I get a scary warning when I start your software. What does it mean?

The message is very common with software that you download.

This screen warns you to not run software unless you trust where it came from. It says that Microsoft cannot confirm the origin of the software- which is true, because we are not registered with Microsoft.

Uncheck the box that says, "Always ask before opening this file" so that you don't see this screen every time you start the program. Then click "Run" on the dialog and you should be all set.

Why doesn't R-1 come with its own reading material? Wouldn't that be better?

The National Reading Panel concluded that students should read good literature. Not that your child won't improve by answering a couple of questions after reading a paragraph or two of a story made up for a worksheet, but better skills are built by following the way R-1 was designed.

Besides, if your child is going to spend the time reading, why not have him or her read good works?

Should I use the "zip" file or the "zipped.exe" file?

If you have a utility such as "winzip" or "7zip" on your computer, you can download the ".zip" file and extract Egorg using your own software. If you don't have an "unzipping" utility, download the "zipped.exe" file as it has the unzipping capability built in.

What exactly is the NRP report?

In 1997, the U.S. Congress asked the director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to review everything we know about teaching people how to read and comprehend. The goal of this effort was to have an approach so that educators all became aware of the best practices and what really works and what does not. The director summoned the top experts in the field to perform the exhaustive review.

In 2000, the panel released its reports (each sub-group reported separately, and a report by the group as a whole was also released). You can find their reports here.

The results and recommendations from that report have found their way into the latest textbooks and teacher training. So the time spent with R-1 will be time spent using the best practices in education.