SANS

SANS Inc., the developer and exclusive licensor of Sony language learning software solutions, has awarded its 2004 Sony VirtuosoT Education Grant to Landmark College in Putney, Vermont.

The Grant award is a Sony Virtuoso Digital Language Lab valued at over $50,000. Sony Virtuoso Instructional Control Software, when coupled with Sony Soloist® Digital Comparative Recorder Software is an all-digital, multi-media, software-based language learning system that is easily installed on a school's existing PC network.

Landmark College is one of only two accredited colleges in the United States designed exclusively for students with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD ), or other specific learning disabilities. The two-year college offers an Associate of Arts degree and has an enrollment of approximately 400 students. Their World Languages program includes instruction in Spanish, French, American Sign Language and survival Italian, with plans to add Latin and survival Greek to support Study Abroad Greece programs.

"Choosing the Grant recipient was not an easy task." states Stella Derum, National Marketing Manager of SANS Inc. "We received an overwhelming response from high schools, colleges, and universities in the U.S. After an intensive selection process, we chose Landmark College because they offered a well constructed plan to further enrich their unique language program with the interactive technology that our system provides."

"For years, experts claimed that students with learning disabilities couldn't learn a foreign language and should be given waivers, or worse, fail before being granted a waiver for a language requirement," states Janie Duncan, World Languages Department Chair at the College, "but Landmark is helping to change that."

The World Languages Department at Landmark College was founded in 1996 after Landmark received a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The study examined instruction of introductory Spanish courses to identify best practices in teaching foreign languages to students with learning disabilities. As the premier accredited two-year college in the U.S. serving students with learning disabilities, Landmark is the institution that educators turn to for ways to teach languages more effectively to all students.

"Limited funds have prevented us from purchasing a lab or software that would enable teachers to better support students' individual needs. The Sony Virtuoso system will help the College achieve a better integration of technology in World Languages curriculum and enable teachers and students to work more effectively together," says Tom Manley, Director of IT at Landmark. "Our goal is to continue to identify best practices in teaching world languages to students with learning disabilities and ADHD. Now that SANS has generously awarded us the Grant, the Sony Virtuoso system will go a long way to helping us reach those goals." adds Duncan.

To learn more about SANS Inc. and Sony Language Learning Systems, contact a SANS representative at info@sansinc.com or visit www.sansinc.com