Creating Scalable And Affordable Education Networks

As part of its Smart Education Networks by Design (SEND) initiative, the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) released the first phase of comprehensive guidelines to support K-12 chief technology officers (CTOs) in building, strengthening, and maintaining durable education networks. The initiative provides guidance to district leaders on the current and future digital K-12 landscape and identifies best practices and solutions to design, implement, and manage networks to support district strategic plans and processes.

The guidelines provide district technology leaders with insight on the current landscape of education networks, including school-wide information technology, data and capacity, network design considerations, connectivity – both on and off campus – as well as device capabilities. The exploration of these issues is accompanied by examples of districts nationwide that are bolstering their infrastructure and connectivity to the meet challenges created by growing student demand and personalized learning environments.