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 236 new tasks have been added to the "Reading and Spelling" section - which incidentally takes the total number of tasks in eLr to over 9,000! As with last month, these tasks are a continuation of the major review that was commenced in January 2007. The aim of the review was to provide a greater range of spelling options for each of the vowel sounds, and also to provide a range of difficulty levels within each of the spelling options. eLr covers 18 vowel sounds in 3 categories (short, long, and diphthong vowel sounds), and 52 different spelling options. So, as an example, the /er/ vowel sound can be spelt with "er" (as in 'fern'), "ir" (as in 'fir'), "ear" (as in 'heard'), "ur" (as in 'hurt'), and "or" (as in 'world'). Within each of the spelling options there are 3 levels of difficulty. Level 1 contains words that are "consonant vowel consonant" words. Level 2 words contain consonant digraphs (eg sh, ch, and silent letters), and level 3 words are multisyllabic.
Last month we added tasks to the "Short vowel sounds - longer words" section, and this month, the new tasks are in the "Long vowel sounds" section. Within each of the long vowel sections, there is now a subsection, called "assorted spellings of this sound". The aim of these new tasks is to provide material to help the student discriminate between the different spelling options. For example, there many confusions in the /ee/ vowel - "feet feat", "bee be", "real reel", "meet meat", "beach beech". And also in the /er/ sound, "herd heard", "world whirled", "fir fur". The new tasks provide activities that focus on reinforcing the spelling of individual words, and also models where the words are used in the context of sentences and word definitions. Eleven models are used in the new tasks, so there is now a large range of different sorts of activities enabling repetition and the presentation of the same word sets in different contexts.
During November we were in the USA, attending the National Speech Pathology Conference (ASHA) in Boston, from 15th to 17th November. We launched eLr on the Mayer-Johnson stand. We also completed eight workshops across the USA, meeting a number of the Mayer-Johnson reps and the attendees at the workshops. Mayer-Johnson and ELR Software have launched a trial of eLr so that we can gain feedback to enable us to modify eLr contents where necessary to better suit the needs of American speech pathologists and education professionals.
We are commencing our plans to visit the UK in March 2008. We will participate in the ASLTIP conference (Association of Speech Language Therapists in Independent Practice), on Saturday March 8th. We are then available to provide a series of free introductory workshops, from mid February to mid March. We invite interested people to contact us if you would like to attend, or if you would like to host a workshop at your workplace. Our offer is that we will provide a free 2 hour introductory workshop, if a venue is provided and if you are able to use your existing networks to publicize the event.
Build-a-Sentence, our new program released last month, is now available directly from the eLr-Offline CD. Look in the "Bonus programs" section. This is a "Trialware" version - fully functional but operational for only 30 days. To register this program you can buy just a licence "key" from us, or you can order the program on its own CD.
Build-a-Sentence is an interactive computer program that aims to strengthen labeling of nouns, verbs, and objects, and production of 2 and 3 part sentences. It has been developed by speech pathologists, Helen Goltzoff and Virginia Long, and the ELR team, with graphics by Melinda Beacham and Bill Marron. More information is available from www.elr.com.au/sentence.
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.
- ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) 2007 Convention:
Thursday 15th - Saturday 17th November
eLr will be launched on the Mayer-Johnson trade stand at this conference. Contact us for further details
USA Workshops
Please contact us for details of these workshops.
- Nov 12-13th New York City
- Nov 19th Johnson City NY
- Nov 20th Pittsford NY
- Nov 26th Columbus OH
- Nov 27th Dayton & Cincinnati OH
- Nov 28th Chicago IL
- Nov 29th Phoenix AZ
- Nov 30th San Francisco CA
- ASLTIP (Association of Speech Language Therapists in Independent Practice) 2007 conference:
Saturday 8th March
eLr will have a display stand at this conference. Contact us for further details
We are also planning a series of free introductory workshops in the UK from mid February to mid March. Please contact us for details of these workshops.
For non-Australian clients, please contact us so that we can also plan ways to demonstrate how eLr can assist in your service delivery.
You are receiving ELR-News because you are an eLr subscriber, or have expressed an interest in either eLr, Rude Readers, Word Meanings or EIA. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au
Copyright ©2007 ELR Software Pty Ltd
| Postal |
ELR Software Pty Ltd PO Box 1456 Bairnsdale VIC 3875, Australia |
| Phone International |
(03) 5156 8309 1800 018 309 +61 3 5156 8309 |
| Fax International |
(03) 5156 8609 +61 3 5156 8609 |