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 -
Sixty new tasks have been added to "Reading and Spelling", in the "Consonant Sounds / Other consonant sounds" subsection targeting spelling options for the /l/ sound ("l" eg lid, and "ll" eg bell, collar) and the /ng/ sound ("ng" eg ring, and "n" eg sink).
The /l/ sound is a consonant sound in which the tip of the tongue is positioned behind the front teeth allowing the voiced sound to escape from the sides of the tongue - it is a "long, voiced" consonant sound. To produce the /ng/ sound, the back of the tongue is placed against the uvular, completely stopping the sound from escaping out of the mouth, ie this is described as a "nasal" sound - the sound comes out of the nose.
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:
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.
The SPA conference in Brisbane was a great success and we enjoyed catching up with existing eLr subscribers and meeting speech pathologists who are new to our resources. It was especially interesting to meet clinicians interested in our eLr for Coviu teletherapy option for remote delivery of clinical sessions.
During conferences such as this, we appreciate getting your feedback as this enables us to continue to develop materials that support your needs - the ability to access a large range of activities that cover many speech, language and literacy targets, from wherever you may be operating. We look forward to talking with you during this year and to perhaps meeting you at next year's conference. You may also email us with your feedback and suggestions about existing material, ideas for new activities and target areas, and teletherapy with the "eLr for Coviu" platform.
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 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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