March 25, 2026- District courses in programming are intended to prepare Toms River students for a future that is now.

In K-5 multimedia classes, for example, students learn block-based coding. In middle school, students who take computer classes typically advance from Scratch programming and accelerate to some introductory Python. In high school, students are registering now for their courses in the fall, which prompted a site visit to High School East — home of the STEAM Academy — from a district partner.

Teq, a company specializing in artificial intelligence, hosted a workshop filled with tech fun and hands-on learning. Many students were invited to explore state-of-the-art equipment and participate in multi-level challenges in a rotation model. Those activities featured:

• ActiveFloor, an educational and interactive gaming system that uses a ceiling-mounted projector and a Kinect camera to turn a white vinyl floor into a motion-tracked, playable surface. It features hundreds of educational, sensory, and active games designed to promote movement, learning, and team collaboration in schools and libraries. Students played soccer (right), matched equivalent fractions and decimals, built a bridge, and rolled across with a wheelchair to play the drums.
• Class VR provided workplace simulations in the VR headset. Students wired electricity in a house and dissected earthworms, solved crimes based on forensics, and combined chemicals in a lab, all virtually. No cleanup or danger in failure; just an opportunity to explore and find success.
• Birdbrain Finch and Hummingbird robots, which bridge the gap between programming and physical computing. Students can program in a variety of languages including BirdBlox, Snap!, MakeCode (with JavaScript), Python, and Java. The newest Finch version is powered by micro:bit, a microcontroller used in TRRS intermediate and high schools. The Hummingbird uses similar technology, but a simpler approach to bridge coding with the Arduino's microcontroller wiring boards students often use.
• The UBTECH UGOT AI block and Python codable robot, which was the workshop's biggest hit! It uses a camera, sensors, and voice recognition for tasks like facial tracking, object recognition, gesture control, and autonomous movement. One student coded it to recognize his legs and follow him around at a fixed distance. Interestingly, it even knew when he rounded a corner and followed along!
• Finally, there was the Maker and Coder AI and IoT Robot kit, which is code-able in block, Python, C++, ROS, and MATLAB, and is therefore the most versatile and highest programming level of the kits. Connected by Bluetooth, this robot uses high-level programming languages and AI technology. No doubt that the district's robotics teams only wish the coding, AI and Internet of Things that enables remote monitoring and smart automation were this accessible! 

Students thoroughly enjoyed interacting with industry professionals, exploring new technologies, and growing as learners. The event certainly helped many discern what tech-based pathway they might be interested in pursuing, and there are plenty of options.

Toms River Regional Schools offers programs of study at all three high schools in computer science. These include Introduction to Computer Science, Python, then C++ and, finally, AP Computer Science. Embedded throughout each course are lessons on internet safety, and many of these classes connect students with opportunities for dual enrollment with Ocean County College at a significantly reduced rate, work-based learning experiences, and membership in the New Jersey Technical Students Association.

"It is our intent to provide all children with opportunities to be future ready," said TRRS Educational Technology Supervisor Tiffany Lucey, "and become critical thinkers with an ALL-IN mindset."

The Teq talk — and the hands-on action it spurned — seemed to accomplish just that, not to mention a healthy amount of pure human joy.