Re: AR thoughts

[Christine McIntosh <cmcintosh@BULLITT.K12.KY.US>]

Steve-

I (and my school) have
used AR since 1987 and now have close to 5000 tests on our network. All our
students are using it (to some degree), and, since I started pioneering AR
in this area 12 years ago, our reading scores have consistently been our
strongest area in annual testing. Of course, this is not due solely to AR,
but is very dependent on good teachers using AR wisely along with their
regular instruction. We have not had separate reading classes for several
years now, and our reading scores still remain among our strongest.

Your comments are right on target. I do not feel a need/desire to change.
Neither do I feel a need/desire to try to convince others that AR is THE
right program for every school. My advice in this instance echoes the advice
I give people when they ask me if they should invest in a Macintosh or
Windows computer==while I have my personal preference, they need to see and
work with both to see which one meets their needs before they decide to
invest their money in it. Go with what works for you, not what is
recommended by others, even if they are friends.

Thanks,

Dr. Christine McIntosh
Library Media Specialist
School Technology Coordinator
Bernheim Middle School
700 Audubon Drive
Shepherdsville, KY 40165
Phone: 502-543-7614
Fax: 502-543-8295
cmcintosh@bullitt.k12.ky.us



----------
>From: Steve Vander Ark <vderark@BCCS.ORG>
>To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>Subject: AR thoughts
>Date: Fri, May 14, 1999, 10:21 AM
>

> 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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