Rosetta Stone Regina Wright, Ed.S Educational Technology Walden University

Stage 1 – Need: A foreign language instruction and learning software for multiple languages

Language and World Geography lessons

Business communication around the world

Personal interest in learning a language

Stage 2 – Research: What research organization or people developed a solution to this problem or need? founded Rosetta as Fairfield Language Technologies in 1992 Allen Stoltzfus, went to Germany and studied for a year brought back need for immersion study (with technology) of –easier to learn a language the natural way by being immersed in the language.

What were their findings? Who were the “lead thinkers" for this innovation, and how did they convince a manufacturer to produce it? Allen Stoltzfus with his brother-in-law, John Fairfield. Fairfield was a computer science professor at James Madison University.

Fairfield was a computer science professor at James Madison University. The company produced the first version of Rosetta Stone software using early multimedia technology on CD-ROM to immerse language learners in a foreign world of pictures, voices, words and shunning any translation. Alison Mackey, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University, said in an that while Rosetta's software tries to replicate the environment of learning a language in a foreign country, she did not know of any independent studies that compared the product's success with other methods. Neither does the program give the authentic real-time feedback a native speaker would, she said.

The company produced the first version of Rosetta Stone software using early multimedia technology on CD-ROM to immerse language learners in a foreign world of pictures, voices, words and shunning any translation.

Stage 3 – Development: What problems did your innovation encounter in the development process?— technology was not ready yet

Who was the intended audience for your innovation?

Stage 4 – Commercialization: Describe the production, manufacturing, packaging, marketing, and distribution of your innovation.

Rosetta Stone ® has been adopted by thousands of schools around the world as an integral part of their language-learning curriculum. Rosetta Stone is successfully blended into World Language or English Language programs in primary, secondary and higher education environments.

Used successfully by: NASA Pitney Bowes U.S. State Department U.S. Army 10,000+ schools /schools/solutions