As part of CoSN’s Interoperability Standards initiative, the association today released two new tools to help K-12 district leaders calculate the costs of integrating digital learning platforms.
The resources — a downloadable spreadsheet template and an online interactive calculator — are the newest components of CoSN’s Interoperability Toolkit. The interactive calculator was developed in partnership with Double Line, a leading education data management provider, and the Interoperability Standards initiative is supported by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
“Connecting siloed digital systems is a daunting undertaking for resource-challenged school districts. It’s becoming a significant, costly educational hurdle when data is kept siloed and inaccessible. To help simplify this process, CoSN’s new Interoperability Toolkit resources will give school leaders the insight and support to make data-informed decisions about their digital ecosystems. Over time, such tools will allow districts to achieve full interoperability that can deliver on the teaching and learning promise of technology,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN.
CoSN’s new resources aim to minimize the confusion created when a variety of digital channels are used within one district. The spreadsheet template enables district customization while the user-friendly calculator doesn’t require any spreadsheet skills. Both tools can be leveraged by a school system to vet a new system or to estimate the cost of existing system pairings that are not interoperable.
By generating ballpark cost figures, the resources should encourage educational leaders, particularly school district business officers, superintendents and school boards, to address the negative impact of siloed technology systems on district budgets.
“Interoperability is incredibly important for education system progress, but it’s also hard to get right. Our goal with this tool is to help our school districts measure the benefits that will come from the time, effort and resources required to reach the next level of data use maturity. We have a long history of helping school districts get there, and we see our work with CoSN on this tool as the next logical contribution to the education community,” said Matt Warden, CEO of Double Line.
Learn more about the new tools and CoSN’s Interoperability Standards initiative at: cosn.org/Interoperability.
About CoSN
CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking) is the premier professional association for school system technology leaders. CoSN provides thought leadership resources, community best practices and advocacy tools to help leaders succeed in the digital transformation. CoSN represents over 13 million students in school districts nationwide and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. cosn.org
About Double Line, Inc.
Double Line is a leading software integration vendor founded with a mission to improve data use at local and state K-12 departments and institutions. With our strategic guidance and implementation services, state and local educational agencies have transformed their educational data so that critical information can quickly and accurately be shared across multiple platforms. We focus on building relationships with our customers to create collaborative solutions, leveraging individual achievements to impact the greater education community. Learn more about us at wearedoubleline.com.
About the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (www.msdf.org) is dedicated to improving the lives of children living in urban poverty around the world. Headquartered in Austin, TX with additional offices in New Delhi, India and Cape Town, South Africa, the Dell Foundation funds programs that foster high-quality public education and childhood wellness and improve the economic stability of families living in poverty. The foundation has committed more than $1.6 billion to global children’s issues and community initiatives to date.
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (www.msdf.org) is dedicated to improving the lives of children living in urban poverty around the world. Headquartered in Austin, TX with additional offices in New Delhi, India and Cape Town, South Africa, the Dell Foundation funds programs that foster high-quality public education and childhood wellness and improve the economic stability of families living in poverty. The foundation has committed more than $1.6 billion to global children’s issues and community initiatives to date.
