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Free Digital Equity Action Toolkit by CoSN
Posted on 09/21/2017
Ensuring all students have equal access to educational technology 
—both in the classroom and at home—often requires innovation. Educators can find cost-effective solutions in new technologies such as open-educational resources and by partnering with the business community.
“The vast majority of superintendents agree with the premise that digital equity is a problem, but when we ask them if they’re doing anything about it, the alarming thing is that 70 percent say they aren’t,” says Keith R. Krueger, CEO of CoSN, a nonprofit professional organization of K12 technology leaders.
CoSN has developed a free Digital Equity Action Toolkit that offers examples of how district leaders are narrowing the digital divide.
Superintendents should first assess their districts to identify what devices students have access to, where students use those devices and the available connection speeds, says Krueger. Once limitations are known, districts can first consider low-cost, simple efforts to assist low-income families, such as creating maps of where free Wi-Fi is available.
They can also recruit local businesses to become “homework helpers” by setting up free Wi-Fi hotspots as a community service.
The good news is that the ever-growing flexibility of technology creates many options when it comes district efforts to create digital equity.
Read more about Cost-conscious tech solutions, virtual agility, working together with the community and empowering parents in Ray Bendici's article on District Administration Web site.
Source: District Administration, District CIO, Schools bridge the digital divide 9/8/2017
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