In this project the NSDL Resource Center is partnering with the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) to develop and implement a K-12 Technology Leadership Certification Program focused on Chief Technology Officers (CTOs), the professionals within states and school districts most responsible for the vision, planning, and operations of educational technology systems. The intellectual merit of this project lies in its recognition that to take advantage of advances in information and communications technologies (ICT) that encourage transformative-enabling changes in the nation's education systems, there is a critical need to develop leadership within K-12 schools for innovative and effective use of cyberlearning tools and resources for STEM disciplines. Furthermore, CoSN is a critical leader in the field of K-12 technology administration and the work builds on CoSN's 18 years of experience in helping to build capacity for US school district technology CTOs and its substantive work in identifying and developing a Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTOs. Through the establishment of a rigorous credentialing system that equips and empowers district technology leaders with the skills and abilities needed to position them as educational leaders (not just technology leaders), NSDL and CoSN are providing a mechanism that works within existing frameworks of state and district school systems: i) to effectively operationalize the leadership skills of the CTO, ii) to elevate and certify the CTO's professional acumen and expertise, and iii) to help administrators, teachers, and students in K-12 education integrate innovative and effective use of cyberlearning tools, resources, and capacity-building skills. The project is exerting a broad impact on the CTO professional community by helping identify leaders who are gaining interpersonal, technical, and educational skills and abilities that help instantiate effective and innovative technology use. Furthermore, this project offers a potential model for developing and evaluating similar leadership programs for curriculum supervisors, library and media specialists, pre-service education faculty, and other key constituents of the full K-16 STEM education enterprise.
—has successfully developed and implemented a national professional certification program for Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) in K-12 school districts. Backed by CoSN’s near 20-year track record of capacity-building for school district technology, products, and services supporting leadership development, advocacy, coalition building, and awareness of emerging technologies and trends, CoSN has established a comprehensive, well-designed, and well-supported program that strengthens, affirms and elevates CTO professional standing and skills development. Far beyond being a personal tool for career advancement or increased salary advancement, the program creates team-focused, transformational educational leaders responsible for visioning, planning, and implementing thoughtful, systemically supported educational technology, enhancing district success across a range of responsibilities, from instruction, to administrative efficacy, network security, community outreach, ongoing funding, and improved achievement. Building on its revised and refreshed Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO, CoSN conducted preliminary work by surveying, holding focus groups, and obtaining feedback from district superintendents, directors of technology, technology coordinators, Chief Technology Officers, and other district-level technology professionals. Armed with positive responses from these professionals, CoSN established three panels of subject matter experts for the design and development of the certification program examination (an Item Writing Panel; Item Review Panel; and Certification Governance Committee) to prepare, review, and oversee the examination materials and process. Beta testing of the examination took place in December 2011 at eleven sites across the country. CoSN’s CETL Certification section of its website contains all the information education technology leaders need to prepare for and take the CETL exam, including: Application procedures Certification Handbook of policies and procedures Code of Conduct and Terms of Confidentiality Recertification requirements (every three years) to maintain CETL designation Information for school superintendents and school boards Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO Examination preparation materials including a self-assessment, and a practice exam FAQs about the program The first official administration of the Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL) exam was held on March 4 during the 2012 CoSN Annual Conference in Washington, DC, followed by two subsequent exam administrations (one at ISTE 2012—the annual conference of the International Society for Technology in Education in June 2012). Four additional exam administrations take place in fall 2012: Orlando, Florida; Fayetteville, Georgia; Indianapolis, Indiana; and in Nashville, Tennessee. As of September 1, 2012, fifty professionals from 16 states have received CETL certification. CoSN has quite successfully developed, established and implemented the vision of a comprehensive aspirational certification program for technology professionals in education. COSN’s efforts have fostered relationships with other organizations, including most of CoSN’s 14 state chapters; developed pending partnership agreements with state Departments of Education, and the fostering of sponsorship agreements to expand the range of tools and services available to candidates seeking certification. Based on CoSN’s rigorous development of the Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO, coupled with a well-defined and well-executed work plan to make operational the leadership skills of CTOs, COSN is very effectively integrating and systemizing those professional skills within district structures—strengthening both CTO professionalism and district effectiveness. The CETL certification program demonstrates that the NSDL/CoSN alliance has effectively capitalized on the opportunity to elevate and systematically affect the ‘T’ in STEM, with a focused process that contributes to the transformation of STEM education through capacity-building in cyberlearning technologies.
