Software Manual
United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7184 4000 Fax: +44(0) 02 7538 2625 Email: [email protected] Website: www.renlearn.co.uk
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As technology advances it becomes necessary for software companies to drop support for older operating systems and third-party software. It is the responsibility of customers to keep their computers, networks, operating systems and third-party software up-to-date and functional. Although Renaissance Learning will not discontinue support for older products immediately, we will continue to evaluate system requirements and do our best to provide advance notice when it becomes necessary to raise our requirements.
11/21/2015 ARRPUK
Email: [email protected] Website: www.renaissance.com.au
Welcome to Accelerated Reader™ . . . 1
How It Works in Your Class . . . .1
Programs You Will Use . . . .2
Accelerated Reader Software . . . 2
Renaissance Place™ Management System. . . 3
Other Programs . . . 4
Supporting Software . . . 4
Tour of the Home Page . . . .5
Renaissance Place Dashboard . . . .6
Did You Know? . . . .7
Alerts . . . .8
Tools to Help You with Accelerated Reader . . . .9
Manuals and Other Documents . . . 9
Help in the Software . . . .10
Live Chat Support . . . .11
Resources . . . .11
Need More Help? . . . .11
Getting Started . . . 12
Checking Software Requirements. . . .12
Logging In and Changing Your Password . . . .12
Set-Up Checklist for the Accelerated Reader Software . . . .13
Navigating the Software . . . .13
Working in a Different School Year . . . .14
Switching Roles from the Home Page . . . .15
Logging Out and Closing the Software. . . .15
Software Requirements. . . 16
Current Requirements . . . .16
Checking for the Supporting Software You Need. . . .16
Getting Ready for a New School Year . . . 17
Renaissance Place Tasks for the New School Year . . . .17
Technology/Computer Coordinator Tasks for the New School Year . . . .18
Accelerated Reader Tasks for the New School Year . . . .19
Targets . . . 20
Reading Practice Targets . . . .20
Selecting Marking Periods for Target Setting . . . .21
Getting Started with Reading Practice Targets . . . .23
Setting and Editing Reading Practice Targets with STAR Reading . . . .24
Deleting Reading Practice Targets for a Student . . . .26
Reading Practice Certifications Targets. . . .27
Reader Certification Levels . . . .27
Setting a Certification Target for a Student . . . .28
Approving Independent Reader Status. . . .31
Viewing Reading Practice Certifications . . . .32
Editing a Student’s Certifications. . . .33
Adding an Achieved Certification . . . .35
Deleting a Certification . . . .36
Preferences . . . 37
Viewing Preferences . . . .38
Editing Preferences. . . .39
Editing the Student Quizzing Preferences (School) . . . .39
TOPS Report Printing . . . .39
Authorisation Password Required . . . .40
Literacy Skills Retakes . . . .41
Vocabulary Practice Include Definitions . . . .41
TWI Monitoring . . . .41
Literacy Skills Pass Mark . . . .42
Show Missed Questions . . . .42
Certifications . . . .42
Show Total Points . . . .42
Book Voting . . . .43
Override Authorisation . . . .43
Authorisation Password . . . .43
Editing the Date and Time Restrictions Preferences (School) . . . .44
Date Restrictions . . . .44
Time Restrictions . . . .44
Weekend Restrictions . . . .45
Override Authorisation . . . .45
Editing the Class Restrictions Preferences (School). . . .45
Allow Quiz Deleting. . . .45
Allow Quiz Editing . . . .46
Viewing . . . .46
Editing the Student Experience Preferences (School) . . . .46
Importing MARC Records of Books in Your Library. . . .47
Editing the Student Quizzing Preferences (Class). . . .48
TOPS Report Printing . . . .49
Authorisation Password Required . . . .49
Vocabulary Practice Include Definitions . . . .50
Automatic Student Log Out . . . .51
Vocabulary Practice Review Percentage . . . .51
Vocabulary Practice Review Only Quiz Length . . . .52
Vocabulary Practice Student Comprehension . . . .52
Editing the Quiz Set-up Preference (Class). . . .52
Editing the TWI Settings Preference (Class/Individual Student Settings) . . . .53
Editing the Recorded Voice Preference (Class/Individual Student Settings) . . . .54
Editing the Allow Quizzing Preference (Class/Individual Student Settings) . . . .55
Quizzes Record Books . . . 56
Overview . . . .56
Reading Practice Quizzes Record Book . . . .56
Viewing Reading Practice Quiz Records . . . .56
Adding a Reading Practice Quiz Record for a Student. . . .59
Editing a Student’s Reading Practice Quiz Record . . . .62
Deleting a Student’s Reading Practice Quiz Record. . . .64
Quiz Record Deletion Best Practices. . . .64
How to Delete a Student’s Reading Practice Quiz Record . . . .65
Reprinting a Student’s Reading Practice TOPS Report . . . .66
Vocabulary Practice Quizzes Record Book . . . .67
Vocabulary Word Types . . . .67
Viewing Vocabulary Practice Quiz Records . . . .68
Deleting a Student’s Vocabulary Practice Quiz Record . . . .70
Reprinting a Student’s Vocabulary Practice TOPS Report . . . .71
Literacy Skills Quizzes Record Book . . . .72
Viewing Literacy Skills Quiz Records . . . .72
Editing a Student’s Literacy Skills Quiz Record. . . .74
Deleting a Student’s Literacy Skills Quiz Record . . . .76
Reprinting a Literacy Skills TOPS Report . . . .77
Teams Sets and Teams. . . 78
Adding Team Sets . . . .78
Adding Teams . . . .79
Enrolling Students on (and Un-Enrolling Students from) Teams . . . .80
Adding or Removing Students from a Specific Team. . . .82
Changing Enrolment (Transferring Students Between Teams) in a Team Set . . . .83
Dividing Students Automatically among Teams in a Set . . . .84
Viewing Team Sets, Teams and Team Enrolment . . . .85
Editing Team Sets . . . .86
Editing Teams . . . .87
Deleting Team Sets. . . .87
Deleting Teams . . . .88
Printing Team Reports . . . .88
Quizzes. . . 89
Searching for Quizzes. . . .89
Reading Practice Quizzes—Managing Quiz Information . . . .90
Viewing Reading Practice Quizzes . . . .90
Editing Reading Practice Quiz Information . . . .92
Taking a Sample Reading Practice Quiz . . . .93
Deleting a Reading Practice Quiz . . . .94
Teacher-Made Reading Practice Quizzes . . . .95
Before Adding a Teacher-Made Quiz. . . .95
Adding a Teacher-Made Quiz . . . .95
Adding the Questions and Answers. . . .97
Viewing Teacher-Made Quizzes . . . .98
Editing a Teacher-Made Quiz . . . .98
Editing Teacher-Made Quiz Information . . . .99
Editing Teacher-Made Quiz Questions . . . .100
Taking a Sample Teacher-Made Quiz . . . .100
Deleting a Teacher-Made Quiz . . . .101
Vocabulary Practice Quizzes—Managing Quiz Information. . . 101
Viewing Vocabulary Practice Quizzes . . . .102
Editing Vocabulary Practice Quiz Information . . . .103
Taking a Sample Vocabulary Practice Quiz . . . .104
Printing the Vocabulary List Report. . . .104
Deleting a Vocabulary Practice Quiz . . . .105
Literacy Skills Quizzes—Managing Quiz Information . . . 106
The 24 Literacy Skills. . . .106
Viewing a Literacy Skills Quiz . . . .107
Editing Literacy Skills Quiz Information . . . .109
Taking a Sample Literacy Skills Quiz . . . .110
Viewing a Literacy Skills Teacher’s Guide for a Quiz (If Available) . . . .111
Deleting a Literacy Skills Quiz . . . .111
Managing Book Level Settings . . . 112
Set Current Book Level . . . .113
Update Student Records . . . .114
Rename ATOS 100 Book Level. . . .114
Tips for Making Names Fit . . . .115
Creating an AR BookGuide Export . . . 116
MARC Record Import . . . 116
Managing Quiz Availability . . . 117
Viewing Quiz Availability . . . .117
Editing Quiz Availability: Making Quizzes Active or Inactive . . . .119
Setting Up Quiz Availability Rules . . . .120
Students . . . 121
How to Use Accelerated Reader Renaissance Place . . . 121
What You Need to Do Before Quizzing. . . .121 Differences Between Taking Quizzes in AR Renaissance Place, on Mobile Devices and
How Students Log In and Select Accelerated Reader . . . 123
Where to Find Student User Names and Passwords . . . .124
When Students Forget Their User Names. . . .124
Using Accelerated Reader for Students . . . 125
Navigating AR . . . .125
How Students Search for Quizzes . . . .126
How Students Take a Quiz . . . .127
How Students Find Ideas for Books to Read in Accelerated Reader. . . .129
How Students View Vocabulary for Books with Vocabulary Practice Quizzes . . . .130
How Students View Progress on Quizzes Taken . . . .132
Progress View for Students in Years 5 and Above (without AR Primary) . . . .132
Progress View for Students in Years R through 4 (if AR Primary Experience is Selected) . . . .135
How Students View Their Bookshelf and Scores on Quizzes Taken . . . .138
How to Stop a Quiz or Resume an Unfinished Quiz . . . 139
Blocking Students from Quizzing . . . 140
Logging Out and Closing the Program . . . 141
Student Capacity. . . 141
Using NEO 2 with Accelerated Reader . . . 141
Before Students Quiz on a NEO 2 . . . .141
Connecting to a Renaissance Receiver. . . .142
Naming the Renaissance Receiver and Setting the Renaissance Place Address in the Renaissance Wireless Server Utility. . . .142
How Students Take an AR Quiz on a NEO 2 . . . .144
Using Mobile Devices with Accelerated Reader . . . 146
Before Students Quiz on a Mobile Device . . . .147
Download the AR Student App and Connect to Renaissance Place . . . .147
Share Settings with One or More Devices . . . .148
Navigating the AR Student App. . . .149
How Students Search for Quizzes . . . .150
How Students View a Bookshelf of Quizzes Taken . . . .151
How Students View Progress on Quizzes Taken . . . .153
Frequently Asked Questions: AR on Mobile Devices. . . .154
What mobile devices will support quizzing? . . . .154
Where can I get the AR Student App? . . . .154
Can anyone download the app and start quizzing? . . . .154
Where can I find the Demo mode?. . . .154
What is the Demo mode?. . . .154
Where can I find the system requirements? . . . .154
Are there plans to create apps for other mobile devices? . . . .155
What if a student tries to cheat while taking a quiz?. . . .155
Can a teacher log in and perform management tasks in AR on mobile devices? . . . . .155
Can students take quizzes from home on their own personal iPad, iPhone or iPod touch?. . . .155
What can students do in the app while away from the school? . . . .155
Can students find Vocabulary Practice Quizzes that match another quiz already taken? . . . .156
Can I reprint a TOPS Report for a quiz taken on a mobile device?. . . .156
Can a student print the TOPS Report from the mobile device? . . . .156
Is there a report that lists the method students are using to take their AR quizzes?. .156 Using Renaissance Home Connect with Accelerated Reader . . . 157
Printing the Informational Letter . . . .157
How Students Use Renaissance Home Connect to View Progress on Reading Practice Quizzes . . . .158
How Students Use Renaissance Home Connect to View Progress on Vocabulary Practice Quizzes . . . .161
Reports . . . 163
About Renaissance Place and Accelerated Reader Reports . . . 163
Consolidated Reports . . . .163
Accelerated Reader Reports . . . .163
Using Accelerated Reader Reports . . . 164
Check for Adobe Reader Before You Generate Reports. . . .164
Printing Accelerated Reader Reports . . . .164
About Reporting Parameter Groups . . . 166
Printing Labels—Book and Vocabulary List . . . 167
Report Descriptions . . . 170
Diagnostic—Reading Practice . . . 171
Diagnostic—Vocabulary Practice . . . 171
Favourite Books (Reading Practice) . . . 171
Labels—Book (Quiz Management) . . . 172
Labels—Vocabulary List (Quiz Management) . . . 172
Literacy Skills Chart . . . 172
Literacy Skills Class Summary . . . 172
Literacy Skills Status . . . 173
Marking Period Progress (Reading Practice). . . 173
Student Record . . . 173
Quiz List Reports (Quiz Management) . . . 174
Quiz Takers—Reading Practice . . . 174
Quiz Usage (Reading Practice) . . . 174
Reader Certification Certificates (Reading Practice). . . 174
Reader Certification Levels (Reading Practice) . . . 175
School Summary (Reading Practice) . . . 175
Target History (Reading Practice) . . . 175
Team Standing Chart (Reading Practice) . . . 175
Team Status (Reading Practice) . . . 175
TOPS . . . 176
TWI (Reading Practice). . . 176
Vocabulary List (Vocabulary Practice) . . . 176
Engaged Time . . . 177
Word Count (Reading Practice) . . . 177
Words Learned (Vocabulary Practice) . . . 177
Words to Study (Vocabulary Practice) . . . 177
Diagnostic Codes. . . 178
Overview of Diagnostic Codes. . . .178
When to Run the Diagnostic Report—Reading Practice . . . .178
Definitions and Causes of Diagnostic Codes . . . .178
Capabilities . . . 180
User Groups . . . 180
Accelerated Reader Capabilities . . . 181
Manage Book Level Settings. . . 181
Manage Quiz Availability . . . 181
Take Sample Quiz . . . 181
Troubleshooting . . . 182
Issues . . . 182
A student cannot take a quiz. . . . .183
When a student tries to quiz, the quiz does not start (pop-up blocker issue). . . .183
Internet Explorer 8and above “hangs” when students click Take a quiz. . . .183
How to prevent students from quizzing at home. . . . .184
Renaissance Place . . . .184
Accelerated Reader Preferences . . . .184
On a Macintosh OS X computer, students trying to quiz are prompted to install the Renaissance Place Print Plug-In even though it is already installed. . . . .184
When students work in AR, the quiz is not full-screen in the browser. . . . .185
Internet Explorer 8 . . . .185
TOPS Reports are not printing. . . .185
The My Progress section of the TOPS Report does not show the correct marking period, and the Current Marking Period shown in Renaissance Home Connect is not correct. . . .186
When using Adobe Reader X (10) on Windows XP, TOPS reports do not print. . . . .186
Student gets error “Lost Connection to Renaissance Receiver” when trying to log in to AR from a NEO 2.. . . .186
When logging in to the Accelerated Reader SmartApplet on NEO 2, I can enter my user name and password, but after the screen displays “Checking settings” I receive the message “Lost connection to [Network Name]”. . . .187
Users are unable to view student targets in the Reading Practice Targets Record Book and students have overlapping targets in the Reading Practice Targets Record Book. . . .188
Index . . . 190
Accelerated Reader (AR) is the nation’s leading reading management program.
Since 1986, AR has helped hundreds of thousands of teachers inspire teacher- led “reading revolutions” in their classes. AR Renaissance Place provides educators with timely, accurate information on student academic
performance. You can use this information to quickly adjust instruction to help all of your students reach their greatest potential. Accelerated Reader helps teachers reach all types of readers with Reading Practice, Vocabulary Practice and Literacy Skills Quizzes. Recorded Voice Quizzes are also available for emergent readers. AR quizzes cover all levels of reading ability.
How It Works in Your Class
A typical Accelerated Reader session operates something like this:
1. You assign Reading Practice targets and certification levels for the students in the Accelerated Reader record books and targets area.
2. Students either choose a book to read or read books that you have assigned to them.
3. Students use Accelerated Reader at the computer or on a NEO 2 (if available) to search for and take the quiz for the books they have read.
4. Accelerated Reader scores each student’s quiz and prints a TOPS Report.
5. You and the student discuss the TOPS Report.
TOPS Report. When students complete a quiz, the TOPS Report tells them their scores, how many questions they answered correctly and how many points they earned if they passed the quiz. It also lists the students’
quiz results for the school year to date.
Programs You Will Use
Accelerated Reader RP includes two programs: the Accelerated Reader software and the Renaissance Place Management system.
Accelerated Reader Software
The Accelerated Reader software—accessible from the Home page—helps you manage the program in your classes and keep track of students’ progress.
Use Accelerated Reader to: See Page
Get software tips, manuals and other documents to help you use Accelerated Reader in your class
9
Set Reading Practice targets 20
Set Reading Practice certification targets 27
Set preferences 37
Manage the class record books 56
Create teams 78
Manage quizzes 89
Manage book level settings 112
Manage quiz availability 117
Quiz students on books they have read 121
Print reports 163
Renaissance Place™ Management System
The Renaissance Place management functions A—found under the products and Dashboards and Reporting on the Home page—let you view and manage school network, school, student, teacher, course and class information in the Renaissance Place database, which is shared by all Renaissance Place software used in your school.
The tasks you can perform in the management program depend on your user level. For example, administrators have more management tasks to perform than teachers. Sample tasks may include:
Adding, editing or deleting courses and classes
Assigning teachers and students to classes
Selecting a different school year to work in
Viewing student information
Clearing a lock if a student’s login is denied
Downloading software needed to run Renaissance Place programs
Printing reports with data from multiple Renaissance Place programs For information on
the Renaissance Place Management system, see the Renaissance Place Software Manual or click Help in the software.
A
Other Programs
Supporting Software Adobe Flash Player
Adobe Flash Player must be installed on any computer used by students to take Accelerated Reader Recorded Voice Quizzes.
Accelerated Reader checks for the Adobe Flash Player whenever a student tries to take a quiz with Recorded Voice. If the computer does not have the player installed, the student will see the message “Recorded Voice not supported. Install the current Adobe Flash Player to enable audio.” The student can still take the quiz without audio by clicking Start Quiz. For more information, see page 12.
PDF Reader
To view or print reports, a PDF Reader such as Adobe Reader must be installed on the computer being used (certain Macintosh computers can use Preview instead). To check for a PDF Reader, see page 16.
Tour of the Home Page
For more information on the Home page and the program functions that can be accessed from it, see the Renaissance Place Software Manual.
If you belong to more than one user group, or are assigned to more than one school, use this drop-down list to change your role (or to log out).
For help, select the ?, then:
Select Help to open a help page related to the software page you’re viewing.
Select Manuals to access all the products’
software manuals.
Select the live support icon to chat with a member of our support staff.
Select the home icon to return to the Home page.
Alerts let you know when there is new information about your software or if it needs administrative attention (for example, a subscription renewal).
The Dashboards and Reporting options give you a way to quickly get an overview of how your school(s) are performing.
Each program used by your school is listed on the Home page. Select a program to see links that allow you to go to specific program features.
For in-depth explanations of its program features, see each program’s help or software manual.
Did you know? articles provide information about program functions and resources to help you use the software more effectively.
Renaissance Place Dashboard
The Renaissance Place Dashboard gives administrators, staff and teachers a way to quickly get an overall view of how their schools(s) are performing in several different areas. Accelerated Reader data is included in the Dashboard.
To open the Renaissance Place Dashboard, go to the Home page and click Summary Dashboard A under Dashboards and Reporting.
For Accelerated Reader, the Renaissance Place Dashboard shows:
the percentage of your Accelerated Reader students who have averaged at least 85% on quizzes
the percentage who have taken at least one quiz in the past 30 days
the Engaged Time (see page 177)
the total number of books and words read so far during this school year See the example on the next page. For more information about one of these, click one of the white buttons.
For more information about using Dashboard, click Help in the upper-right corner of the Dashboard or refer to the Renaissance Place Software Manual.
A
Did You Know?
On the bottom of the Home page, the Did you know?
area displays information about program features to help you use the software more effectively. The software will automatically
cycle from one topic to the next each time the Home page is refreshed. You can click the left or right arrows A to move through the topics at your own pace, or you can click View All B to go to a new page where all the current topics (and some of the previously featured items) can be seen. For each topic, you can click Learn more C to get more in-depth information about that feature.
C
A B
Alerts
When you log in to Renaissance Place, you will see an Alerts area on the bottom of the Home page. You may see one or more alerts, depending on your role:
There are three types of alerts:
General product information : Inform you of new product features or other changes to your software. For example, if the server hosting Renaissance Place for you will be undergoing maintenance, you would be notified in an alert.
Action necessary : You must take specific action in the software. For example, if your product subscription is going to expire in the next 30–90 days, this type of alert will remind you to renew it.
Immediate attention : You must take immediate action. For example, if the terms of the Renaissance Place Licence Agreement change, you will need to agree to the new terms before you can use the software.
Alerts will have whatever links are necessary for you to take action, view more information or dismiss the alert. Licence agreement alerts and subscription alerts require special attention:
Licence agreement alerts: School network administrators and school administrators will be presented with a notice that they must view and accept the terms of the Renaissance Place Licence Agreement. They will be provided with a link to view the licence; on the licence page, they can choose to accept or not accept the agreement.
If an administrator-level user does not accept the agreement within 30 days after the alert first appears, the alert will appear on the Home pages for district staff, school staff and teachers. At least one user per site must agree to the licence agreement.
Subscription alerts: When 90 days remain before your subscription runs out, an alert appears to remind you. This alert can be dismissed, but it will reappear again when the subscription is down to 60 days, then 30, then 15. During this time frame, if your subscription is renewed, Renaissance Learning will enter the new subscription code, and this alert will not reappear until 90 days prior to the end date of the new code (next year).
Tools to Help You with Accelerated Reader
You will find many tools in the software to help you learn how to use Accelerated Reader:
Manuals and other documents (see below)
Help in the software (see page 10)
Live Chat Support (see page 11)
Resources (see page 11)
Manuals and Other Documents
To access the software manuals and other useful documents, click Manuals in the upper-right corner of any page. (On the Home page, click ?, then Manuals.) Clicking that link lists the documents available for the Renaissance Learning programs installed on your server. For Accelerated Reader, you will find these documents helpful:
Document Includes
Accelerated Reader Software Manual
General information about the program
Step-by-step instructions for working with the program
Accelerated Reader Tips for Getting Started
Helpful hints to get you started using the program
Renaissance Place Software Manual
Procedures for managing all school and school network information
Instructions for consolidating data and generating custom reports
How to Read a Reading Implementation Report
Information to help you interpret data in the Renaissance Place Implementation Status and Progress Reports
Help in the Software
Click Help on any Accelerated Reader page for more information. The help looks like the examples below (depending on your screen or window size). Use the Contents A, Search B and Related Topics to find the information you need. Use the Other Products option to go to the help for another
Renaissance Place product (such as STAR Reading). You can provide feedback if you have comments or questions.
The logo C lets you know that you are in the Accelerated Reader help. If you go to another program’s help, you will see the logo for that program.
To print or email the current help topic, use the links just under the topic title D.
A
A
A B
B
B C
C
C D
D
D
Live Chat Support
Click the chat icon on the Home page or Live Chat Support on other pages (shown to the
right) to chat with a member of the support staff. By default, you can access chat from any Renaissance Place page; however, school network
administrators can set a preference to make it accessible from the Home page only or to turn it off entirely. See the Renaissance Place Software Manual for details.
Resources
The Accelerated Reader software contains other resources to help you use Accelerated Reader in your class. On the Home page, click Accelerated Reader, then Resources to find forms, plans, charts, tips, routines, research and other helpful documents.
Need More Help?
Knowledge Base: Search the Renaissance Learning Knowledge Base on the web at support.renaissance.com/techkb/ for technical support information.
Email:
In the UK, send questions to [email protected].
In Australia, send questions to [email protected].
Phone:
In the UK, call +44 (0)20 7184 4000.
In Australia, call 1800 467 870.
If the icon or link shows that Live Chat Support is not available, this means that there are no representatives available to chat right now.
Refresh your web browser to see if the status changes to
“available”.
Checking Software Requirements
Many Renaissance Place programs, including Accelerated Reader, require supporting software programs (such as Adobe Reader to print reports). The supporting software must be installed on each individual computer used to work with Renaissance Place programs. For more information, see page 16.
Logging In and Changing Your Password
Use these instructions to log in to Renaissance Place and access the Accelerated Reader program.
1. In your web browser, go to the URL for Renaissance Place.
2. Click I am a Teacher/Administrator.
3. Enter your user name and password.
4. Click Log In.
If you are not required to change your password, your Home page opens.
If you are asked to change your password, one of two things has happened.
Either your system administrator wants you to change it for security reasons or you have not changed it in a year and the software requires it.
If you have forgotten your user name or password, click Forgot Your User Name or Password?
on the right side of the login page. You can use your email address or security questions to verify your identity and retrieve your user name or reset your password. You can only use this feature if you have previously entered your email address on the Renaissance Place Login Settings page and verified that address. For more information, see the Renaissance Place Software Manual.
Set-Up Checklist for the Accelerated Reader Software
The tasks listed below must be performed when you start using Accelerated Reader in your class. You may or may not be the one required to do any of these tasks.
Navigating the Software
The navigation bar at the top of each page shows you where you are in the software, as shown here.
If you need to go back to a previous page, use the links in the navigation bar rather than the web browser’s Back button, which can sometimes give you unexpected results. For example, if you are on the Record Books and Targets page and want to go to the Home page, click Home in the navigation bar.
Task
Usually Performed By
Where to Find Instructions School
Network School
Teacher Admin. Staff Admin. Staff
Add school administrators and school
network staff Renaissance Place
Software Manual
Add teachers, school staff and students
Add school marking periods
Add non-teaching days—used in calculations
in some reports
Add courses and classes, assign teachers—
designate a lead teacher for each Accelerated Reader class—and enrol students in classes
Change preference settings to control what your students will see and do in the program (optional)
Page 37
Set Reading Practice targets for average percentage correct, daily reading time, points and average book level (optional)
Page 23
Set Reading Practice certification targets
(optional) Page 28
Make sure teacher and student computers
have the necessary software installed Page 16
Working in a Different School Year
The school year that you are working in now is shown to the right of your name (but not on the Home page) in the upper-right section of any Renaissance Place program page.
Changing the school year that you are working in is useful if you are adding information for the next school year or reviewing results from a previous school year.
1. On the Home page, click School Years.
2. Click Work in a Different School Year on the School Years page.
3. Click the school year that you want to work in. You will return to your Home page; the new active school year will be shown at the top of the page.
If you choose to work in a past or future school year, the school year that you are working in will be shown in gold A next to the Renaissance Learning logo.
On other pages, you will see a gold bar B toward the top of the page with a message reminding you of the school year you are working in.
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B
Switching Roles from the Home Page
Some people in your school network or school may be assigned more than one role. For example, the librarian may also teach a reading class.
Renaissance Place keeps track of these multiple roles. You can switch between roles or schools after you log in or any time while you are using the software.
People normally change their user types or location in order to perform tasks in the program that are restricted to specific user groups. If you are trying to perform a task and finding you do not have access, try switching your user type in the drop-down list.
On the Home page, select your user name, then select Change Role. Then, choose the role you want to work as and click Done.
Logging Out and Closing the Software
When you have finished working in Accelerated Reader, log out to keep your data secure.
1. On the Home page, select your user name, then click Log Out. On other pages, select Log Out in the top-right corner of the page.
2. Close the software by closing your browser.
You may also see the Change Role option if you have been given extra capabilities, even if you do not have more than one role in your school or school network. If you have been granted more capabilities and you do not see the links you need, check for the Change Role option and choose the role that applies to the task.
For more about capabilities, see page 180.
Automatic logout after 80 minutes.
If you do not use any Renaissance Place product for about 80 minutes, it
automatically logs you out and you will have to log in again when you return to the software.
Current Requirements
For the most up-to-date software, hardware, operating system and browser requirements for Renaissance Place, visit
http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R003777603GF3F7F.pdf.
Checking for the Supporting Software You Need
Many Renaissance Place programs require supporting software programs, such as Adobe Reader to print reports.
The supporting software must be installed on each individual computer used to work with Renaissance Place programs. If some of the software that you need to use Renaissance Place is not installed, or is outdated, you or your students may see messages about the missing software.
There are two ways to go to the Downloads page:
Before logging in, click Check Software Requirements on the Renaissance Place Welcome page A.
After logging in, on the Home page, click Product Administration. Then, on the Product Administration page, below Setup and Maintenance, click Download Supporting Software.
Click Downloads on the left to see which Renaissance Place and third-party downloads are available or required.
For more information about the System, Downloads, and Support tabs, refer to the Renaissance Place Software Manual.
If any programs need to be installed or updated, make sure you are logged into the computer with the rights or permissions required to install software for all users. If you do not know whether you have those rights at the computer, or if you don't have those rights, contact your school's technology/computer coordinator.
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A
Before you start each new school year, you need to check, add, edit and delete information as needed so that your teachers are ready to use Accelerated Reader with their new classes.
Perform these tasks after the previous school year has ended but before the start of the next school year.
Renaissance Place Tasks for the New School Year
Before you get Accelerated Reader ready for the new school year,
administrators or other non-teaching staff need to perform these tasks in Renaissance Place. For details, see the Renaissance Place Software Manual.
Add the new school year (must be done by school network administrators or school network staff).
Set the new school year as the current school year. School network administrators should do this so that the change applies to everyone.
Add the marking periods for each school (used for targets and reports).
Add the non-teaching days for each school (used for report calculations).
Copy classes from the previous school year, or add classes to the new school year. (Classes do not carry over from one school year to the next, so you need to add them each year.)
Set reporting periods for Renaissance Place consolidated reports.
If a properly formatted file is available from a student information system, import student, personnel, class and/or course information. You may also be able to import updates to student enrolments and personnel
assignments.
Check to see which personnel are in the software and add, edit or delete personnel as needed.
Check to see which students are in the software and add or delete students as needed. You can also transfer students from one school to another, edit student information and edit student characteristics.
Review the course list for each school and add, edit or delete courses as needed.
You must also assign personnel to each class, choose the products the If you want to use
your Renaissance Place programs during summer school, you should wait to perform these steps. For tips, see Knowledge Base article 7901571 at support.renaissance.com/tech kb/techkb/7901571e.asp.
Technology/Computer Coordinator Tasks for the New School Year
Task Where to Find Instructions
Check for required supporting software on new and updated computers, and recheck other computers to make sure they have the latest versions of the software.
Note: You must be logged in to each computer with the rights required to install software for all users.
See “Checking for the Supporting Software You Need” on page 16.
Make sure each computer that will be used with Accelerated Reader has a shortcut or favorite set up for the current Renaissance Place address.
See the help for your operating system and/or browser.
If you will be using NEO 2s with Accelerated Reader, make sure:
The Renaissance Receivers are connected to the computers where they will be used.
You have assigned a unique name to each Renaissance Receiver.
See “Using NEO 2 with Accelerated Reader”
on page 141.
If you will be using mobile devices with Accelerated Reader, make sure you:
Establish an Internet connection.
Download the AR Student App.
Note: You must have established and verified iTunes and Apple accounts before you can download the app.
Establish settings by connecting to Renaissance Place on one device.
Share settings from one device with any and all devices the students will be using to take AR quizzes.
See “Using Mobile Devices with Accelerated Reader” on page 146.
Accelerated Reader Tasks for the New School Year
Do the Renaissance Place setup tasks for the school year before these tasks so that your classes are available for Accelerated Reader; see page 17.
Task Where to Find Instructions
If you use the Date and Time Restrictions Preference to restrict student quizzing before and after specified dates, review this preference for each school and set your new school year dates.
See page 44.
Review the settings of the other school preferences and make changes if necessary. These settings carry over from year to year (except for Override Authorisation).
See page 38.
Review class preference settings.
Since classes do not carry over from year to year, these settings do not carry over either; you need to set preferences for this year’s classes.
Note: Individual Student Settings do carry over from one school year to the next, regardless of the student’s school or class enrolment. However, it is a good idea to check these with each new school year in case some settings are no longer appropriate.
See page 38.
Select the marking periods for the whole school year so you can set Reading Practice targets and so those targets will carry over from one marking period to the next.
See page 21.
Set Reading Practice certification targets if necessary.
See page 28.
Be prepared to help students with user names and
passwords by viewing and/or printing a list in Renaissance Place (see page 124). On the Home page, click Users, click View Students, and then search for the class. Click the Passwords tab to see the list of passwords for that class.
If you are using Renaissance Home Connect (for Advantage subscriptions), this is also a good time to make sure Renaissance Home Connect is activated for your schools and to print Informational Letters for the parents of your Accelerated Reader students.
Reading Practice Targets
You can set four separate Reading Practice targets for your students, some of which are informed by your students’ STAR Reading test results:
average percentage correct on quizzes
daily reading time
total points earned
average book level on passed quizzes
The program does not require you to set targets for your students; however, we recommend that you set all four targets in each marking period assigned to the class. Note: When students log in to the program, they can view the targets you have set and their progress towards them; see page 153.
After you set Reading Practice targets, you can monitor your students’
progress.
Reading Practice targets are different from the Reading Practice certification targets you can set for your students—those targets are set in the Reading Practice Certifications Record Book; see page 28.
Before you can set targets for your students, you must set up marking periods for your school in Renaissance Place and then assign them to your class using the AR Reading Practice Targets Record Book.
See the Renaissance Place Software Manual for instructions on creating marking periods for your school.
Selecting Marking Periods for Target Setting
Before you can set Reading Practice targets for students, you must first select the marking periods for the class.
Note: For Reading Practice targets to carry over from one marking period to another, you must have those marking periods selected before the first day of that marking period begins. We recommend that at the beginning of the school year you select all the marking periods for that whole school year rather than selecting marking periods as the school year progresses.
1. On the Home page, click Accelerated Reader, then Record Books and Targets.
2. If necessary, select your school and class from the drop-down lists.
Click My Classes from the School drop-down list if you want to see only the classes you are assigned to as a teacher.
3. Click Reading Practice Targets under Class Record Book on the Record Books and Targets page.
4. Click Select Marking Periods on the Edit Reading Practice Targets page A.
(If marking periods have not been selected for the class, the page notifies you that you must do this before you can set targets.)
Who Can Do This?
School Network Administrator
School Network Staff
School Administrator
School Staff
Teachers
Learn more about capabilities on page 180.
A
5. Under Available School Marking Periods click Select next to each marking period for which you want to set student targets B. As you do this, the marking periods will be added to the list at the top of the page.
6. Click Remove next to any marking period you want to remove from the class C.
7. Click Save when you have finished.
You cannot choose school marking periods with overlapping dates. See the Renaissance Place Software Manual for instructions about setting up marking periods.
B C
Getting Started with Reading Practice Targets
Before you begin adding Reading Practice targets, become familiar with the Edit Reading Practice Targets page.
1. On the Home page, click Accelerated Reader, then Record Books and Targets.
2. If necessary, select your school and class from the drop-down lists.
Click My Classes from the School drop-down list if you want to see only the classes you are assigned to as a teacher.
3. Click Reading Practice Targets on the Record Books and Targets page.
The class you are viewing is shown here A. To change it, select a different class from the drop-down list.
The current marking period is shown here B. Click Select Marking Periods to change it.
Click a student name C to view or delete some of the individual targets set for that student for all the selected marking periods.
This column D lists the suggested ZPD based on the score of the first STAR Reading test taken (default) or another test that you may have chosen from the drop-down list (if available).
If he student has taken a STAR Reading test and you have set a Daily Who Can Do This?
School Network Administrator
School Network Staff
School Administrator
School Staff
Teachers
Learn more about capabilities on page 180.
If this class does not have at least one marking period assigned to it, the page notifies you that you must assign marking periods before you can set targets. See page 21 for instructions.
B
C
A
D
E F
H
G
To see a column heading term defined, hover your mouse over the words with a gray dotted underline (such as Suggested ZPD). It will disappear once you move the mouse away from the term.
not filled in, type the number of points the student should earn by passing quizzes during the marking period.
Here F you can type the Average ATOS Book Level target the student should achieve on passed quizzes during the marking period. (If you have Alternate book levels assigned (ATOS 100 or Lexile® Measures), you are setting the target for those book levels instead.)
You can set the average percent correct target and daily reading time for all students in the class at once by selecting them from these drop- down lists G and then clicking Update all students.
Click Target Setting Best Practices H for information to help you set targets.
4. Click Save if you have made any changes (or click Cancel if you want to leave the page without saving changes).
5. After you click Save, a dialog box appears asking if you are sure you want to save your changes. Click OK or Cancel.
Setting and Editing Reading Practice Targets with STAR Reading
You can set four Reading Practice targets for students using your student STAR Reading test scores:
average percentage correct on quizzes
daily reading time
points earned
average book level on passed quizzes
These targets are different from the certification targets which are set in the Reading Practice Certifications Record Book; see page 28.
Before you can set targets, you must assign marking periods to the class; see page 21 for instructions.
Data from your student’s STAR Reading tests will carry over into AR target setting, making it easier to set these targets.
1. On the Home page, click Accelerated Reader, then Record Books and Targets.
2. If necessary, select your school and class from the drop-down lists.
Click My Classes from the School drop-down list if you want to see only the classes you are assigned to as a teacher.
3. Click Reading Practice Targets on the Record Books and Targets page.
Note: If you cannot see the Edit Reading Practice Targets page after clicking Reading Practice Targets and instead see the View Reading Practice Targets page, you do not have rights to edit student targets because the Manage Classroom Activities capability has been changed (teachers have this capability by default).
Who Can Do This?
School Network Administrator
School Network Staff
School Administrator
School Staff
Teachers
Learn more about capabilities on page 180.
