What's Happening in Livingston, NJ…

The Technology Committee of the Livingston School District recently presented a plan for using technology in the classroom, including a 1:1 initiative where, beginning in the seventh grade, every student would get a computing device.

Over the past 18 months, educators from Livingston have visited other school districts that already provide computers to students, and met with professional groups on how to integrate technology in the classroom to make more use of it as an instructional tool. Teachers from both the Middle and High Schools responded to a technology survey at the end of last school year, and indicated that if they had the technology they would incorporate it into their lessons.

The Technology Committee presented several classes in which technology is being used to meet the 21st century classroom. These included a marketing class that used technology to create business plans, an eighth grade class in Language Arts collaborating on online multimedia presentations on Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and a high school history class that created an online notebook to share research on progressive presidents.

The English teacher from the Middle School, Dakashna Lang, who taught the Fahrenheit 451 class, commented that many people are afraid that a 1:1 initiative means that students get stuck to a computer all day, but the results are actually the opposite of that.

As part of its report, the Technology Committee may use booklet printing to summarize its findings and recommendations for the Board of Education.