The Consortium for School Networking does an annual survey of school IT leaders. This year broadband and network capacity top their list of priorities. So what else do they think is important? Here’s what THE Journal reports as the highlights…

• 64 percent of respondents said that privacy and student data is more important than last year;
• Close to 90 percent expect their instructional materials to be 50 percent digitalized within the next three years;
• Nearly all expect to use open educational resources (OER) throughout the upcoming three years, with 45 percent expecting digital content to be at least 50 percent OER;
• Online productivity tools are the most used category of cloud-based solutions, with nearly 80 percent using online productivity tools;
• Only 11 percent still have district bans on student personal devices;
• 72 percent of women in IT leadership roles come from education/instructional backgrounds, while 54 percent of men in IT leadership come from technology/technical backgrounds;
• 90 percent of school IT leaders surveyed are white, indicating that racial diversity is lacking;
• 75 percent earned some college beyond their bachelor’s degree; and
• More than one-third plan to retire within the next six years.