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), Build-a-Sentence, Word Meanings, Rude Readers 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).
Season's Greetings, and we wish you all a safe and happy new year. And special thanks to all to have provided us feedback - always helpful!
In this issue -
This month we have continued to add materials to the "Reading and Spelling" section using our most recent model WordBreaker which is designed to consolidate knowledge of the spelling patterns of English (orthographic knowledge). Thirty-eight new tasks have been added to "Diphthong Vowel Sounds", in three sub-sections: /ie/ sound (as in "night" and "bite"), /ear/ sound (as in "pear" and "pair"), and /eer/ sound (as in "near" and "deer").
The WordBreaker model provides material to teach segmentation of words into syllables and sounds, and to highlight more specific information about those two features, such as the stressed syllable in a multisyllabic word, and the vowel sound/s. The tasks reinforce knowledge of how to break words into sounds, and provide visual support for the spelling patterns of each sound.
Within each sound there are activities focusing on the different spelling choices for that sound. For example, this month, the tasks within the "/ie/ sound" sub-section cover the spelling patterns of "ie" as in die, "i" as in find, "i_e" as in kite, "y" as in fly, and "igh" as in night. Once each of the spelling patterns has been mastered the "assorted spellings of this sound" sub-section provides material to teach discrimination of those words that sound the same but have different spelling patterns, eg "write right", "stair stare". The model involves a sorting activity which helps to reinforce knowledge of words that share a spelling pattern. Once the student has broken the word into sounds, it may be placed with others that share the same spelling pattern.
In these tasks, as is usual with eLr activities, the role of the clinician/helper is central in providing corrective feedback about accurate decoding and segmentation, which has been shown in research to play a central role in development of sight word knowledge. Extension activities are also encouraged, eg once the word has been broken into sounds and sorted, the student would benefit from writing the word and highlighting the sounds in the word.
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.
- Speech Pathology Australia 2014 National Conference:
Sunday 18th - Wednesday 21st
We will have trade stand #39 at this conference. Contact us for further details
ELR Software is also able to offer free 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.
You are receiving ELR-News because you are an eLr subscriber, or have expressed an interest in either eLr, Rude Readers, Word Meanings, Build-a-Sentence or EIA. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au
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