process completed as a team. Additionally, to be able to apply for grant money, a second survey of similar length is also required. While lengthy, the state assessment highlighted areas where we have growth opportunities; it also made evident that cybersecurity is not just a function of technology. After our team completed the TDOE assessment, we identified several controls that, without the help and support of other departments, we knew could not be achieved. We set up discussions with Finance, Human Resources, the Department of Exceptional Children, Curriculum, and Operations. This was a significant boost because every department was willing to help and created awareness of the need for cybersecurity measures in general. As a result, we have made progress in several areas, including MFA, vetting vendor security, and adding measures to ensure that student and staff data remain secure.

2. What project, initiative, or accomplishment are you most proud of?

Collierville Schools is celebrating its 10th year as a school district this year. The most logical choice would be starting in 2013 with approximately 3,500 student devices (all shared) to present, where every student Pre-K-12 is assigned a device for learning–this is a great project, initiative, and accomplishment. While I am proud of that, I would have to say the thing I am most proud of is the team that I am lucky enough to work with each day. Our Technology team has both instructional and technical staff. As the number of devices in our district has grown, so has our staff. Our staff works hard and pitches in wherever needed. The team knows that if I ask them to do something, I will also pitch in. Our team is empowered by engaging in conversations to solve problems and plan projects. I also encourage them to work with and establish relationships with other departments in our district and other districts. Our group is one of the most diverse in the district, and we operate with a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. While we occasionally have staff leave, I am always proud and happy when one of our group moves on to a job with more responsibility.

3. What are your top 3 priorities over the next few years?

First, cybersecurity is a priority, as I detailed in the first question. Ensuring that we are as protected from cyberattacks as much as possible is huge. Second, preparing students for life after high school is another priority. Providing technology and also training in its correct use, from proper email etiquette, digital citizenship, digital footprint, collaboration, communication, and ways to share student work and accomplishments, are goals we work towards daily. Our district has many post-secondary opportunities outside the traditional college route. Welding, nursing, cybersecurity, and aviation are just some areas where students can get industry certifications while still in high school. This variety challenges our team to ensure our devices will support students in these areas. And finally, ensuring that our staff continues to grow in their skills and use of technology to enhance their teaching strategies to engage students.

4. Technology evolves at such a high rate–what are some of the school IT innovations you see coming down the pipeline, and which are you most excited for?

AI will have a significant effect on not only schools but the business world and beyond. We must find ways to embrace and use this technology positively and effectively. For example, a teacher could use this technology to compose an informational reading on a topic within their curriculum. They can ask that it be written for a specific reading level, then ask the AI platform to rewrite the same information at a different grade level. In this way, they could have instructional materials customized for students. This is a relatively easy way to individualize education. Another way could be that a teacher could ask for a writing sample with errors, then use that for students to identify those errors. Working with students in ways to use this type of technology is also powerful.

5. What advice would you give to other school IT leaders and school IT teams?

1. Foster and maintain good relationships with peers, both within your team and across departments. To succeed, it is critical to have a strong community and be active within that community. If possible, meet regularly with district leadership to ensure they accurately understand essential issues and garner support for initiatives.

2. Build a good team and support them. Identify yourself as a member of the IT team rather than as their boss or their leader. Recognize the unique talents of each team member and leverage those skills to produce positive outcomes for the district.  

3. Always think about what is best for the students and what you can do to get there. With technology, it can be easy to sometimes lose sight of the overall purpose. Adopting a student-first mentality helps ensure that tech leaders remain aligned with the district’s objectives.

4. Get involved with the technology community. Being an active participant in state technology associations and national organizations like CoSN gives you access to a professional group of peers you can learn and glean new ideas. With so many challenges, it is critical to have resources and other industry experts you can seek out for guidance and recommendations. 


5. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. This is a universal golden rule, but it is very applicable in K-12 learning environments. To build an effective and collaborative team and foster relationships within the IT peer community, you need to respect team members and treat them as you would appreciate being treated.

For more news on IT leadership and innovation, visit eSN’s IT Leadership page.

This post on data protection originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

• More and more steps have become essential to protect critical data
• How to maintain secure access and data privacy
• 4 ways to improve your district’s data privacy
• For more news on data protection, visit eSN’s IT Leadership hub

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 reset. Now, I need to enter a code to verify it is me. Or do I have to complete a CAPTCHA? Why is everything so hard?

All these additional steps have become necessary because bad actors never stop trying to access our data. The network we use at work is bombarded with attacks every day. The web services we use both at work and at home are, too. The attackers are relentless and hope to get a phishing email through, to exploit a vulnerability, or to overwhelm the network with a Denial of Service attack. It sometimes feels like a losing battle, but it doesn’t have to be.

We can work together to build a culture of trust, trust in our leadership, data privacy, security protocols, and each other, starting with a shared commitment to protect our personal data.

The “Why”

To start, everyone needs to understand the “why?”. Why is it so important to protect personal data? The answer: It starts as a business, and it becomes personal. Make it personal for members of your school community to understand what is at stake: identity theft, financial loss, and even physical threats to students and staff.

The “How”

Then, the “how”. How can your staff do their part to protect personal data, both personally and professionally? Ensuring your staff understands their roles and responsibilities related to your data privacy and security policy is a necessary step. Developing a policy isn’t enough; everyone must also know how to follow it. Training that includes data privacy and security best practices to apply at work and home is essential and is one of the best ways to protect the personal information entrusted to your care proactively.

Social Engineering

Educating members of your community about social engineering remains crucial. Phishing campaigns have been working since they started in the mid-90’s. It is hard to believe that we have been subjected to these campaigns for as long as there has been email, but the fact remains that social engineering still works. Most data breaches start with human error, leading to privilege escalation and compromised credentials. Bad actors use what makes us “human” and include elements in campaigns like urgency, reward, and punishment against us.

Sharing the “why” with your staff can foster a culture of trust that encourages the smooth adoption of data privacy protections that require extra steps like multi-factor authentication. Ultimately, we (humans) care about our community and each other.

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

• CTOs should maintain critical relationships for efficient school technology processes
• The journey to digital sustainability: A CIO’s perspective
• How to direct a districtwide tech transformation on a budget
• For more news on district CTOs, visit eSN’s IT Leadership hub

One of our jobs as CTOs is developing great relationships with other district leaders. IT touches every aspect of the modern K-12 district, and our success, as well as the success of the district, relies on our ability to build and maintain these relationships.

All relationships are important, but the ITS and Facilities relationship cannot be overstated. From the simplest ‘thorns in our sides’ to the most wicked challenges, our relationship with the facilities leaders can pay off in big ways.

Simple  example – IU5 and the generator

IU5 is a service agency. We provide professional development and other services for districts at our main facility. Our Executive Director was unhappy when we had to send hundreds of teachers and administrators home during a power outage. We were in the process of bidding a generator for just the data center. After the power event, we were instructed to ensure the entire facility could stay powered up for an extended period. We initially worked with facilities to solve the problem, and in 2004, the Caterpillar generator was installed. Jump ahead 19 years, and we were experiencing inconsistent startups (30-40 second blackouts before the generator would start and provide power) when power failure events happened. The maintenance company was having difficulty isolating the problem. Through collaboration with facilities, we captured multiple data points about what was happening from the point of failure until the generated power was active. This data proved instrumental in finding the problem and finding a resolution. Teamwork is fantastic–especially when the relationship is conducive to making it happen instantly.

A complex example – Curtis and the “Not a Tornado”

On August 10, 2023, at about 10:30 pm, the central part of Wichita Falls was hit by what is being labeled as a microburst. It looks pretty similar to a tornado in damage capability. It removed most of the roof and toppled a wall at our alternative education center only three working days before the start of the 23-24 school year. Phones started ringing around 11:00 pm that same evening, and those relationships that had been built before that event were put to the test. I’m proud that the trust relationship between Technology, Maintenance, and Fixed Assets was already strong. This allowed us to trust one another’s judgment and rapidly move toward a common goal. On Friday morning, while the rest of the staff was at Convocation, these three teams were hard at work stripping all the salvageable equipment from the damaged campus. We were then able to coordinate together to rebuild that campus completely at a previously abandoned location. There were simultaneous efforts from Warehouse personnel delivering items to the “new” campus, Technology installing networking, classroom, and security hardware, Maintenance performing last-minute repairs, and Fixed Assets rounding up surplus items to complete the puzzle. We had this empty campus up and running again for the start of school on Wednesday. The timely coordination required focus, grit, and respect for the needs of each department. This could have never been accomplished between silos or dysfunctional leadership. So put in the effort today to build those bridges between other departments and leaders, for you never know when a “Not a Tornado” could roll through your own life.

Build the relationship now

These examples are some of the many reasons that having a solid relationship with your facilities team is essential to the successful technology support of any school organization. However, you do not want to wait for an emergency to build the relationship. Make a concerted effort to build those relationships now so they will be there when needed.

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

This month, the spotlight is on Don Wolff, Chief Technology Officer in Oregon’s Portland Public Schools.

1. What is your biggest IT challenge today?

The obvious challenge is cybersecurity; that is a beast of a challenge we are all struggling with. Tangential to cybersecurity is the deployment of applications, including the procurement process, which includes ensuring vendors are protecting the data contained in the applications, as well as supporting interoperability standards to make the deployment and rostering seamless, secure, and usable.

2. What project, initiative, or accomplishment are you most proud of?

Currently, I am most proud of our investment in cloud-based solutions. We have had our ERP in the cloud for over 5 years and we continue to leverage the expertise, ease of expansion/contraction, and leading-edge technologies to support the critical work that takes place in our classrooms.

3. What are your top 3 priorities over the next few years?

First and foremost will be a Business Modernization effort, which will center around a refresh of our 20-year-old ERP system. Being able to modernize our business practices will support efficiencies in overall operations, while supporting our efforts to retain staff, as well as provide meaningful insights and reporting to the strategic priorities and programs being delivered in the district. Along with this will be a deep dive into developing and refreshing of a data governance model to support this work. And as always, we will be focusing on elevating our cybersecurity profile to protect our students and staff as much as we are able to in the face of aggressive attacks on public K-12 institutions.

4. Technology evolves at such a high rate—what are some of the school IT innovations you see coming down the pipeline, and which are you most excited for?

I’m very excited about the promise of AI to help automate redundant and repetitive processes around support, deployment, and data analysis. When deployed properly and with sufficient safeguards, AI has the potential to streamline operations and make more human resources available to focus on two critical areas: supporting the humanistic processes required for an effective teaching and learning environment, and directly enhancing student education.

5. What advice would you give to other school IT leaders and school IT teams?

The best thing we can do, for those whose jobs are focused on technology, is to focus on the people! Education is a social endeavor that requires that the focus is on the people we support, teach, work with, and lead. In all things be kind!

For more news on IT leadership and innovation, visit eSN’s IT Leadership page.

Editor’s note: This story on generative AI originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

• Gen AI is a game changer for all industries due to its ability to produce original outputs
• Don’t miss out–stay up to date on AI in Education
• Can artificial intelligence help teachers improve?
• For more news on generative AI, visit eSN’s Digital Learning page

As we step into 2024, the educational landscape is just beginning to feel the transformative shift brought on by generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI). This year marks a significant milestone in integrating advanced AI technologies into educational practices, heralding a new era of teaching and learning. Gen AI is set to revolutionize the way we approach education.

The rise of generative AI in education

Gen AI is a type of AI that can create new content, from text to images, audio, video, code, 3D models, and more. It is a game changer for all industries due to its ability to produce original outputs.

Gen AI is revolutionizing education by offering a range of capabilities that cater to diverse learning needs and styles. Here’s a non-comprehensive overview:

• Text generation: From drafting lesson plans to creating formative assessments, Gen AI can produce a wide range of written content and aid educators in curriculum development.
• Visual content creation: Gen AI can design images, graphics, and diagrams, useful for visual learning aids. Canva has a host of AI features in their Magic Studio that assist with graphics creation.
• Audio production: Beyond text, Gen AI can create spoken audio content, music, and sound effects, enhancing auditory learning experiences. SpeechKi turns any text into audio with realistic AI voices.
• Video production: AI can produce videos, making multiple means of representation possible for a teacher to provide learners. I have had great luck with Pictory for creating quick and easy visual representations of content.
• Personalized learning materials: Gen AI makes it easy to tailor educational content to individual student needs; it can adapt materials based on difficulty levels, interests, and learning styles. Try asking a Gen AI chatbot such as ChatGPT to customize text to a specific reading level.
• Language translation: Gen AI can translate educational materials for diverse language needs, making learning more accessible and inclusive.

In essence, the rise of Gen AI in education signifies the potential to shift towards more dynamic, inclusive, and personalized learning experiences. However, due to the original outputs, it also presents a challenge to traditional educational methods with focus on memorizing content. Students often demonstrate their learning through written explanations in the forms of short answer questions and essays. Gen AI is flipping this on its head. 

Demonstrating learning in the AI era

The advent of Gen AI in education is reshaping the way we assess and demonstrate learning. The traditional methods of testing and evaluation must evolve to accommodate the capabilities of AI. Demonstrating learning needs to move from testing memorization to showcasing transferable skills. This shift has the potential to make assessments more engaging and more reflective of real-world skills and knowledge application.

In this new era, educators are exploring innovative assessment methods that emphasize critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. AI-assisted tools can provide real-time feedback, enabling personalized learning experiences that adapt to each student’s progress. Project-based assessments, peer reviews, and interactive simulations offer students opportunities to demonstrate their understanding in diverse and meaningful ways.

Moving away from traditional memorization-based methods, educators are exploring how to evaluate students’ ability to apply knowledge in practical, real-world scenarios:

• Project-based learning: Students can work on real-world problems, using AI as a tool to analyze data, predict outcomes, and propose solutions. This hands-on approach fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Reflective learning: AI can prompt students to reflect on their learning journey, guiding them to articulate their thoughts and feelings about the material learned. This reflective practice helps students internalize their learning and develop metacognitive skills.
• Real-time feedback: One of the significant advantages of AI in education is the ability to provide immediate feedback. This instant response helps students quickly understand their mistakes and learn from them, promoting a growth mindset.
• Ethical and critical engagement with AI: As students interact with AI tools, they also learn to critically evaluate the information and outputs provided by these systems. This critical engagement is essential in an era where digital literacy and ethical considerations around AI are becoming increasingly important.

These evolving assessment methods, empowered by AI, not only cater to the diverse needs of learners but also align with the skills required in a technologically advanced society.

Preparing educators and students for a world of AI

The integration of Gen AI into education necessitates a shift in how educators and students interact with technology. Educators need to be equipped with the skills and knowledge to effectively incorporate AI tools into their teaching methodologies. This includes understanding how to use AI for content creation, personalization of learning experiences, and assessment, as well as being aware of the ethical considerations and limitations of AI.

Students need to be prepared to navigate an AI-enhanced world. This involves not only leveraging AI tools for learning but also developing critical thinking skills to discern the quality and reliability of AI-generated content.

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) plays a crucial role in this transition. As a leading voice in advancing innovative teaching and learning, CoSN provides valuable resources and support for educators to navigate the new AI-enhanced educational paradigm. Educators can explore a wealth of information on effectively navigating this new normal at CoSN’s AI in Education resource page.

What lies ahead

2024 stands as a watershed year for the integration of Gen AI in education. This technology’s transformative potential extends beyond just enhancing teaching methodologies; it reshapes the very way we demonstrate and assess learning. As we embrace the opportunities presented by AI, it’s imperative to prepare both educators and students for this new era. The journey ahead is filled with possibilities to improve educational outcomes and foster a more engaging, inclusive, and adaptive learning environment.

Editor’s note: This story on digital learning originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Key points:

• Small design changes when creating digital content can make a huge impact on how audiences ultimately learn information
• See article: 5 essential digital learning reads
• See article: How meta creativity prepares students for the future
• For more news on digital learning design, visit eSN’s Digital Learning page
• Stay up to date on the latest trends about learning in the digital age

Teachers, principals, and district administrators are creating digital content every day for a variety of audiences. From classroom lessons and professional learning resources, to staff guides and announcement graphics, more and more information is being delivered in a visual way. Research shows that we process information presented in visual form more quickly than that presented in writing. However, if digital content is created without consideration of accessibility, visual processing, and basic design principles, the message we are trying to communicate can get lost, or worse, misinterpreted. 

Small changes in the design process when creating digital content can make a huge impact on how audiences access and process, and ultimately learn, information. Here are three things to consider when designing digital learning experiences for students and why:

Consider cognitive load

Cognitive load refers to the amount of working memory being used by the brain, similar to the RAM in your computer. When a computer has multiple programs running and is processing a lot of information, it starts to slow down because the memory usage is high. The same thing happens to the brain when learning. When the brain becomes overloaded with information — a high cognitive load — learning slows down and becomes less efficient, because less information makes it to the permanent memory.

What does this mean for us as designers?

Avoid information overload. Outline all of the information you are providing, and consider breaking large ideas down into smaller parts. Present these smaller parts in an order that is easy to follow, with time to process the information. This method of “chunking and sequencing” content makes information easier to process.

Visual hierarchy

In a world full of visual content, understanding how to control what our audience sees first is crucial. We’ve all seen slides with lines and lines of text, or digital flyers overloaded with images, colors, and fonts. In these moments, our brains are unsure where to look, and our ability to understand and process the information slows down. Visual hierarchy is the art of arranging elements in a design — a slide, poster, webpage, etc. — to guide the audience’s attention and convey information efficiently. 

What does this mean for us as designers?

Creating visual hierarchy starts with identifying what is most important, the information you want your audience to understand and remember. This might be an image, a word or phrase, a date or time, etc. This main element is placed first, so that it remains the focal point. Larger elements draw more attention, so prioritize the important content by making it the largest element in the design. Additional elements like titles, small lines of text, or images and icons should be added in order of their place in the visual hierarchy, being mindful of keeping the focus on the main element.

Less is more. The fewer elements in a design, the easier it is to process the information. Instead of one slide with five lines of text, try breaking that into multiple slides with larger text. Multiple images can be distracting. Try choosing one powerful image with carefully aligned text of different sizes or colors.

Design with accessibility in mind

When creating digital content, a significant amount of time is often spent painstakingly choosing the perfect fonts and colors. In reality, visual design best practices say that fonts and colors should be kept simple and at a minimum to keep designs accessible and lessen cognitive load.

Using loud, decorative fonts or mixing too many fonts together can be highly distracting, and break down visual hierarchy in the design. Script and handwriting fonts have gained popularity recently, but can be difficult to read and should be avoided when creating designs for large audiences. 

Similar to fonts, color can be used to create visual interest and draw attention. Using a few high-contrast colors that work well together supports visual hierarchy while making the content accessible for those with visual impairments or color blindness.

What does this mean for us as designers?

Keep it simple. Choose easy to read fonts as the foundation of the design. Lexend was created with this in mind — to decrease visual stress and increase processing efficiency. Decorative fonts can always be added for visual interest and to draw attention.

Use online tools. Generators from Adobe and Canva make it easy to build color palettes, and the built in accessibility tools ensure color selections are high contrast.

Be consistent. Whether it’s a slidedeck, website, or series of social media graphics, be consistent in your designs. Consistency in layout, fonts, and colors helps audiences anticipate the content and process it more quickly.

References

de Jong, T. (2010). Cognitive load theory, educational research, and instructional design: Some food for thought. Instructional Science, 38(2), 105–134.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-009-9110-0
https://digitalpromise.org/initiative/learner-variability-project/
https://www.lexend.com/
https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel
https://color.adobe.com/create/color-contrast-analyzer

Key points:

• Stay up to date on the latest trends about learning in the digital age

Editor’s note: This story on collaborative learning originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for many years, but the introduction of ChatGPT in November 2022 has generated many discussions of how this technology can impact education – both how students learn and how educators teach. 

While new and emerging technologies can feel like a hurdle at times, there is also much that can be gained by incorporating them into our curriculum. And those benefits are even greater when educators and students learn together, especially as we navigate new tech enablers like AI apps and tools. 

Technology’s effect on teachers

Individuals who struggled to use technology have argued that the incorporation of too much technology is one of the reasons for teacher burnout. Technology use and implementation have been challenging in the classroom, but AI technologies, like ChatGPT, have made it even more controversial. The fear of technology plays a large role in the hesitation of adopting technology in the classroom. This could be due to a combination of many reasons: fear of change, lack of training, effectiveness of technology, pace of learning, and new technology trends, to name a few.  To overcome these obstacles, collaboration and communication are key.

How technology impacts student learning

Current school-aged students have been growing up with technology, and they are often comfortable using the technology. If we want to create learning environments where students can thrive, we need to foster learning environments where students can learn effectively. This does not mean teachers have to be experts in using all technologies, but teachers should be willing to incorporate technology into their everyday curriculum delivery. Fear of technology influences a teacher’s thinking, perhaps thinking that many students have more knowledge of the technology. Most of the time, this is not true. Students may know how to use some technology, but not all. If the teacher and student collaborate and start learning technology together, it would be beneficial for both teachers and students.

Mutual benefits of learning technology…together

Learning together with students can provide several benefits for teachers and students to support the overall learning process. Some of the advantages can be:

Enhanced Learning: There are many educational technologies available including online courses, simulations, virtual reality, and gamification. This would not only allow students to enhance their learning but also teachers to incorporate new teaching methods to support students in different learning environments.

Student-Centered Learning: The incorporation of technology allows learning to be more student-centered rather than teacher-centered learning. Student and teacher collaboration promotes an effective understanding of different concepts. 

Effective Assessment: Digital tools make it easier for teachers to create and grade assignments, quizzes, and exams. It also allows opportunities to increase constructive feedback to students and teachers to modify and adapt different teaching strategies for students.

Accessibility: The use of the internet allows students and teachers to access and research information quickly and effectively to support self-improvement. Access to academic websites, online libraries, and other educational resources provides knowledge at their fingertips.

Flexibility: Learning and teaching with technology provides flexibility since it can take place anywhere. This will promote self-paced learning among students and curriculum resources can be accessed anytime.

Engagement: Gamification tools will make learning more fun and engaging for students. These tools can allow teachers to create dynamic and engaging lessons to motivate students.

Modern Skills: Today’s modern workforce requires digital literacy skills. The use of technology will not only prepare students for this environment but allow them to be proficient in the use of different software, analysis tools, and digital communication.

Data-Driven Decisions: Educational technology will allow us to collect data and generate individual student reports. Teachers can use this information to provide additional support to students who may be struggling.

Lifelong Learning: Students and teachers are encouraged to adopt new technologies together, which promotes adaptation of new tools and commitment to continuous improvement. It also allows students to share ideas with other individuals around the world to enrich their learning experiences.

Moving forward in synch

Successful integration of technology into the curriculum is not possible without thorough planning and ongoing support. Technology should not take over every teaching method, but there should be a balance between the use of educational technology and traditional teaching methods to support varied education opportunities for students. Learning together will promote collaboration and communication among teachers and students, which is imperative as we incorporate generative AI and emerging technologies into the classroom. 

Related: Leveraging the K-12 generative AI readiness checklist: A guide for district leadership

Editor’s note: This story on how to manage academic integrity as generative AI moves into classrooms originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

The rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology present both incredible opportunities and significant challenges for educational settings. Whether or not a school district is considering leveraging AI, the influence of this technology on educational ecosystems is undeniable. As AI increasingly becomes a part of our daily lives, district leaders have a responsibility to understand its impact in educational settings and make informed decisions accordingly. This is true whether the aim is active adoption or simply preparation for a future where AI tools become more prevalent in educational settings.

To ensure school districts are adequately prepared for the integration of generative AI into their instructional and operational systems, the Council of Great City Schools, CoSN – Consortium for School Networking, and Amazon Web Services have partnered to create the K-12 Gen AI Readiness Checklist Questionnaire. There are several ways in which district leadership can best use this checklist for assessing and enhancing their readiness for integrating generative AI technologies into both instructional and operational systems.

The first step should be to bring together a group of individuals that will form the district’s Generative AI Leadership Team. Who Should Be Involved?

• Superintendents and District Leaders: As decision-makers, your insights into aligning AI adoption with overall goals and strategies are critical.
• Chief Technology Officers and Chief Information Officers: You will be the primary users of the checklist, evaluating technical capabilities, limitations, and needs.
• Cross-Functional Teams: The checklist addresses a wide array of considerations, making it essential for input from representatives of all departments involved, including academics, finance, and legal.

The Checklist covers readiness in Executive Leadership, Operational, Data, Technical, Security, Legal/Risk Management. Below are some ideas for how the Checklist can be leveraged in your school district.

Initial Assessment

Alignment with District Goals: Start by examining whether AI technologies align with your district’s mission, vision, and values.
Resource Inventory: Make sure you have designated teams or individuals who will be responsible for overseeing AI adoption.
Tactical Steps
Legal Review: Consult the legal department to ensure compliance with state laws or district rules concerning the use of AI technologies.
Policy Development: Establish clear policies around the responsible use of AI, keeping in mind to align them with existing federal guidelines and best practices.
Staff Training: Ascertain the training needs for different roles within the district and prepare a training roadmap.

Operational Readiness

Procurement Standards: Set forth clear standards for AI procurement, with a focus on compliance and ethical considerations.
Data Governance and Privacy: Make sure you have robust data governance policies in place and that you are compliant with privacy regulations.
Technical Readiness
Security Framework: Update your cybersecurity policies to include AI-specific considerations.
Identity and Access Management: Implement centralized role-based data access controls specifically for AI tools.
Monitoring: Develop processes to keep track of systems that use AI and how they are used.

Risk Management

Legal Remediation: Update terms and conditions to include AI-specific clauses and ensure the legal team has remediation plans.
Copyright Policy: Create or update the copyright policy to include content created using AI tools.
Continuous Review
Iterative Approach: The adoption of AI is not a one-off event but a continual process. Periodic reassessments should be conducted.

Making the Most of the Checklist

Customization: One of the key strengths of the checklist is that it is designed to be adaptable. Districts should customize it according to their unique needs and challenges.
Community Resource: The checklist is intended to evolve. Once it is made publicly available under a Creative Commons license, districts can not only modify it but also share their experiences and modifications, contributing to its value as a community resource.

The extremely rapid pace of gen AI development brings with it both great opportunities and exposure to risk. Creating a team to provide governance for the adoption of AI in educational settings is a critical step in guiding use and preventing abuse. The K-12 Gen AI Readiness Checklist provides a comprehensive framework to guide district leadership to engage in understanding a complex AI ecosystem and the numerous considerations that come with AI adoption. By strategically leveraging this checklist, school districts can navigate the complexities of AI technology while aligning with educational objectives and ensuring data privacy and security.

The goal is not just to blindly adopt new technology but to transform our education systems for the better, and this checklist is a strong step in that direction.

Click Here for Everything You Need To Know About AI In Education

Editor’s note: This story on how to manage academic integrity as generative AI moves into classrooms originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

With AI dominating conversations among education leaders, the importance of managing expectations and academic integrity is now more critical than ever as the new school year commences. Most districts are realizing that straightforward banning of ChatGPT and other tools only keeps the students without home access and data plans from using A toolsets. Certainly, none of us want to create additional digital inequities. However, as students leverage generative AI for assignments and “Cheat detectors” prove ineffective in detecting AI-generated output, school administrators must take proactive measures to safeguard the authenticity of student assignments and promote ethical use.

Since AI-detection tools are being shown to fall short in detecting AI-generated output, it becomes crucial for school administrators to be proactive to ensure ethical use and safeguard the authenticity of student assignments. The best way to manage assignments and ethical use is to set expectations and put them front and center in the assignments themselves. Teachers need training on how to rework assignments to incorporate and evaluate the AI generated output.  Academic Integrity Statements are a good place to start with districts setting expectations for students. Academic Integrity Statements allow educators to put ethics first and teach essential tenets to students up front. They should be integrated into the framework of every project and report while emphasizing the importance of honest work and original thinking. By encouraging students to pledge their commitment to academic integrity, we instill in them a sense of responsibility and respect for the academic process. Can students just give this lip service? Yes, of course, But that does not reduce their importance. We also have a board approved RUPs (AUPs) that set expectations on tech use that may get circumvented. They set the standard, much like a speed limit sign does on a city street. As educational leaders, we must emphasize the significance of academic integrity, not just as a set of rules but as a core value that fosters a positive learning environment. By making it a focal point, we reinforce the notion that authentic learning experiences and personal growth come from genuine effort and creativity.

This may beg the question of the need for school board policies around Generative AI. Although this may initially seem like a good idea, The rapid pace of change in AI and the slow change of policy may indicate otherwise. I think that it may be better to couch AI management under administrative guidelines and let them fall under the RUP (AUP) or other existing policies. We found this to be true in our district as well with Social Media several years ago and issued Guidelines under our RUP.

The concerns surrounding Generative AI’s impact on academic integrity, among larger issues, have not gone unnoticed in the tech industry. Prominent voices, including Sam Altman of OpenAI, have urged AI regulation to ensure ethical and responsible use. As educational leaders, we must lead the call for action to protect the integrity of our academic institutions.

With at least 15 states already considering bills related to Generative AI and its potential impact on various industries, it’s not far-fetched to envision education as the next area of focus. As pioneers in the educational sector, we should proactively engage with policymakers and advocate for responsible AI usage that aligns with our values of integrity, fairness, and inclusivity. As we anticipate the evolving landscape of AI in education, it’s crucial to equip our schools and educators with the necessary knowledge and resources. Professional development programs should include training on identifying AI-generated content, how to adjust assignments to encourage prompt development/ evaluation, and best practices for fostering academic integrity.

As we embrace the digital age with Generative AI, promoting and managing academic integrity is a shared responsibility among our educational communities. We are taking steps like these to help ensure that our schools remain beacons of authentic learning in the digital age.

Editor’s note: This story on 10 back-to-school resources for edtech leaders originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

1) Digital Equity Dashboard 

CoSN’s Digital Equity Dashboard is an innovative and practical tool designed to help school districts and communities leverage data to close digital equity gaps. This powerful instrument integrates various national data sets into one comprehensive dashboard. By anonymizing the data and breaking it down into county, school district and zip code units, the Digital Equity Dashboard provides school and community leaders with valuable data to inform decision-makers and address equity concerns.

• To learn more about how school districts and communities can effectively employ the dashboard, explore CoSN’s informative video tutorials.
• Take a deep dive into the Digital Equity Dashboard at our upcoming webinar on September 13, 2023. (All registrants will receive a recording of the Webinar.)
• Explore the Dashboard here.

2) AI in Education

The advent of Generative AI presents an unprecedented opportunity for K-12 institutions. CoSN Resources on AI offer insight, advice and peer experiences that will guide EdTech leaders in harnessing the power of AI to enhance learning. The AI in Education Community, along with resources, blogs and webinars, serves as a platform for discovering innovative strategies for schools and districts.

• Check out the CoSN Blog Series on Artificial Intelligence. 
• Watch the CoSN Webinar Series: Generative AI — The New School Supply? (Recording available here [member exclusive], Podcast here.)

3) Cybersecurity

In today’s digital landscape, safeguarding our schools’ networks and information is paramount. CoSN Tools and Resources on Cybersecurity empower EdTech leaders to analyze their current security status, reduce risks, and contribute to effective teaching and learning environments. CoSN resources include information on Planning; Prevention & Preparation; Implementation; and Response.

• Read the CoSN Cybersecurity Staffing Resource for K-12, which identifies and addresses staffing cybersecurity across the K-12 organization.
• Read “Making the Case for Increased Investment in Cybersecurity,” which identifies actions a school system IT staff can take to better defend IT infrastructure.
• Check out the Cybersecurity Leadership Game, a valuable group cybersecurity professional development tool.

4) 2023 Driving K-12 Innovation

CoSN’s Driving K-12 Innovation 2023 series continues to provide trend reports that support the integration of emerging technologies in education. With insights from a global advisory board of K-12 leaders, practitioners and changemakers, this initiative delves into the themes driving, hindering, and enabling teaching and learning innovation at schools.

• Check out CoSN blogs on K-12 Innovation — including Be a Catalyst for Change: 10 Expert Tips for Driving K-12 Innovation in the New School Year and How Learner Agency Can Accelerate Innovation — to learn more.
• Read about the Top 2023 Hurdles and Accelerators and Top 2023 Tech Enablers  driving K-12 innovation for the year ahead.
• Stay informed by signing up for the CoSN Roadmap to Innovation newsletter.

5) K-12CVAT

The CoSN K-12 Community Vendor Assessment Tool (K-12CVAT) offers a framework for K-12 schools, districts and education service districts to assess vendor risk. Before purchasing a third-party solution, ask the solution provider to complete the K-12CVAT tool to confirm that information, data and cybersecurity policies are in place to protect sensitive school system information and constituents’ PII. 

• Download the K-12 Community Vendor Assessment Tool.

6) Disaster Preparation

CoSN cybersecurity expert Amy McLaughlin testifies before U.S. Senate

Before a disaster strikes, it is incumbent upon school system IT personnel to have emergency operations plans in place to ensure continuity of learning. Natural disasters can be spontaneous events, requiring school system leaders to implement and train team members on procedures so that they can act swiftly. Administrative and school personnel should be able to assess damage quickly, update all stakeholders, bring critical systems back online, and resume operations as quickly as possible.

• Building a Learning Continuity Plan 
• Building Your Disaster Recovery “GO KIT” (member exclusive)
• Strategies for Building Information Security Governance (member exclusive)

7) Asset Management and Budgeting

In the face of tight IT budgets, assessing the costs and benefits of educational tech projects is crucial. CoSN provides the tools to assist K-12 districts in estimating overall expenses and advantages, which aids in project assessment, validation and long-term viability. Grasping the complete computing expenses is vital for strategic planning, budgeting, and adapting to shifting needs and technologies.

• Explore CoSN resources on Value of Investment (VOI), Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), Asset Disposal, Lifecycle Replacement planning and more. 
• Budgeting, TCO & VOI
• Implementing Asset Management (member exclusive)
• Implementing Asset Disposal (member exclusive)

Lifecycle Replacement Planning (member exclusive)

8) Trusted Learning Environment Seal (TLE Seal)

The CoSN Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal is the nation’s only privacy framework designed specifically for school systems. The TLE program helps K-12 schools and districts build strong, effective privacy programs and a culture of trust and transparency. 

• Access the TLE Self-Assessment tool.
• Preview the CoSN TLE Seal Application.

9) Fall Courses

CoSN’s online courses target the skill areas in CoSN’s Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO, offer CEA Credits for CETL® recertification, and access to course materials for a full year. Register now for Early Bird & Bulk Pricing discounts!

• Student Data Privacy: Laying the Foundation
• CETL Foundation
• Cybersecurity in K-12 Schools
• Project Management
• Cybersecurity Online Workshop 101

10) CoSN Blogs, Webinars and Podcasts

Rev up your EdTech journey through a world of FREE blogs from our vibrant CoSN Members. From AI to EdTech Leadership, Cybersecurity to K-12 Innovation, our blogs cover it all. But that’s not the end of the adventure! Join us for our timely webinars, tailor-made for EdTech leaders like you. Members enjoy them free, while non-members get in on the action at a small cost. And guess what? We’ve got podcasts too, so you can catch up on-the-go. 

Stay up-to-date with the latest through CoSN’s FREE weekly EdTech Dispatch newsletter! Subscribe today and explore insights, trends, and innovations in edtech. Plus, if you aren’t already, don’t miss the chance to enhance your network and knowledge by becoming a member of CoSN.

Search the CoSN Website by topic to find exactly what you need! 

Questions? Email Dr. Jill Brown of Professional Learning, jbrown@cosn.org.

Related: Schools are at a greater risk for cyberattacks than ever before

Click Here to Discover Some Innovative Ideas for School Libraries

Editor’s note: This article on digital citizenship in schools originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permission.

Part of a Blog Series from the Emerging Technologies Committee Leveraging Technology for Improving School Wellness and Safety

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 been in a K-12 classroom, you will see that it won’t take long for students to be distracted by the latest YouTube video or TikTok trend. We must find the balance in day to day interactions at school, work, and with family to focus on what is important at the time.

First, it is important to define a few terms. According to Virtual Library, digital citizenship is “engaging in appropriate and responsible behavior when using technology.” Digital literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information using digital platforms. A digital footprint is the trace one leaves behind on the internet which can be from posting photos, videos, or text.

The Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) in Oshkosh, WI is actively addressing digital citizenship with students in their elementary, middle, and high schools. A team of library media specialists adapted the free Common Sense Media curriculum. They work with classroom or homeroom teachers to deliver monthly instruction based on various topics which include: media balance, online safety, digital footprint, cyberbullying, and more. Another option for other districts and schools could be to leverage their learning management system to push out lessons. Additionally, the OASD’s library media department promotes Digital Citizenship Week each October and shares a handout with families to promote conversation between parents/guardians and their students. 

It is important to note that Common Sense Media is not the only platform available. ISTE has a plethora of resources as well and emphasizes the benefits of using social media in the classroom. In Digital for Good Richard Culatta explains five qualities youth should develop in order to thrive and contribute as a good digital citizen. Additionally, #ICANHELP is a non-profit that focuses on helping students and educators to “lead, educate, and engage” in the positive power of social media. 

The Oshkosh Area School District also evaluates apps for curricular value and for data privacy. Teachers are able to request apps, extensions, and websites that they would like to use in the classroom with their students. First, the curricular team reviews the tool. If it is deemed appropriate, they send it to the technology integration team who reviews the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy. Items that the team examines for each tool can include COPPA compliance, protection (or disclosure) of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), and compatibility with current technology. The resource will then be placed on an approved resources list and categorized as following: Green (district supported), Blue (approved but not supported), Yellow (approved with cautions), or Red (not approved). View more information on the Instructional Technology page from the Oshkosh Area School District website.

When families ask what resources are available, schools may refer them to Common Sense Media for Parents. Guardians are encouraged to engage in conversations with their children as to what apps they are using and who they are talking with online. Additionally, Google has offered Be Internet Awesome for internet safety. Often parents can change the settings on their child’s phone to regulate access. Cell phone and internet providers may also offer resources or tools. Ideas such as not allowing computers or phones to be charged overnight in bedrooms may be helpful.

Social media companies are also investing in ways to help children balance a healthy amount of social media. While TikTok has a Kids Mode for those under 13, they will be instituting time limits for children under 18.  After one hour of screen time, it will prompt teens for a passcode causing the user to have to actively decide whether to keep scrolling on the app. Of course, it will be up to the user and the family to input the correct age information when signing up for an account to take advantage of these settings.

In conclusion, schools should work with educators and families to ensure students have an awareness of their digital footprint and teach ways that social media can be positive. Students need time to learn appropriate digital skills and practice those skills inside and outside of the classroom. These digital literacy skills will help them to be college, career, and community ready. 

Related:
Is digital citizenship in schools the most important takeaway from distance learning?
Students need freedom to develop critical skills with edtech

Editor’s note: This blog post originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permissions.

When it comes to students in the classroom, they want to feel ownership and control of their learning. According to the American Institutes for Research, encouraging student agency is beneficial because:

• students who believe their knowledge can grow over time perform better on IQ tests,
• those with a growth mindset are more likely to set academic goals focused on mastering content versus studying for a test score or course grade,
• students who set mastery-focused goals tend to process information in a deeper and more organized fashion, and
• the skills and behaviors that learner agency fosters are positively related to higher education and career outcomes.

During CoSN’s Driving K-12 Innovation 2022-23 cycle, our esteemed Advisory Board of about 100 educators and technologists agreed that learner agency is, indeed, one of the top three accelerators in education today. Download the 2023 Driving K-12 Innovation Report: Hurdles + Accelerators to learn more.

About learner agency

In CoSN’s 2023 Hurdles + Accelerators Report, we define Learner Agency as:

Learner Agency is a combination of the will and the skill to learn. It is about students as active choice-makers in their education and about reconceptualizing their role from that of “student” to that of “learner.” Combined with a strong learning environment, students are able to transform from order-takers to innovators, experience the state of “flow,” and learn far more authentically. In order for schools to facilitate learner agency, they must also encourage educator agency. Learner agency is essential for lifelong learning and requires a different approach to school structure and practices. Truly embracing learner agency will require transforming education systems. This Accelerator is deeply intertwined with Personalization.

It’s all about students as active choice-makers in their education; reconceptualizing their role from that of “student” to that of “learner.” Combined with a strong learning environment, students could transform from order-takers to innovators.

The negative effect of lack of learner agency

During our Driving K-12 Innovation Summit in February 2023, Advisory Board Member Marie Bjerede (E-mergents, Oregon, United States) shared a mini-deep dive into the world of Learner Agency, and why it is critically important for learners today.

Bjerede started her presentation by giving the vivid example of a girl named Gia and her love of reading:

“Imagine Gia: she has a little library under her mattress that she thinks her parents don’t know about. Past her bedtime, she devours the pages of Nancy Drew on thrilling adventures, cozy in her little nest under the covers. She thinks about how good she is at solving puzzles just like her hero.

She’s a little tired going to school in the morning, but wonderful news is waiting. Her class is going to have a reading challenge! Starting with a Wrinkle in Time, she’s given a list of great books to choose from. Her teacher shares that whoever reads the most pages each day will win a candy.

This is a challenge that she is up for, every evening, she forces herself to read just a bit extra, so that she can win the morning’s prize.

It worked.

The teacher was delighted to let her parents know that she read more pages than ever. Gia felt very proud, knowing she had worked hard. That night, it felt good for her to go to bed without the pressure of reading. She told herself that she would get back to Nancy Drew soon, but somehow school and activities just kept her too busy. Gia’s agency around reading diminished – instead of reading out of curiosity and enjoyment, she began reading for rewards and good grades.

Regrettably, it is more the rule than the exception that students work to earn grades rather than enjoying learning. They game the system to get the most award for the least effort. They are convinced that they wouldn’t work hard unless someone made them. And because they believe it to be true, it is.”

How learner agency empowers students

Bjerede further explained that learner agency is like Gia reading under the covers at night. Agentic learners, who take ownership of their learning and academic career, do so because they have both the will and the skill to do so.

• Will is the high-quality motivation that can be achieved in an environment where the learners’ base psychological needs – autonomy, mastery, and relatedness – are met.
• Skill refers to the quality of the learners’ ability to productively apply their motivation. Metacognitive skills include the ability to plan, monitor, evaluate, and make changes to their behaviors to confront challenges more effectively.

“When students have both the will and the skill, they often get to experience the thrill of being intrinsically motivated,” said Bjerede. “Of doing a task purely for the enjoyment or satisfaction of it, of experiencing a state of flow where time falls away, and they become engrossed in their task of working, for understanding or out of curiosity, instead of receiving rewards or avoiding punishments. When learner agency is engaged, the learners themselves become the most impactful accelerators.”

Watch Bjerede speak at Learner Agency at the Driving K-12 Innovation Summit 

Watch the full Summit recording

Visit the Driving K-12 Innovation webpage to read the 2023 reports, get free resources to help you drive innovation, and more.

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Related: Technology’s key role in personalization and differentiation

Editor’s note: This blog post originally appeared on CoSN’s blog and is reposted here with permissions.

Part of a Blog Series from the Emerging Technologies Committee Leveraging Technology for Improving School Wellness and Safety

The renewed focus on the whole student, specifically on social and emotional needs and growth (social emotional learning – SEL), is certainly a positive direction in K-12 education. Technology leaders and providers have answered the call, with the development or enhancement of digital content and resources to assist teachers and parents in promoting students’ growth. However, perhaps we as edtech and curriculum leaders are overlooking the value of other high impact avenues for addressing those needs.   

Alongside the increased focus on SEL, we have been working to leverage technology to promote more customized, or personalized, learning experiences. I see a distinct overlap between the objectives and outcomes of these two areas of focus. In my former district, leadership has been working for many years to develop paths for learning that optimize student choice and interest.

As an example, several years ago the district transformed coursework to offer personalized learning paths, focused on areas of emerging technology and industry trends. High schools began providing students customized coursework, with intensive areas of focus in career clusters such as health sciences, information technology, STEM, public safety, international law, performing arts and technology, and now even artificial intelligence. To date, the district offers students more than 60 different pathways to high-demand, high-skill, and high wage careers.

As research and practice predicted, students immersed in studies within areas of individual interests experienced secondary (or perhaps primary) benefits of growth in collaborative skills, problem solving, self-regulation, self-efficacy, i.e., social and emotional growth. Technology plays a key role. Teachers must rely heavily on technology to keep up with vetted content in these ever-emerging fields. In addition, the offered pathways are future-focused and in the epicenter of the emerging technologies that will define society’s future.  

The district stretched the skills and concepts of these emerging fields back into the middle and even elementary school content as well. For instance, in a cluster of schools where the high school offers an artificial intelligence (AI) focus, students as early as kindergarten are exposed to AI concepts as consumers. The AI content builds through the grades, helping students move from informed consumers to skilled developers and creators. The content by its very nature embeds supports for students to become effective contributors to society as well as promoting a sense of self worth and efficacy… again, social and emotional skills.  

While not all schools or districts are positioned to provide multiple course programs in an array of fields, all can seek to offer increased choice and personalized options to students. What might otherwise be a heavy lift for development can be eased by ready access to a wealth of digital content, increasingly sophisticated scheduling systems, computer-based curricula, etc. 

Technology now also provides unprecedented support in the design and delivery of more personalized learning experiences, down to the lesson level. Most learning management systems help teachers manage differentiated instruction by using performance data to automate the learning path, allowing students to receive just-in-time, personalized instruction. Through curriculum-based measurement and management tools, teachers can facilitate learning activities exactly where, how and and when students need them.  In fact, many if not most systems now incorporate SEL standards into those learning paths. These tools can truly change the way students learn. We know the myriad benefits for students who are continuously operating in their zone of proximal development, benefits that definitely support students’ social and emotional development. 

It is a struggle to meet all of the demands placed on K-12 education, and they are only growing. We serve ourselves and our students well to look for strategies and mechanisms that not only offer a high return on investment, but also hit multiple targets with a single arrow. The pairing of personalized learning and social emotional supports can be a great example. Let’s keep asking ourselves how we can leverage more customized, personalized, and therefore engaging learning opportunities to help our students grow in social constructs and emotional strength? 

EdTechNext 2023 Blog series:
Download the resource here. 

And listen to the Education meets the universe: The promise and the worry Webinar Archive organized by the Emerging Technologies Committee.

CoSN is vendor neutral and does not endorse products or services. Any mention of a specific solution is for contextual purposes.

Related:
5 to thrive: SEL resources to help students grow