Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business Selects Mediasite to Meet Student Demand for Lecture Capture

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- (EDUCAUSE booth #1219) — Mediasite by Sonic Foundry, Inc.(NASDAQ: SOFO), the recognized market leader for lecture capture chosen by more than 900 colleges and universities, announced Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business has selected Mediasite.

"We realize a significant percentage of classroom material has to be available online for study purposes. Students will demand it not only while they're in school but also later. They'll want to go back to take a look at what their professors told them a year or two after they graduate so they can reference it," said John Carpenter, chief technology officer at McDonough School of Business.

The business school began using Mediasite when it transitioned into the new Rafik B. Hariri Building last year. Classrooms were designed to use Mediasite from a centrally located control room. Faculty members schedule their recordings via email and lectures record automatically. The recorded content is hosted with Mediasite as well, and accessed by students via a Blackboard interface. Carpenter says having lectures and other high-profile presentations available online gives the business school a competitive advantage.  

"Giving students access to asynchronous learning is a major question that every school has to wrestle with. Even Georgetown, a traditionally brick and mortar school, must provide a lot more anytime/anywhere content," said Carpenter. "With the MBA and EMBA, not only does Mediasite provide a marketing advantage, but today, the classes are expected to have this capability. You can't compete without it. I cannot think of a school that's not moving in that direction. It's a crucial capability."

Mediasite has reached such high demand with both faculty and students that Mediasite-enabled rooms are consistently scheduled to capacity.

"Before Mediasite we flailed at addressing asynchronous learning with a video component. A slick option just wasn't available. Now we have a solid technical solution and we don't worry about the technology anymore. We worry about the content and we worry about the pedagogy of the issue but we don't have to worry about the technology," said Carpenter. "I look to Mediasite for technical expertise. We're not going to develop these things from the ground up so we need to buy it. We can't afford to buy it from someone who's behind the times."

"Georgetown is to be commended for not only responding to the growing student demand for lecture capture, but also for recognizing, and leveraging, the competitive advantage of learning technologies like Mediasite," said Gary Weis, chief executive officer of Sonic Foundry. "The positive feedback from students, coupled with the impact on learning and retention, can mean real growth in revenue and lifetime learning for forward-thinking colleges and universities. We're honored to be the lecture capture partner for McDonough School of Business, and look forward to serving their continued success in the future."

About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.

Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO, www.sonicfoundry.com) is the global leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, providing enterprise communication solutions for education, business and government. Powered by Mediasite, the patented webcasting platform which automates the capture, management, delivery and search of lectures, online training and briefings, Sonic Foundry empowers people to transform the way they communicate. Through the Mediasite platform and its Event Services group, the company helps customers connect a dynamic, evolving world of shared knowledge and envisions a future where learners and workers around the globe use webcasting to bridge time and distance, accelerate research and improve performance. Product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of Sonic Foundry, Inc. or their respective owners.

Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties pertaining to continued market acceptance for Sonic Foundry's products, its ability to succeed in capturing significant revenues from media services and/or systems, the effect of new competitors in its market, integration of acquired business and other risk factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Sonic Foundry, Inc.