SETTING CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS: Guidelines for Responsible Use of Technology for Schools
CoSN is pleased to share a wide variety of online resources to assist school leaders in the effective use of technology across the broad spectrum of school initiatives. These resources are readily available on the CoSN website (https://www.cosn.org/).
One example of a CoSN resource for school leaders is the recently updated online posting, “SETTING CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS: Guidelines for Responsible Use of Technology for Schools”. This readily available publication is designed to provide guidance to educators serving in multiple roles, including technology leaders, school district leaders as well as school district communities on how best to lead and support the responsible and effective uses of technology and digital resources within school settings.
This free online resource includes information on the following topics:
- Connectivity Is A Critical Foundation
- Setting Technical Conditions for Success
- Responsible Use Agreements (RUAs)
- RUAs Gone Wrong
- Creating Effective Responsible Use Agreements
- What to Include
Templates for creating Responsible Use Agreements for Elementary and Secondary Schools are also provided.
The “SETTING CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS: Guidelines for Responsible Use of Technology for Schools” document is freely available to be downloaded at https://www.cosn.org/tools-and-resources/resource/setting-conditions-for-success-guidelines-for-responsible-use-of-technology-for-schools/.
- Self-Assessment for Superintendents
- Self-Assessment for Chief Technology Officers and Technology Staff
- Self-Assessment District Leadership Team
- Job Description for a Chief Technology Officer or Technology Director
- Interview Questions for Hiring an Educational Technology Leader
- Evaluation Rubric for the Chief Technology Officer
In addition to the items listed above, another very popular, freely available, resource is the collection of “Critical Focus Areas: Issue One-Pagers”. The “One-Pager” documents cover a variety of edtech topics that are written to help superintendents and school leaders effectively communicate with multiple stakeholders on a wide range of critical educational technology topics.
EmpowerED Superintendent edLeader Panel Broadcasts
CoSN, AASA, and edWeb.net co-host an online edLeader Panel broadcast series, sponsored by ClassLink, to help superintendents, school leaders and educators connect and collaborate. Season 8 of the EmpowerED Superintendent edLeader Panel Broadcast series concluded with the March 9, 2026, edLeader Panel broadcast on the topic of Cybersecurity Priorities, Policies, and Practices for K-12 Leaders. The broadcast featured superintendents Kristen Bahr from Peninsula School District (WA), Tom Livezey from Oakridge Public Schools (MI), and Dr. Mary Templeton from Lake Stevens School District (WA). The three superintendents were joined on the panel by Amy McLaughlin, CoSN’s Cybersecurity Project Director.Free access to the recording, podcast version and article for the March 9, 2026 broadcast as well as for multiple other broadcasts in this series are readily available at https://home.edweb.net/supers/.
CoSN Membership: If you, your school or district would like more information about joining CoSN or getting more involved with CoSN, please contact membership@cosn.org.
