IT Tools

CoSN Unveils Interoperability Tools

The two free solutions will help K-12 district leaders calculate the costs of integrating digital learning platforms.

• By Sara Friedman
• 05/23/19

The Consortium for School Networking wants to make it easier for K-12 district leaders to make decisions on their technology needs. The two newest components of CoSN’s Interoperability Toolkit are a downloadable spreadsheet template and an online interactive calculator.

The spreadsheet template is designed to help IT leaders estimate the costs of integrating platforms and learning tools that were not developed using open standards into their digital ecosystem. The spreadsheets are broken down by learning management software and student information systems and include estimates for the number of employees and costs associated with a number of administrative functions.

The online interactive calculator offers a similar experience to the manual spreadsheets but it allows the data to be collected and aggregated in a simpler manner. By generating ballpark cost figures, both of these resources are designed to encourage educational leaders to address the negative impact of siloed technology systems on district budgets.

“Connecting siloed digital systems is a daunting undertaking for resource-challenged school districts,” said CoSN CEO Keith Krueger. “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.”

More information about both tools can be found here.