Data Management and Productivity Programs

Melanie Smith
LM 550 Spring 2016
Data/Productivity Programs Data Management and Productivity Programs- Huntsville City Schools

1. Atriuum by Book Systems- This is used in the Library Media Center to help with circulation of library materials.
2. Book Tracks by Book Systems- This program is used for textbook, laptop, and equipment circulation throughout the school.
3. Accelerated Reader- The AR program is used to help students seek and find books on their reading level. It also helps students, parents, and teachers keep track of which and how many books students have read.
4. STAR by Renaissance Place- This program is used to measure the progress of students in Reading and Math.
5. Alabama Virtual Library- AVL is used by the staff and teachers to support students at they conduct research. It also makes more resources available to students than what is physically in the school building.
6. PebbleGo by Capstone- This is an online data base for elementary students to do research on a variety of subjects. This site is used by teachers and students.
 7. InfoSnap- This program is used by parents and school staff. It is a data collection program that helps with enrollment and management of personal information.
8. SETS- SETS is used by the Special Education teams to write IEPs for students who receive services through the school system.

               Currently, I am not employed by a school system. I do have a child in the local public school and I also volunteer at some of the local schools. Because of my child I have used InfoSnap to register or update information. The STAR reading and math progress are sent home periodically. SETS is used for the IEP meetings for my child's Speech services. I have also worked with students on AR, both locating books and reading them.
            While volunteering, I have used the AR program, Atriuum, and the AVL. In the future, I would like to better understand how to use PebbleGO and AVL to help my student improve his research habits and abilities.
            Also, I feel that the best use of Accelerated Reading is to let the kids use it as a resource and not as a firm line on what they can or can’t read. I would prefer in the future to let students check out books above or below their level so that they can have more of a choice in their own pleasure reading. I am all for AR parties, but not so much for limiting a child’s book interest. I think AR is the most effective when it is used in a fun, supportive role.