Toronto, April 7 2003
CONTACTS:
Jim Rozsa Brian McElwain
Director of Marketing President and CEO
Nelson Sounds Virtual Inc.
Higher Education Division 920 Yonge Street
1120 Birchmount Rd. Suite 505
Toronto, ON M1K 5G4 Toronto, ON M4W 3C7
Phone: 416-752-9100 416-968-7155
Nelson and Sounds Virtual to Develop Multimedia Learning Product for Introductory French
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA—April 7, 2003—Nelson, a leading Canadian publisher and part of The Thomson Corporation (TSC: TOC; NYSE: TOC) and Toronto-based high-tech developer Sounds Virtual Inc. today announced a partnership to create a unique Canadian multimedia product for teaching introductory French to university and college students and government and corporate employees. The partnership marks the first time in Canada that students of introductory French will have access to a multimedia learning system for introductory French produced by Canadian companies.
Content from Nelson’s best-selling introductory French textbook, Bonne route!, along with newly produced video and audio clips, will provide the content for Sounds Virtual’s CAN-8 VirtuaLab, a network based interactive language training software platform. This interactive version of Bonne route. will allow students to work in a lab environment or from a home or office computer over the Internet.
“As a leading provider of Canadian educational products, we are proud to work with Sounds Virtual to offer this unique interactive learning system,” said Ron Kelly, Vice-President of Nelson’s higher education division. “Since it was first published more than 10,000 Canadian students have benefited from using Bonne route. With the launch of the fourth edition this month we can now offer students and instructors a complete learning package of textbook and multimedia software for introductory French produced in Canada.”
Sounds Virtual’s President and CEO Brian McElwain said the partnership builds on the strengths of the two companies. “With Nelson we find a recognizable leader in educational products and quality content in Bonne route!. Combined with our CAN-8 VirtuaLab platform, which is used by schools around the world, we are poised to deliver students and instructors a combination of learning tools for introductory French.”
This multimedia version of Bonne route! allows students to listen, speak and compare themselves with a recorded model at the click of a mouse button, which will provide immediate feedback on their progress. Students will also have the flexibility of following class instruction from home, office or a lab and learn at their own pace. For instructors, the system’s flexibility will allow for material to be designed for class use or individual student needs. Special features will allow instructors to create personalized exercises, tests, lessons, as well as monitor and maintain a dialogue with the class at large and individual students.
Written by Patricia P. De Méo, James W. Brown and B. Edward Gesner, Bonne route! is the leading introductory French textbook used by Canadian universities and colleges. A new edition of the text will be published this month.
CAN-8 VirtuaLab is a network based, interactive, multimedia tool for the instruction of modern languages used by 50 universities and colleges in Canada and 200 learning institutions throughout the world, including the London School of Economics, City University New York and Hau Mei Bond International College in China.
About Thomson Corporation & Nelson
The Thomson Corporation, with 2002 revenues of $7.8 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges (TSX: TOC; NYSE: TOC). Its learning businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. Nelson,(www.nelson.com) is a leading provider of books and online resources for the educational market in Canada, maintaining over 30 interactive Web sites and publishing a wide range of core and supplemental electronic products.
About Sounds Virtual Inc.
Since 1993, Sounds Virtual Inc. (www.sounds.com) has been at the forefront of on-line learning solutions. The company’s leading-edge product, CAN-8 VirtuaLab, is a software, multimedia, multi-language online learning system that employs streamed audio, video, text and pictures to help end users learn a second language. CAN-8 VirtuaLab operates in a PC LAN and Internet environment.
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