New Technology Arrives in Brighton Area Schools

There has been a general air of excitement around Brighton Area Schools for the last few weeks as students and staff members see shiny new Macbooks, iPads, iPods, Chromebooks and other new technologies coming into classrooms. 

These are just a few examples of many devices being tested in the district during pilot projects before any large scale purchases are made, according to Director of Technology Elson Liu. 

"I think what we're finding out is that there's going to be a place for all of the different types of technologies," Liu said."Talking to our committee, I don't think we're going to become an all iPad school or an all something school. I think what we want to do is have a different mix of tools available for different classrooms for different projects. What we're tyring to find out is how much of each tool. What should that mix be."

Each device has its own educational benefits.

"The iPod Touch runs the same software as a iPad - you're not going to necessarily do a lot of typing or writing on it, but you can still look things up on the web," Liu said. "They also have specialized apps for classroom response clickers. So instead of buying a specialized device, you can do that on an iPad or an iPod Touch. There are also a lot of cool applications for special education students with learning disabilities. There's stuff that will read or text to you. And there are apps that will speak for students with a speech impediment. They can click an icon and have it talk to you. Some of our really cool uses for technology are for students with learning disabilities."

Liu said that the Google Chromebook appeals to him because they are all cloud or web-based, so they're easy for him to manage. 

"I don't have to worry about viruses, I don't have to worry about software updates or anything like that," he said. 

In addition, with online-based testing replacing the MEAP, Liu said he has heard that Chromebooks are really easy to use for online tests compared to the other technologies that are out there. 

The recent additions are part of the $16 million technology portion of the $88.4 million bond issue voters passed last May. According to Liu, the district has committed to spend just under $3 million of bond monies. Part of that amount accounts for the wireless infrastructure which will be installed over the summer. 

Liu expects to make large scale purchases on the pilot project technologies by next fall, but will continue to have ongoing pilot projects because of the continuous advances in technology. 

For more information, visit the Bond Update page on the Brighton Area Schools website.