Accelerated Reader Program

1. Emilyrose Conforti

7. + In order for there for be a connection between two systems, it “must be
possible for information to be able to pass between the two systems”
Martin (92). In this case, the Accelerated Reader Program is one system
and the teacher is the other system. Also, the student could act as a
system. The Program passes information to the student by supplying the
test they are taking. The student then passes their answers on to the
program. The program the passes on the grades on the tests to the
teacher. The teacher could pass on information to the program based on
the goals she wants each student to be achieving.

8. + Off-loading is used in aid of efficiency, and “makes individual change and
understanding more likely” Martin (94). Off-Loading applies to the
Accelerated Reader program because it is a self grading program and
provides a complete evaluation of the student’s performance without the
teacher even having to look at the test.
+ Monitoring “assesses the quality of coordination between two systems
and provides this information as feedback” Martin (95). The two systems
in this case would be the Accelerated Reader and the teacher. The
program provides an evaluation of the student’s performance to the
teacher. Hopefully, the students achieve good results because that would
mean that the teacher is teaching the same information that the
Accelerated Reader is questioning. This would mean that the two systems,
the teacher and the program, are coordinating.

9. + Verbeek states that technology mediates our experience. “Each tool, each piece of
equipment is related to a context” Verbeek (124). The context of the Accelerated
Reader would be to act as a way to test a student’s level of comprehension.
Without being in the context of a reading comprehension tool, the Accelerated
Reader program would have no purpose. Also, according to Verbeek, the
relationship between the student and the Accelerated Reader Program would be a
Hermeneutic Relationship. This means it is involved with the world via an artifact,
but the artifact isn’t transparent.