New tool equips school districts and communities with national data to address digital equity concerns
Washington, D.C. (July 11, 2023) – CoSN today launched the Digital Equity Dashboard, an innovative and practical tool designed to help school districts and communities leverage data to close digital equity gaps. The 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.
“As a technology lead in my district, being empowered in the decision-making process with a robust data solution is invaluable,” said Dr. Tom Ryan, Past CoSN Chair and former CITO for Santa Fe Public Schools. “Having actionable, dependable data at our fingertips allows for precise decision-making and tailored resource allocation, driving the overall success of our district. Because when it comes to leading districts, information isn’t just power — it’s progress.”
The Digital Equity Dashboard offers school districts limitless opportunities to utilize data in making informed decisions regarding digital equity. For example, school leaders can examine data to identify the number of households without internet access within their attendance area. Furthermore, they can compare internet upload and download statistics to ensure all families have equitable access to high-quality broadband. The Dashboard also includes data related to health, educational attainment, income and other demographics, enabling school leaders to correlate outcomes to levels of internet access.
In the coming months, CoSN plans to release case studies showcasing several partner school districts that have successfully integrated their district data, highlighting the collaborative efforts made to inform critical decision-making, leverage state and federal funding opportunities, and drive communication and collaboration within their organizations and across their communities.
“Previous research by CoSN found that although most students returned to school last year following remote learning, there was more internet traffic on the school network from outside of school hours than during school hours,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN. “Home access is critical to bridge the Homework Gap, especially for low-income, disproportionately Black and Hispanic students. This tool will give school leaders actionable information about where the problem exists.”
The Dashboard was developed in partnership with Innive and with support from Dell Technologies and Google.
“The CoSN Digital Equity Dashboard brings together multiple sources of robust data, providing valuable information to actively address complex equity aims related to community needs, student performance and access to digital resources,” said Gautham Sampath, CEO of Innive, Inc. “We are proud to partner with CoSN, Dell Technologies and Google to make this information accessible to school districts — and systems that support school communities.”
“Our mission in driving digital inclusion is to democratize technology, starting with enabling connectivity and access,” said Adam Garry, Senior Director of Education Strategy at Dell Technologies. “Together with CoSN, we’ve created a Digital Equity Dashboard, giving us data to help understand the digital divide and where we have the opportunity to make the greatest impact.”
“We believe that everyone deserves a quality education, so we’re proud to continue and extend our partnership with CoSN to find more ways to ensure that all learners have access,” said Jennie Magiera, Global Head of Education Impact at Google. “Data provided through this Digital Equity Dashboard helps us better understand the current challenges, so that we can keep working toward solutions together.”
To learn more about how school districts and communities can effectively employ the dashboard, explore CoSN’s informative video tutorials at cosn.org/dedashboard.
For more information on CoSN’s digital equity work, visit cosn.org/digitalequity.
About CoSN
CoSN is the premier professional association designed to meet the needs of K-12 EdTech leaders, their teams and other district leaders. CoSN provides thought leadership resources, community, best practices and advocacy tools to help edtech leaders succeed in the digital transformation. CoSN represents over 13 million students and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. CoSN.org
About Innive
Innive is a leading provider of analytics solutions to K-12 organizations. Their flagship K12 360 product is used by many districts to provide meaningful management information in areas such as student learning, enrollment, attendance, educational technology, and many other areas. k12360.com
About Digital Inclusion at Dell Technologies
As the use of technology continues to rise, addressing the digital divide is becoming more critical. At Dell Technologies we’ve always believed in the power of technology to solve the biggest challenges facing society. Since the beginning, we have focused on making access to technology affordable and available to all. As part of our commitment to build a digitally inclusive world, our digital literacy programs provide the necessary training for educators, students, and caregivers. Visit www.dell.com/impact to learn more.
About Google for Education
Google for Education is a solution built for learning and designed for the classroom that includes a range of easy-to-manage Chromebook devices, and a powerful suite of collaboration tools with Google Workspace for Education – including the ability to manage teaching and learning through Google Classroom. Together these tools help educators up their game, giving them time back to invest in individualized support and inspiring their students to realize their potential. Today there are 170 million students and educators using Google Workspace for Education, 150 million using Google Classroom, and 50 million on Chromebooks — the most used device in classrooms around the world. https://edu.google.com/
MEDIA CONTACT:
Makenzie Carlin, mcarlin@fratelli.com, (703) 967-6954
