Superintendents and administrators from across Nassau County gathered at the Levittown Memorial Education Center on Jan. 8 for the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents Emerging Technology Symposium. With the increase in technology in the education world, the event allowed school officials to explore technology products to expedite communication and enhance their students’ success.
Hosted by the Levittown Public Schools and organized by NCCSS Technology Committee Chairperson and Superintendent of Mineola Public Schools Michael Nagler and his technology committee, the event featured several technology-based vendors who shared their products with the superintendents and administrators. Vendors included Tech Trep Academy, Footsteps2Brilliance, Actively Learn, Frontier, Buncee, Legends of Learning, DecisionEd, Flipgrid, Fly Sense Vape and Bully Detector and Discovery Education STEM Connect.
This was the first time that this type of technology symposium was held for Nassau County school administrators. Nagler and Superintendent of Levittown Public Schools Tonie McDonald welcomed attendees at the start of the event and explained the process.
In true speed-dating fashion, superintendents and administrators rotated in groups to each vendor, where they had six minutes to hear about the technology product and ask questions.
“The premise is to get as much information in a compressed amount of time as possible and then leave it to the superintendents to follow up,” Nagler said. “It gives them a taste of what’s currently out there, what’s new to the tech market and if they like it, they have the opportunity to pursue it.”
In addition, culinary art students at Levittown’s Gerald R. Claps Career and Technical Center provided a variety of food and dessert options for attendees to enjoy during the event.
“We are very proud to host this event today,” McDonald said . “It’s a more efficient way for people to see what is out there. You also get to know the people behind the products, which is very important when you sign on for any tech system. You need to know the support is there.”
