CoSN is the only national professional association dedicated exclusively to education technology leaders, providing them with management, community building and tools to transform their schools and districts. Its core beliefs are:
- Technology is a critical tool to personalize learning.
- Technological fluency allows children to be prepared for the world of today and tomorrow.
- Equitable and ubiquitous access to technology is a necessity.
- Technology enables innovation in our educational systems, which results in greater efficiencies and productivity.
- Global connections are vital to transforming the education process and improving learning.
- The primary challenge we face in using technology effectively is human.
- Technology will transform learning only with strong leadership and vision
CoSN answers questions to help districts clarify vision, strengthen leadership and educational environments and, of course, manage technology. It recently re-released with the Center on Technology and Disability a report, Digital Accessibility Toolkit: What Education Leaders Need to Know. The toolkit includes new and updated tools for schools and addresses various aspects of accessibility.
In its efforts to support education leaders, CoSN provides thoughtful, and relevant professional advancement opportunities such as its Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL®) program, which is based on its Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO report. The framework identifies the necessary knowledge and skills a technology leader should have to successfully build and run digital learning environments.
CoSN has also partnered with Digital Promise to provide two micro-credentialing opportunities. The Digital Equity stack has five micro-credentials that address identifying gaps in digital access and creating and implementing a district plan to fill them. The Student Data Privacy stack, also with five micro-credentials, addresses issues related to protecting privacy, creating a trusted learning environment, effective parent communications and evaluation of online service providers. From CoSN: “By taking advantage of this professional advancement tool, (users) are able to maximize the potential of teaching and learning in the digital age.”