Next year, Roseville High School will distribute Chromebooks to freshmen and sophomore classes for at-home and in-class use. In two years, every student at RHS will possess a school-owned device due to the revolutionary district initiative, Digital Equity in Learning.

This initiative aims to expand student equity and succeeds in doing so. The world is changing, and this 106-year-old school is finally adapting to these new times. In this era of innovation it would be foolish to take this opportunity for granted.

As curricula begin to lean more towards a digital interface, students and teachers must say farewell to textbook-reliant courses. Now that each student will have these devices, let’s make use of them.

There’s also the added bonus that teachers will no longer have to deal with the hassle of reserving Chromebook carts. This requires teachers to focus on working together in order to adapt their curriculum. While it would be detrimental to throw out print materials entirely, it is up to teachers to progress their classes into the digital age.

From the opening of RHS until now, teachers have fallen into the monotonous world of the common textbook.

Now is the time to innovate and modifications to the current curriculum must be instantaneous. Digital Equity’s launch is a mere three months away so there can be no hesitation.

On the other hand, students must exhibit the competence necessary to ensure the stability of Digital Equity. Ultimately, it is up to the student population to utilize their devices responsibly to allow future classes to possess the same resources and opportunities they have.

Nowadays, Chromebooks are worth more than an aging textbook, both figuratively and literally. There is an obvious shock value to the disbursement of expensive technology, but it’s worth it.

Assistant superintendent of business services Joe Landon stated that Chromebooks should be treated as if they were textbooks checked out to students at the beginning of the term. We assume similar accountability rules will apply.

The success of Digital Equity requires a team effort, composed of both students and teachers eager to take the next step towards student equity in the digitized era. It seems everyone is more than ready to take the leap.

(This article represents the views of the 2017-18 editorial board.)