Duke University Pratt School of Engineering Launches Online Learning Program, Becomes 1,500th Mediasite Customer

MADISON, Wis. - April 21 , 2009 - Sonic Foundry, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), the recognized market leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, today announced its 1,500th customer, Duke University, as the Pratt School of Engineering launches a distance education program powered by Mediasite.

The Pratt School of Engineering began exploring Mediasite last summer when Dean Tom Katsouleas announced several initiatives to expand the masters program, including introducing distance education for working professionals. Katsouleas came to Duke from USC Viterbi School of Engineering, which operates a robust online lecture program using Mediasite. The staff at Pratt has already launched a six-month elearning pilot in the Masters of Engineering Management program, using Mediasite to deliver online courses to geographically dispersed students.

"By tailoring its lecture capture program to professional masters students and alumni, Duke is differentiating itself as an institution committed to lifelong learning," said Sean Brown, vice president of education for Sonic Foundry. The real advantage of the classroom technology, according to Duke staff, is the flexibility the end user has in choosing how to view classroom content. Additional benefits include ease of use for the instructor and high quality video and audio recording.

Pratt has created a blended learning environment in which the live class and the distance students are viewing the same lectures. A smart classroom is equipped with microphones in the ceiling so in-class discussions can be heard over the streaming course. Both instructors and students have quickly adopted the classroom to web technology.

"Duke University Pratt School of Engineering is mapping education to the modern student, giving today's workers the flexibility to complete degree programs via Mediasite, the leading platform for distance education and online learning," said Rimas Buinevicius, chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry. "We're proud to name Pratt our 1,500th customer, and look forward to our continued partnership as they break new ground in using webcasting to connect students, workers, employers and alumni to the Duke campus."

The patented Mediasite webcasting and content management system quickly and cost-effectively automates the capture, management, delivery and search of rich media presentations that combine audio, video and accompanying graphics for live or on-demand viewing.

This announcement is part of Sonic Foundry's next-gen education initiative. With the company's higher education Mediasite community now topping 600 colleges and universities, Sonic Foundry is highlighting customer stories that exemplify the convergence of technology and education. Through webinars, news and speaking engagements, Mediasite users around the globe are sharing their best practices for using lecture capture to bridge time and distance, accelerate research and improve academic performance.