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 -
Thirteen new tasks have been added to "Semantics-Word Retrieval". They are grouped in semantic categories in two levels of difficulty. The "Common" subsection contains vocabulary that is frequently used, while the "Higher level" subsection involves less frequently used vocabulary.
These new tasks use the ClueWords model. This model allows for two presentations of the words. The client may be initially primed with the vocabulary by reading the clue and selecting the matching word from a group of words on the screen. Following that, by selecting "Keyboard", the client may be encouraged to retrieve the words that match the clue, and then type the word without seeing the candidate words. At this level, the client may be provided with prompts, such as seeing the "initial", "final" or "vowel" letters. The process of priming, followed by retrieval with a range of prompts, provides a very flexible way of encouraging semantic associations for vocabulary development and word retrieval.
This "Word Retrieval" sub-section is particularly useful for adults with acquired language impairment, or paediatric clients with developmental language issues. This type of task is best used in an interactive session where the clinician/carer expands on the semantic associations by discussing word meanings, using the words in a sentence, and talking about other words that are related to the target vocabulary.
We've also modified ClueWords (and the related model CluePics) slightly so that all tasks using this model now have a "Size" option. This can be used to adjust the number of potential choices and memorized words to provide additional client assistance. This is an excellent feature, as it allows you to substantially modify the task to match the processing capabilities of the person with the language impairment. For example, you can work on the first on 3 words. Then add 3 more, and so on. You can then follow this with revision or repetition with the full set of target words.
eLr on the website www.elr.com.au/elr.htm now seems to be fully functional for Mac users with Safari(v5+), Firefox(3.6+) or Google Chrome(v5+). If you do find errors, or even "odd" screen placements, please let us know as they'll probably be easily fixed.
eLr-Offline won't run natively on a Mac but it can be run on a modern "Intel Mac" using one of these options.
Please contact us in you need more information about setting up you Mac, or installing eLr-Offline.
This month we're pleased to let you know of the The Building Language Series developed by speech pathologists Jan Mackey and Robyn Dower of Words Work. These resources are grounded in the theory of cognitive neuropsychology and the neuroscience of neuroplasticity. You can read more at www.buildinglanguage.com.au.
The resources include:
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.
ELR Software is now able to offer 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-s-Sentence or EIA. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au
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