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 -
This month we have continued to expand the vowel section in "Reading and Spelling". 73 new activities have been added to the "Long vowel sounds" section using the MemoryWords model. The MemoryWords activities provide a fun way to practice decoding skills. Each game can be adapted to suit the client needs. For example, depending on the task, you can choose the complexity level by selecting for a game with 4, 6, 8 or 10 pairs. If a client needs longer to decode the words, selecting "slow" means the words stay visible for a longer period allowing increased processing time.
There are 3 vowel sound sections in "Reading and Spelling" - "Short vowel sounds", "Long vowel sounds", and "Diphthong vowel sounds". A total of 18 vowels sounds are each divided into the main spelling options for each sound. Within each of the spelling options, there are 3 levels. "Level one" includes words that have sound letter correspondence. "Level two" includes consonant digraphs, and "Level three" has mutlisyllabic words. This allows you to increase the level of difficulty to match the clients phonological awareness skills.
Build-a-Sentence, developed by Helen Goltzoff, Virginia Long, and the ELR Software team, was released for sale in November 2007. It is an interactive program to strengthen labelling of nouns, verbs, and objects, and production of 2 and 3 part sentences. We have had good feedback about the program. We (Toni and Anna) have found that it improves attention span for some children, and encourages them to attempt repetition of the sentences. We welcome any feedback you may have about this program. A free trial version is available for download from our website - see www.elr.com.au/sentence and is also included on the eLr-Offline CD.
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.
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.
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.
- Speech Pathology Australia 2008 National Conference:
Sunday 25th - Thursday 29th
We will have trade stand #21 at this conference. Contact us for further details
- Making a Difference - 2008 Special Education Expo:
Tuesday 8th
We will be presenting session 7 - "Increasing the efficiency of service delivery to students with speech, language & literacy impairments using eLr (Extra Language Resources)". We will also have a display stand at this 3 day expo. Contact us for further details.
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
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