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 and Word Meanings. 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 -
Fifty three new tasks have been added to "Reading and Spelling", in the "Consonant Sounds / Other consonant sounds" subsection targeting spelling options for the /r/ sound ("r" eg rat; "wr" eg write; and "rr" eg arrow), and the /w/ sound ("w" eg web; "wh" eg whale; and "u" eg queen).
The /w/ and the /r/ sound are consonant sounds in which movements of the lips (/w/) or tongue (/r/) modify the sound. This contrasts with other consonant sounds which are completely stopped and followed followed by a small "explosion" (eg /p, b, t, d, k, g/), or partially stopped and released as a "long continuous" sound (eg /f, v, s, z, sh, th/). Compared to these sounds, /w/ and /r/ are more resonant, and are sometimes described as a semi-vowel (/w/) or a glide sound (/r/). The /w/ sound is produced by pursing and releasing the lips to partially obstruct the sound, and to produce an /r/ sound, the tongue curls up to partially obstruct and modify the resonance of the sound.
The addition of these activities continues one of our current goals, which is to provide activities that may be useful when teaching letter-sound relationships of the consonant sounds of English. There are now activities in the "Consonant Sounds" section targeting the following sounds:
A range of tasks are used, which together, provide a variety of ways to reinforce both reading and spelling of target words. WordSound Buttons encourages the student to segment the word into sounds or syllables, WordSearch provides an opportunity to practice decoding and eventually automatic recognition of words, SmileyMan reinforces spelling, MemoryWords and ConnectWords are fun ways of encouraging formation of clear mental images of words to develop automatic recognition - sight words), and LookThenCover may be used to encourage the student to write the words and consolidate knowledge of spelling patterns.
As with all eLr tasks, the role of the instructor is to ensure that accurate decoding and reading has occurred, and to encourage vocabulary expansion (eg by talking about the meaning, and using the word in a range of sentences). For additional information about the development of these tasks, please refer to our February 2018 ELR-News which outlines the rationale and evidence base for the speech-to-print approach to teaching early reading and spelling skills was discussed.
In less than two weeks we'll be in Brisbane at the Speech Pathology Australia National Conference. We'll have eLr for Coviu at our stand for you to try yourself. If you can't be there, please contact us for a free trial. This teletherapy application was developed in a collaboration with the Sydney based company Coviu www.coviu.com. Using this platform, eLr subscribers are able to deliver eLr based therapy to remote clients entirely through a shared browser screen.
In addition to audio-visual participation, a clinical session is able to include any of the more than 14,000 interactive eLr tasks. Screen responses and mouse/touch actions are synchronized, which means that you are able see and talk to each other while interacting with an eLr task as if you were using the same device. Whether your practice includes clients from remote Australian or global locations, or just in the next suburb separated from your clinic by traffic and scheduling hassles, this can be a valuable addition and timesaver.
We also enjoy liaising with old and new colleagues and maintaining friendships which have often spanned many years. ELR Software will be at stand #50. Please come and say hello, share your experiences with eLr, try out eLr for Coviu, and give us your feedback and suggestions.
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.
- Speech Pathology Australia 2019 National Conference:
Sunday 2nd - Wednesday 5th
We will have trade stand #50 at this conference. Contact us for further details
ELR Software offers regular, free eLr 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. We are also offering free Coviu sessions to allow clinicians to get a feel for teletherapy, and in particular the advantages of using eLr for Coviu. Please contact us for details.
You are receiving ELR-News because you are an eLr subscriber, or have expressed an interest in either eLr, Build-a-Sentence or Word Meanings. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au
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