SANS Inc., the developer and exclusive licensor of Sony language learning software solutions, has just announced that the Olathe, Kansas School District 233, the second largest school district in Kansas, has selected the Sony Virtuoso and Soloist digital language lab instructional technology for their international languages program at their four high schools.

Realizing the need for reliable technology for their language program, Olathe turned to SANS Inc. for a solution.  After several months of working with the Sony Virtuoso technology on a demonstration basis, the team at Olathe made the decision that this technology would meet the needs of their program which includes several levels of French, German, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish, as well as AP® French and AP Spanish courses.

"The ease of use and intuitive interface of the Sony Virtuoso software has already had a positive impact on the use of instructional technology by our international languages staff of 35 teachers," said Lindsey Colling, District Facilitator and National Board Certified Spanish Teacher at Olathe East High School.  “Ultimately, their creativity with the communicative tools available in the Sony language lab software will have a positive effect on student outcomes in second language acquisition.”

Eric Schwartz, SANS Regional Manager, is working closely with Olathe to make sure that the technology is meeting their needs and that the appropriate training is being provided. Each of the four high schools now houses a Virtuoso and Soloist digital language lab with 30 student positions to accommodate over 3,400 students studying a second language.

According to Ron Remschel, SANS president, “SANS is very pleased that Olathe has standardized their instructional technology for language learning with our software suite. We are finding that more and more districts around the country are reviewing and choosing technology on a district-wide basis to ensure that every student in the district is availed the same level of interactive learning tools.”