I was intrigued by mention of this software on these boards not long ago, but could not find much more information than what the company had on its website. Yesterday I received and reviewed the free demo they offer. (Tip: If you want to order the demo, do it by phone—the email way of asking for it apparently doesn’t work well.)
The demo I ordered combines the elementary and teen programs—they apparently cover pretty much the same ground but the graphics are somewhat different. There are about 14 different activities (games) covering phonemic awareness, sound/symbol awareness, syllabification, rapid naming etc. I looked particularly for something that would work on the tricky short i short e distinction and found an activity that did.
The graphics seem reasonably attractive for a child and the pace seems reasonably quick. (I find, for example, the pace of Earobics incredibly torpid and am frustrated it cannot be sped up).
I see this as a good home supplement involving limited parental oversight for a child who has learned the code but has not yet made it automatic. I also see at as useful for kids like my dd who are whole language victims, learned to read nevertheless, but are falling apart on spelling. I plan to buy SRS for her to use over the summer.
Although SRS says that their program improves fluency and comprehension, I did not see any activities that directly work on those things (other than of course the benefits that would accrue from increased phonemic awareness and greater mastery of the sound/symbol connection.) (They do have readers that go along with the program and I think they have fluency exercises in them. My point, though, is the computer program itself does not cover this.) Thus, I do not see the computer program as something I would have my ds do who is is good at the code, but reads slowly. (I’m having him do Read Naturally instead.)
I did not see anything that would lead me to believe this could substitue for direct instruction in the code. There are lower level programs, however, so one would have to see them to tell for sure.
If others have seen this program, I’d be interested in their impressions.
I ordered it last week; my son(11) and I previewed the sample disc first
The pace drove me crazy but he loved the speed of the whole thing! I found he scrolled over all the sounds and pictures so that it was one big b-k’-t’ to me. Yet HE sorted it out and, even if it was harder because of the mixed sounds, it was probably a good ‘listening’ exercise
I would think some kids would be overwhelmed if they couldn’t control the scrolling and the sounds came hard and fast, but he isnt one of them
I called to ask what to order because the ‘2 student CD’ confused me-Im thinking “I dont want 2 CDs”. The nice fellow at the other end explained the lingo and suggested the pack with the word lists and readers. $124 isn’t bad in the scheme of these things. I ordered Teens, 20s and Beyond- it sounds like it starts them at the beginning and works them through the sequences and wont be over his head even though he is two years behind.
He has had tutoring and experienced other software there(lexia?)so I was afraid elem would be too easy
I thought it would be here today, but no….hopefully Monday.
Im excited and ready
I am having him read aloud to me daily(10 pages him, 10 for me) and he has taken a huge jump since I last attempted this in Dec. :D I suspect because the reading teacher(they FINALLY put him in reading resource in JAN) did exactly this technique and SHE carries more authority than I.
All my prior attempts ended up with him racing through, slurring and guessing. There was a lot of yelling and crying for both of us. It just wasnt worth it. Now he seems better able to accept going back to retry a word instead of sobbing “I said that”. Maybe maturity-maybe practice with her-dunno!
Anyway, I digress-I think he is primed and ready this summer and I am anxious to begin
Will let you know how it goes if you like