Toby Levenson

Toby Levenson is a senior research associate for WestEd’s Mathematics, Science, and Technology program. She has worked in both the nonprofit and for-profit education sectors as an educational designer, producer, and manager. She has developed science software and videodiscs; created math software, video, and curricula; designed literacy soft­ ware and curricula; developed technology-related ancillar­ ies to textbooks; and produced other educational technology and edutainment products. She has been a primary con­tributor to more than thirty products from companies such as LeapFrog, The Learning Company, Scholastic Inc., Harcourt, D.C. Heath, Education Development Center (EDC), and CAST, among others. At WestEd, Levenson continues her interest in technology and curriculum with evaluating the effects of educational technology on student performance and developing interactive Web sites for teachers, curriculum specialists, and other school leaders. Levenson’s specialties include using interface, interactive, and information design to increase student learning; applying cutting-edge technologies to increase educational opportunities for students with disabili­ties; and conceptualizing and developing differentiated curriculum in mathe­matics, reading, and other subjects to meet the needs of all students. The daughter of an MIT-trained engineer and an art teacher, Levenson was building and designing inventions from a young age. After earning a BA, with a major in archaeology and a minor in computer science, Levenson was a com­puter programmer and trainer in industry for seven years while also serving as a curriculum advisor at the Boston Museum of Science. Levenson received an MEd in interactive technology in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.