According to the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)'s annual report, K-12 technology leaders across the country have strengthened cybersecurity measures in schools this year, but are still struggling to provide high-speed internet access to students outside of the classroom. We have regressed in terms of delivery.
CoSN's 2024 EdTech District Leadership Report released this week found that two-factor authentication usage will increase by 40% in 2022, as school CIOs and other education technology leaders overwhelmingly indicated that data protection remains important. % to 72% this year. The biggest concern. But at the same time, 31 percent of those surveyed said they no longer support efforts by school districts to provide students with access to home broadband, compared to two years ago. was only 19%. Also, over the same two-year period, the number of school districts offering hotspots to unconnected students decreased from 69 percent to 49 percent.
The survey, now in its 11th year, received responses from 981 school IT leaders between January 10th and February 29th. The 55-page summary was released on April 30th. The previous study was completed in 2023, and some findings are presented in the following articles: Comparison with 2022 report.
“As technology permeates every aspect of the education system, the role of edtech leaders is rapidly expanding and requires their active involvement,” CoSN CEO Keith Krueger said this week. said in an official statement. “Our latest research highlights the growing complexity of their challenges, from developing generative AI best practices and cybersecurity measures to addressing the digital wealth divide. Since 2012, the demand for edtech leaders has skyrocketed, but resources have not kept pace with this growing need.”
On the topic of artificial intelligence, 97 percent of those surveyed indicated that emerging technologies could benefit education, but only 35 school districts reported having a “generative AI initiative.” It was a percentage. Respondents also raised concerns not seen in previous surveys, such as new forms of cyber-attacks and cyber-bullying enabled by AI. According to the report, only 3% of districts have banned AI, and 20 districts say they use tools to detect AI-related plagiarism.
Other highlights of the report:
- 43% of respondents have improved interoperability by implementing single sign-on access across multiple digital tools. Edtech leaders cite “lack of awareness/understanding” as the main barrier to increasing interoperability.
- 57% believe cybersecurity is the most common outsourced service in their district and that it is a staffing issue.
- 93% said their school uses technology to address student welfare, and 63% reported having tools in place that can monitor for things like bullying, violence, depression and self-harm.
- Only 24% said all students in their district have access to a web browsing device at home.
- 73% of school districts have changed the way they interact with parents.
- 39% said their school district offers an esports program.
- Salary levels for K-12 educational technology leaders varied widely, with 18 percent earning less than $70,000 annually, 27 percent making between $100,000 and $129,999, and 2 percent making more than $200,000.
- Regarding the proportion of technology in their school budget, 41% said it was 2-5% of their annual spending plan, 16% said it was 8-11%, and 3% said it was more than 15%.
Staffing and funding constraints severely limit what ed-tech leaders can accomplish, the report summarized, quoting one respondent as saying: ”
“Until we find ways to address the persistent issues of budget constraints and lack of resources, each will continue to be cited as the top challenge for education technology leaders year after year,” the report concludes.
