ELR Software Pty Ltd combines the skills of speech pathology and computer programming. We produce software in the fields of Internet access for people with disabilities, and specific speech pathology resource material. We have also been involved in consultancy to clinicians and research projects in the fields of literacy and accessibility issues with the Internet.
The aim of this newsletter is to inform you of developments and changes to our major products eLr (Extra Language Resources) 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) is available online at www.elr.com.au/news and an email version is sent monthly to members of our mailing list (See Subscribing/Unsubscribing).
In this issue -
ELR Software is excited to announce that 2 new products are about to be launched. Our team has been working jointly with other clinicians to develop new materials which should be available around mid-year.
"Rude Readers", by John Fisher and ELR Software Pty Ltd, is a computer program which contains volumes (or sets) of children's "Readers". Each Reader is intended to stimulate humour and provide material targeting a range of language goals. They use naughty words and ideas to interest a child, and teach a few things about language (eg syntax, semantics, phonology, pragmatics). Within the text, everything is controlled - phrase and sentence length & complexity, syntax, vocabulary, spelling. The teaching points are listed in each Reader, and clinicians will be able to locate Readers that are relevant to specific goals using the easy retrieval method provided in the program. The program will enable clinicians to open a Rude Reader for reading on-screen as an "eBooK", and to print off copies for clients, either in colour, or with sketch drawings if the child would like to colour in the pictures.
Titles to be included in the first 2 sets are:- Hot Snot, Goldilocks, A Boy Has A Penis, Spit Spit Spat, Zoo Dads, Where Are You?, Three Little Pigs, Party Dog, Ten Naughty Ninjas, and The Sofa Did A Fart. The titles alone should wet your appetite!
"Word Meanings" by Words Work (Robyn Dower and Jan Mackey), and ELR Software Pty Ltd is a computerised version of Dower and Mackey's book "Building Language: Word Meanings", Helios Art and Book Co, 1996. This book is a manual of language exercises for adults and adolescents, and is based on cognitive neurological theory. It is used by many clinicians who work with adults who have dysphasia and/or cognitive-language disorders, adolescents with language and learning disorders, and adults with literacy disorders or who are learning English as a second language. As with the book, the exercises are graded for semantic relatedness. The program contains features such as scoring of responses, provision of feedback for correct/incorrect responses, and a summary of results at the completion of each task.
We'll have more specific information about pricing and availability in the next ELR News, and will soon have links to both on our web site.
A new sub section Word Generation has been added to Phonemic Awareness - Rhyming. Three new "Slide Show" tasks, and two "SpinPic" games provide practice for the skill of generating words that rhyme with a given word.
There are sixteen new tasks in Reading and Spelling - Prefixes and Suffixes. The "Word sound buttons" model enables the student to practise breaking words into syllables. Eleven new tasks have also been added to Reading and Spelling - Three Letter Words - Assorted Vowels. These tasks use the "Typing with words" model. There is a greater range of available words in 'assorted vowels', so these sentences reflect everyday language use. The level of difficulty increases from "subject + verb", "subject + verb + noun phrase" etc.
The current version of eLr-Offline is always available for downloading . Fill in the form, download the installation program to your computer and run it. If you are a registered user who has already installed eLr-Offline, the installer will simply overwrite your older version with the most recent version, and you can continue to use it as normal. If you are not a subscriber, the program will run in "Unregistered Mode" for you to evaluate.
www.elr.com.au/offline
Unregistered trial version (fully functional, but time limited). For Internet training and access for people with disablities and other special needs.
www.elr.com.au/eiad/demo.htm
Demonstration of the EIA Browser, Tutorial and AAP. Will let you see, or show others, how the EIA Browser and its Plugin modules (the AAP and the Web Tutorial) "look and feel". It is just a demonstration - it will not allow actual Web browsing.
www.elr.com.au/eiad/demo.htm
This summary version of the printable eLr Directory is useful for quick reference and an overview of the scope of eLr. Registered users have access to a full Directory, which contains all the section and sub-section headings, individual task titles and task numbers.
www.elr.com.au/support.htm#elrdir
For other supporting materials and documents available for free download, please see www.elr.com.au/support.htm.
- Speech Pathology Australia National Conference, May 20th - 23rd, Alice Springs. We will have a commercial stand during the conference.
- Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. (03) 9345 5540 We will have a stand at this workshop showing our products, especially eLr, and the new Rude Readers and Word Meanings programs.
- Customs House, July 24th - 26th, Brisbane. We will have a commercial stand at this conference showing our products, especially the EIA Browser and the new Word Meanings program.
You are receiving ELR-News because you are an eLr subscriber, or have expressed an interest in either eLr or EIA. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au
Copyright ©2002 ELR Software Pty Ltd
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ELR Software Pty Ltd PO Box 1456 Bairnsdale VIC 3875, Australia |
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(03) 5156 8309 +61 3 5156 8309 |
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