Dr. Benjamin Churchill, Superintendent
In October, 13 superintendents from around the country and I — invited by the US Department of Education and the Office of Education Technology — went to Washington, DC, to spend the day discussing Future Ready Schools.
Future Ready Schools are committed to working collaboratively with key stakeholders to set a clear vision for the incorporation of research-based digital learning, and to supporting educators through powerful and personalized professional learning. Last year our district signed the Future Ready Schools Pledge. And this year we re-committed Carlsbad Unified to innovating in the use of digital tools and to aligning technologies with instructional goals that support teaching and learning.
Since I arrived in Carlsbad Unified last summer, I have enjoyed many fruitful conversations with faculty and staff, site and district administrators, and parents and PTAs about our investment in technology for learning. As we prepare for a digital shift, we are focusing on deploying the right tools for the right work. At all levels, this means encouraging digital literacy, digital agility, and jumping in with both feet to try something new.
While in Washington, I also signed the #GoOpen pledge. As you are aware, learning outcomes are changing, teaching practices are changing, and student expectations are changing — but traditional textbooks and textbook publishers are not changing, or at least not at the rate we need them to change. There are currently 17 #Go Open states, including California, and Carlsbad Unified is one of 100 districts around the country that will be working collaboratively to expand the use of Openly-Licensed Educational Resources (OERs). These freely licensed digital resources include online courses, digital textbooks, and a variety of next generation digital learning tools that can be customized to the specific needs of our students in our schools. Local control is important in our state, and OERs enhance and expand our local control of learning resources.
OERs can increase educational opportunities for all learners. They also will allow us to adapt quickly to updated standards and new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. In the coming months, it will be exciting to learn about OERs and the possibilities they present. I look forward to working together with our teachers and administrators in a thoughtful, deliberate process to investigate the potential that OERs offer.
We are now also engaged in developing a longer-term technology plan for Carlsbad Unified. Having seen that many of the technologies in use in schools today did not even exist five years ago, we realize that we need to be flexible, agile, and responsive. We must always remember that we are preparing students for their futures, not for our past. Similarly, we must remember that the devices themselves are not what’s important; but rather, what’s important is what we do with them to support student learning.
This year, we’ve also embraced social media. I believe we have a compelling story to tell; and platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are helping us to tell it. I encourage you to get involved by following CUSD schools, principals, trustees, PTAs, teachers, and programs via social media.
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