ELR-News

May 2008

Newsletter of ELR Software Pty Ltd

ABN 67 090 738 702
http://www.elr.com.au
news@elr.com.au

ELR Software produces a range of computer programs designed by speech pathologists for speech, language & literacy intervention. Our programs may be used interactively within therapy sessions, to increase efficiency in service delivery, and to improve access to the Internet for people with special needs. We are also available as consultants to clinicians and research projects in the fields of literacy and accessibility issues associated with the Internet.

The aim of this newsletter is to inform you of developments and changes to our major products eLr (Extra Language Resources), Rude Readers, Word Meanings and EIA (Enhancing Internet Access). We welcome the opportunity for feedback and questions, and will be pleased to consider including reader contributions and announcements.

This Newsletter (and previous editions) as well as a "print-ready" PDF version of the current edition is available online at www.elr.com.au/news. An email version is also sent monthly to members of our mailing list (See Subscribing/Unsubscribing).

In this issue -

  1. New eLr Materials
  2. eLr in in New Zealand
  3. Other Independent Developers
  4. Free Downloads
  5. ELR 2008 Calendar

  1. New eLr Materials

    We've been working in two sections this month and a total of 60 new activities have been added. 46 of these are in "Phonology - Skills and Early Sounds" in the "Early Sounds" section, and provide activities to encourage accurate production of the early developing sounds in isolation (ie /p, b, t, d, m, n, ng, h, w/). The models used are DragCentral, Jumping icons, and Jumping letters. The two picture based models (DragCentral, and Jumping icons) are particularly useful for young children. They provide simple reinforcement activities for attempts at producing the sound. The role of the clinician is essential at this step, as it is often necessary to use specific strategies that are selected to suit the individuals needs. The Jumping letters model uses letters as a stimulus for production of the target sound. This can be useful for older children who need to work on sound production. It can also be a useful activity for children who are delayed in the development of literacy skills, eg knowledge of letter names and sounds.

    The remaining 14 new tasks in "Semantics" are in a new section called "Picture Associations". We have made a slight change to this area of the Directory and have created two subsections dealing with "Associations" - "Word Associations" and "Picture Associations". This makes it easier to locate picture based activities targeting the ability to make connections between concepts. The new tasks are all in a new subsection called "Who eats What" (thanks Rebecca for your suggestions and for emailing us some examples that you have been using). In this section we have used PicPairs and MultiPic Slideshow.

    You will notice in these new tasks that there has been a modification to MultiPic Slideshow. This model now allows the matching of pictures in a much more visible way. When the correct selection is made, the red highlight visibly depicts the pictures or concepts that are associated. Have a look at these new tasks and let us know what you think. We'll do some more in this section in the coming month or two.

  2. eLr in New Zealand

    The Speech Pathology Australia National Conference, "Reflecting Connections" is getting close, and we're looking forward to being in New Zealand, and meeting up with colleagues and also people who have not seen eLr. The program looks stimulating, and I look forward to attending as many presentations and workshops as possible.

    Come and visit us at our exhibition space #21. eLr (Extra Language Resources) is our main program, which covers a large range of target areas (Phonology, Phonological Awareness, Reading and Spelling, Semantics, and Using Language). Word Meanings is designed to strengthen semantic processing, based on the cognitive neuropsych model of language processing. Build-a-Sentence is our newest program, designed to strengthen production of 2 and 3 part sentences. We look forward to seeing you in New Zealand.

  3. Other Independent Developers

    As an occasional feature of this Newsletter, we include simple, unpaid announcements of products developed by other small, independent developers, who, like ourselves, are practising clinicians who have put their ideas and experience into resource materials for general distribution. Links and brief information about these sites may be found at www.elr.com.au/links/developers.htm. To date we have listed -

    If you would like your materials listed on this page (at no charge), please contact us.

  4. Free Downloads

    ELR has a number of free or evaluation files available for downloading directly from our website. Please see www.elr.com.au/downloads.htm for specific details. For other supporting materials and documents available for free download, please see www.elr.com.au/support.htm.


     
  5. ELR 2008 Calendar

    ELR Software is now able to offer eLr support and short tutorials over the web. We can provide this sort of support to individuals, or to groups who would like to have an overview of eLr. Please contact us for details.



Subscribing/Unsubscribing to this Newsletter

You are receiving ELR-News because you are an eLr subscriber, or have expressed an interest in either eLr, Rude Readers, Word Meanings, Build-s-Sentence or EIA. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au

Copyright ©2008 ELR Software Pty Ltd

Postal ELR Software Pty Ltd
PO Box 1456
Bairnsdale
VIC 3875, Australia
Phone
 
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(03) 5156 8309
1800 018 309
+61 3 5156 8309
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