ELR-News

November 2014

Newsletter of ELR Software Pty Ltd

ABN 67 090 738 702
Web: http://www.elr.com.au
Email: news@elr.com.au
Follow: @ELRsoftware

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).

In this issue -

  1. New eLr Materials
  2. ELR Announcements now on Twitter
  3. eLr Modified for Left-handed Access
  4. Other Independent Developers
  5. Free Downloads
  6. ELR 2014 Calendar

  1. New eLr Materials

    Twenty four new tasks have been added to "Phonology Skills and Early Sounds" - Vowel sounds - Short Vowel Sounds" (which is one of the sections in the Directory). Over the last few editions we have been adding material to this section to provide a range of activities that aim to strengthen production of short vowel sounds in words. There is a subsection for each of the six short vowel sounds in English: /a/ as in hat, /e/ as in bed, /i/ as in pig, /o/ as in hot, /u/ as in bus, and /oo/ as in book.

    The model used in the activities is called SpinPics, which is like a board game. A "board" appears on the screen, with icons and a spinner. A different board is used for each activity. Some examples of board themes are space, frogs, sea critters etc. The learner touches the spinner (on the iPad - or clicks on a computer), which displays a number between one and five. The learner moves their icon along the board to match the number, and then touches the "Chance" button to see a picture that contains the target sound. The learner is encouraged to verbally produce the word and is provided with corrective feedback to ensure accurate production of the vowel sound.

    Prior to use of these materials, an assessment by a speech pathologist is advised. This enables a diagnosis of the nature of the speech production disorder, and also the formulation of appropriate goals and strategies.

    Consistent with the design of eLr activities, these models allow for modifications that enable the clinician/helper to provide extension activities. For example, the learner may be encouraged to use each word in a sentence, depending on the level of skill they have achieved. Or, the stimulus pictures may be used as the basis of a language expansion activity where a discussion about the item occurs (eg features, where it is found, where the item is used etc). Additionally, the boards may be printed and used as paper based activities. To print the boards, go to the "Activity Toolbox" section in the Directory. The subsection called "Scene Library" contains a range of scenes, which may be used as boards for a variety of speech and language games. Select the "?" on the top right corner of the screen for instructions about how to use any of the eLr activities.

    As with all eLr activities, we invite feedback and suggestions regarding these activities and any aspect of eLr.

  2. ELR Announcements now on Twitter

    We are now posting ELR announcements on Twitter. This will include publication notices for ELR-News and updates to the eLr-Offline App in the App store. We hope this will assist some subscribers and other interested people to access information about new developments, and links to support materials which enable you to get the most out of your subscription. Follow us on @ELRsoftware.

  3. eLr Modified for Left-handed Access

    We've made a slight modification to the eLr Directory (on the website and er-Offline iPad App) to provide a wider space on the left margin to allow left hands to touch/flick the page up and down on touchscreens without accidentally touching task-opening hotspots. Thanks very much to the eLr user who alerted us to this issue.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.


  6. ELR 2014 Calendar

    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.



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-a-Sentence or EIA. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au

Copyright ©2014 ELR Software Pty Ltd

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