When students are
empowered by full access to technology, learning goals can be achieved.
P 24 Leadership
lanning and implementing major innovations in large urban dis- tricts can be a daunting and overwhelming idea – particularly
when it comes to technology – due to real and perceived obstacles. Added to this chal- lenge is the reality of the worst budget crisis in California history. Yet, we felt we needed to act. Almost everyone you talk to in education
will tell you technology is a powerful tool and most are trying to figure out a way to incorporate technology into their districts. Yet at the same time there are some serious doubts concerning the effectiveness of tech- nology in improving student achievement and the ability to provide technology to all students, and there are cynical predictions about the trouble kids will find with an open access policy. We have been able to move forward and
change that conversation by focusing on “outcomes” rather than “inputs,” using re- sourcefulness in providing devices to stu-
dents, and truly engaging and empowering students by allowing full access to high qual- ity educational resources and technology.
The district’s vision Riverside Unified School District has a
population of approximately 44,000 stu- dents. Our student population is culturally and linguistically diverse, and some of our schools struggle with high levels of tran- siency. Approximately 63 percent of our stu- dents are socioeconomically disadvantaged. In RUSD we began our digital learning
revolution by developing a 2020 (20/20) vi- sion of technology and learning. We came to the realization that the key outcomes we wanted to achieve focused on individual learning at the pace of the student, with the variable being time rather than learn- ing. By that we mean that if a student takes three weeks to master a particular concept
By Jay McPhail and Judi Paredes
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