Once upon a time, not too long ago, the idea of using a software application in the classroom instead of a set of books would have seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
Working through a whole-class program on paper might have involved having a whole class worth of books, all matching, that everyone remembered to bring on the right day. But working through a whole-class program with a software application required not just enough copies of that application for an entire class, but also an entire classroom full of computers! While there might have been advantages in terms of marking and novelty, teaching like this remained the stuff of dreams. Or, at least, of schools with a much heftier resource budget than most!
Fast forward to the 21st century and the barriers to software-based learning have been removed, much like the leads that used to tether those old beige blocks of computers to desks in the computer rooms of the 1990s. Today almost every student has their own device, or access to one. And gone are the days when software even required installation to every computer in a group. Times have moved on.
CARS & STARS Online is the reading comprehension program for the 2020s, rather than the 1990s. Its unique cloud-based system means that the program is accessible at any time, from anywhere with an internet connection, and on any device. It doesn’t matter if your whole class have different models or if some students have the latest thing while others have their older brothers’ hand-me-downs. All that is required is a relatively recent device with an internet connection.
Students can login to CARS & STARS Online on one device and begin exercises, then login later from another and resume from exactly where they left off. This means that – unlike with forgetting a printed textbook at home – students never have the excuse of not having the program with them. They work through the program entirely online, with no paper or physical support required.
CARS & STARS Online doesn’t just replace a mountain of printed books, it replaces decades of thinking a certain way about how students interact with learning and how we approach teaching today. Its strategies-based instruction is already a new way of thinking about teaching reading comprehension, but its online content delivery and digital workspace is a new way of thinking about the classroom.
If you are interested in learning more about the CARS & STARS Online subscriptions and how they can help children to achieve better results, then sign up for a 30-day free trial to be an integral part of your child’s reading success.
