CoSN developed the Digital Equity Dashboard to give school districts “limitless opportunities” to make data-driven decisions regarding digital equity measures, according to a news release. For example, the dashboard can identify the number of households without Internet access within a school’s attendance area, what percentage of the population is school age (between ages 5 and 17) and how many of them fall below the poverty line. It can also retrieve data related to educational attainment, health and other metrics.
CoSN created the dashboard in collaboration with the data analytics company Innive, Dell Technologies and Google, according to the news release. The organization is sharing it with the hope that educators will obtain the necessary data to inform decision-makers who can address equity concerns.
In a YouTube video about the Digital Equity Dashboard, a user narrows in on a correlation between poverty levels and crime indexes for Texas counties and individual school districts within the counties. Another user displays a multicolored map of Oklahoma, with different colors differentiating Internet speed by ZIP code.
CoSN is hoping that districts begin crunching data right away. The news release said in the coming months, CoSN plans to release case studies of participation and use that information to leverage state and federal grant opportunities. The dashboard is also a tool for promoting communication and collaboration within the school organization and the communities they serve.
“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,” CoSN CEO Keith Krueger said in a public statement. “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.”
Tom Ryan, past CoSN chair and a former technology leader in the Santa Fe Public Schools, called robust data solutions like this dashboard “invaluable.”
“Having actionable, dependable data at our fingertips allows for precise decision-making and tailored resource allocation, driving the overall success of our district,” he said in a public statement. “Because when it comes to leading districts, information isn’t just power — it’s progress.”
