ELR-News

October 2007

Newsletter of ELR Software Pty Ltd

ABN 67 090 738 702
http://www.elr.com.au
news@elr.com.au

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 -

  1. New eLr Materials - User Guides
  2. eLr in the United States
  3. Other Independent Developers
  4. Free Downloads
  5. ELR 2007 Calendar

  1. New eLr Materials - User Guides

    The additions this month are of a different nature to the usual - we have added a library of 21 "User Guides" to improve the help/support mechanisms within eLr. A User Guides section is to now be found on the main "loader page" along with the eLr Directory. Log in as usual (Registered Users) and look for this new section below the Quick Load List.

    These "User Guides" aim to provide new and existing users with information about the tasks and the eLr Directory. Each User Guide has a descriptive paragraph or two about a topic, followed by an example set of annotated eLr tasks with a "thumbnail" image of each task. It's possible to directly open any of these example tasks by clicking on the "thumbnail" image. There are 4 sections in the new User Guide Library.

    1. The "Usage and Rationale" section describes the design principles behind eLr tasks. They are intended to be used within an interactive language session, and this section has 5 User Guides describing how to get the most out of eLr, and addresses some of the common questions, such as "why no sound", "why no scoring" etc.

    2. The "Directory" section has 7 User Guides outlining each of the main sections - Phonology Skills and Early Sounds, Phonology - Later Sounds, Phonological Awareness, Semantics, Reading and Spelling, Sentence Processing and Using Language. The contents of each section is described, and examples of illustrative tasks are provided for you to explore.

    3. The "Models" section has 6 User Guides describing all the 51 models (or game types) currently used in eLr. Models are often used in a number of different sections, so the User Guides provide an example task, and a comment about how it may be used in the various sections.

    4. The "Sample Clients" section provides you with 3 User Guides covering different fictitious clients, eg a young child with phonological and language delays, an older child with literacy impairment, and an adult with an acquired language disorder. For each of the clients, a selection of appropriate tasks are illustrated and discussed.

    We hope the "User Guides" will be useful for existing users to look at, and maybe find some areas you haven't explored. They should also be useful for those people planning inservice training to integration aides and assistants. Please feel free to give us feedback about this addition, as we plan to continue to add to and modify its contents.

  2. eLr in the United States

    We are on track to be in the United States in November 2007. We will be at the Mayer-Johnston stand during the ASHA conference in Boston between 15th and 17th November. A series of workshops is also planned. The dates are in the ELR 2007 Calendar below - venues and times yet to be finalized. We will be in New York city on 12th and 13th prior to the conference, and then travelling across the US after the conference, between Monday 19th and Friday 30th November. We are grateful for the support of Mayer-Johnston who have helped organize the workshops, and look forward to meeting some of the Mayer-Johnston reps. We are planning to introduce options in eLr so that it better suits the needs of clients in the United States. Mayer-Johnston is supporting this launch at the ASHA conference, and providing a free trial to any interested clinician. Feedback about eLr and suggestions for improvements will then be collated and used to inform us about appropriate changes and additions.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.


     
  5. ELR 2007 Calendar



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Copyright ©2007 ELR Software Pty Ltd

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