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We have just started using AR K-8 this past year. I have read (boy, have I
read!) a lot of pros and cons about the system. It it pretty clear that just
like any other tool for the classroom, AR works wonderfully well if it is
used wisely by the teachers. If it isn't used wisely, it has problems.
That's true of anything we use in school, isnt' it? We are delighted with AR
because we have been using it carefully and "crafting" the way it is
implemented by various teachers, taking into account the personality of the
teacher and also the reading levels she deals with. Too much work? Not with
the benefits you gain. It's a great resource for our staff as they work with
kids on reading.

And now there's a new player with all sorts of new things to offer. They
will even give me the software for free! What do I decide?

Hey, it's a no-brainer. When I think of the investment in time and money we
have put into AR even in the short time we've used it, why would I want to
switch? If I didn't like AR, I pretty sure wouldn't like SRC either, since
EITHER ONE is only going to work if it's implemented wisely. I frankly don't
want to try to wisely implement something else when I've spent so much time
wisely implementing AR, and what we have works just fine. And look, don't
you think that AR will start gradually adding the same features that people
like about SRC, and in a few years neither one will have an advantage (no
pun intended)? That's the way competition is supposed to work. I can't lose!

AR has a long history of responding to the concerns and requests of the
people who use it. Their product is great. They owe nothing to any publisher
(Scholastic IS a publisher!) I see improvements coming along to AR that will
make it even better. It's a good system and my staff and students think it's
wonderful. I'm happy where I am and excited to be an AR user for the coming
years.

Steve Vander Ark
Media Specialist / Tech Coordinator
Byron Center Christian School
Byron Center, Michigan
vderark@bccs.org

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