State: New Jersey | Number of Students: 4,687 |
School Type: Public School District | Free and Reduced Lunch: 8.0% |
Grade Level: PK-12 | English Language Learners: 2.2% |
State of Technology
BYOD Initiative: After a “Readiness Walkthrough” in 2009-2010, Randolph Township Schools underwent some major infrastructureupgrades to lay the groundwork for a successful BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) program. The district launched the program in2011 to enable students to engage in 21st century learning, and it remains an integral component of the district’s work today topersonalize learning.
Making It Personal: The district believes that learning should be relevant to each student’s individual needs, giving them time topursue their own interests through school. To support more personalized learning, the district has launched a number of initiatives,including Learner Activated Technology Infused classrooms at the elementary and high school levels. In these classrooms, studentsdetermine their schedule for the week. Teachers inform students when particular lessons on specific topics will take place, andstudents choose whether to include those lessons in their schedule or to spend that time doing independent work instead. Thedistrict also supports independent work by encouraging teachers to create Self Organized Learning Environments, inspired byTED Prize winner Sugata Mitra. In these lessons, teachers give students a question or a set of questions to wrestle with. Studentscollaboratively research and discover answers, with the expectation that they will report back what they’ve learned to the wholeclass. With these approaches, the district hopes to motivate students to be responsible for their own learning.
Tech Needs & Requirements
All tools must be mobile-friendly, supporting both Android and iPad apps. All tools must be supported on all browsers and work on any operating system. Tools that support Active Directory are highly preferred. STEM tools that allow students to explore, question and find their own answers.
Initiatives
Piloting ZSpace, virtual 3D science tool at the secondary level to supportinteractive STEM activities.
The district rolled out Office 365 this year to support online collaboration andsupport students to continue learning beyond the classroom.