The University of Auckland, New Zealand Saves Annually through Online Professional Development via Mediasite

MADISON, Wis., July 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonic Foundry, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), the trusted market leader for video management and academic, enterprise and event webcasting, today announced The University of Auckland's Faculty of Education uses Mediasite webcasts to meet school e-Learning requirements and extend its reach to teachers in schools throughout the country. The university delivers online professional development via webcasts available to teachers in 250 K-12 schools across the country, saving thousands of dollars annually on travel costs for facilitators.

"Since we began using Mediasite, our professional development costs decreased significantly. Before we were traveling every week to schools across the regions, but now we're able to produce Mediasite presentations from a studio or Faculty of Education space, which saves us thousands of dollars each year. Plus we only have to give presentations once, and that can be shared countless times on-demand to schools across the region, which saves us time," said Mark Dashper, a facilitator for Team Solutions and Te Puna Wananga (School of Maori Education) in the Faculty of Education at The University of Auckland.

Two teams of facilitators and practitioners within The University of Auckland's Faculty of Education, 'Digital Pathways Development' and Te Whanau Maioha, are building a series of Mediasite webcasts for Year 6 to Year 12 teaching and learning programs centered on specific sections from the new national curriculum. There is a particular emphasis on guidance for Maori and Pasifika (Pacific Island) students identified as at-risk of leaving school unprepared for the transition to the workplace or further education. Also, Te Whanau Maioha is a new bilingual delivery initiative for Maori teachers, leaders and educational settings whose medium of instruction is through te reo Maori, the indigenous language.

"Our webcasting focus has been on accessing the student voice, identifying teacher needs, incorporating education in te reo Maori and meeting the e-Learning requirements of schools. Mediasite allows us to accomplish these things," Dashper said.

Educators across New Zealand can access live Mediasite webcasts presented by Dashper and associate Nicola Riley utilizing guest facilitators and practitioners, and can participate in live Q&A during the presentations. Webcasts and professional support can also be accessed at any time on-demand.

The University of Auckland measures results by the expansion of its professional learning and development (PLD) program's national contracts in most curriculum areas in English and te reo Maori. All signs point to success, because the Faculty of Education is now the largest provider of K-12 professional development in New Zealand.

"We're excited about the future possibilities in this medium as part of the overall PLD strategy. Using Mediasite we are able to offer a coordinated delivery to schools. Mediasite gives us an edge by providing a product that we can easily customize to meet our schools' needs. It gives us the ability to adapt to change and continue to provide cutting-edge programming for all schools, which in turn meets the needs of all of our students," Dashper said.

The University of Auckland's Faculty of Education was recently recognized with Sonic Foundry's Rich Media Impact Award in the Scholastic Achievement category. Visit www.sonicfoundry.com/AucklandRMIA to watch its nomination video.

"Video-based online instruction is quickly becoming a standard offering for both the K-12 and higher education community to communicate quickly and cost-effectively with educators, and Sonic Foundry is proud of the long-term success of The University of Auckland as it embraces this model to enhance professional development and in turn student learning experiences," said Gary Weis, chief executive officer of Sonic Foundry.

Trusted by more than 1,000 colleges and universities, the patented Mediasite webcasting and video content management system quickly and cost-effectively automates the capture, management, delivery and search of live and on-demand streaming videos and rich media presentations that combine video with slides.

About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.
Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO) is the trusted market leader for enterprise webcasting solutions, providing video content management and distribution for education, business and government. Powered by the patented Mediasite webcasting platform and webcast services of Mediasite Events, the company empowers people to advance how they share knowledge online, using video webcasts to bridge time and distance, enhance learning outcomes and improve performance.

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.