ELR-News

September 2015

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. Other Independent Developers
  3. Free Downloads
  4. ELR 2015 Calendar

  1. New eLr Materials

    A total of sixty new tasks have been added in this edition: 50 in "Phonology - Skills and Early Sounds", and 10 in "Phonology - Later Sounds".

    The tasks in "Phonology - Skills and Early Sounds" are a continuation of the material we have been developing over the past two editions. These activities are word based tasks targeting the /m, n, w, and h/ sounds in the initial position of words. In these sections there were previously only picture based tasks, so these new activities are more appropriate for older learners who have speech sound disorders. The task name provides information about the difficulty level of the task. The easiest level contains those word sets which involve an early developing sound in the final position, for example, in words such as "hope" and "map" all consonant sounds are early developing, whereas in words such as "horse" and "mouth", the /s/ and /th/ are later developing sounds.

    The new tasks in "Phonology - Later Sounds" are also a continuation of material we are developing in response to the suggestion of a subscriber who requested activities for words with /s/ blends in the middle of words. This month the new activities target words with /sk/ in the middle of the word (eg basket, risky).

    Five models are used in these new tasks: WordSearch, SmileyMan (a "hangman" type game), MemoryWords, ConnectWords (a "connect 4" type game), and Word sound buttons (an activity that encourages the learner to say each sound in the word and blend the sounds to produce the word). This range of models provides repetition, for example, the learner may start one set of words using the WordSearch (to familiarize themselves with the words), then do the SmileyMan (where they are encouraged to recall the words), followed by the MemoryWords, and so on.

    Tasks within these Phonology sections are best completed following the assessment and continued guidance of a speech pathologist. This ensures that the targets are appropriate for the learner, that evidence based strategies are employed, and that progress is monitored to ensure that the learner experiences success. Additionally, as these tasks aim to improve speech production, the role of the clinician or support person is central to listen to the learner's responses, provide feedback about accuracy, and reinforce learning by providing context for the target words.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.


  4. ELR 2015 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 ©2015 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