Sonic Foundry Surpasses 150 Higher Education Customers, Leads Rich Media Charge At Educause 2005

ORLANDO, FL — EDUCAUSE 2005 (BOOTH #735)– Sonic Foundry® Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), the worldwide leader in automated rich media solutions, today announced that more than 150 higher education institutions worldwide are utilizing its award-winning rich media communications system, Mediasite™. As the pioneer and inventor of the original Rich Media Recorder and now the provider of the broadest range of rich media solutions, Sonic Foundry’s Mediasite has quickly captured the attention of leading universities and colleges for its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, powerful Web communications capability and strong content management tools.

At Educause, Mediasite will be featured not only in Sonic Foundry’s booth (#735), but, elsewhere on the show floor, including Dell’s highly sought after “Classroom of the Future” (booth #1230). In addition, Sean Brown, Vice President - Higher Education at Sonic Foundry, will speak on “Strategies for Building a Rich Media Learning Environment.” Brown will offer replicable steps for using rich media to meet student demand for learning convenience and flexibility during his presentation slated for Friday from 9:30 to 10:20 a.m. in Meeting Room W204A.

Mediasite eliminates the adoption barriers to online teaching and learning by transparently recording instructors in the natural classroom environment without interfering with their teaching style or content. For faculty, it means reduced time in coursework preparation and the ability to teach the way they want to teach. For students learning remotely, it provides an exceptional online representation of the classroom experience, complete with audio, video and synchronized instructional materials, as well as interactive polling and Q&A. Rich media course content is available live or on-demand with the benefits of anytime/anywhere convenience. It lifts restrictions to the typical scheduled in-person classroom or lecture experience and offers students a convenient, on-demand learning environment.

“Higher education is leading the adoption of rich media throughout the world,” noted Rimas Buinevicius, chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry. “Institutions across the globe are realizing the value of distance learning, continuing education and professional development. Through Mediasite, we’re empowering students to learn on their terms, at their own pace and at their convenience. It is rapidly changing the way schools teach, offer their curriculum and how students attain their degrees. It’s indicative of the coming wave of rich media as the new way to communicate.”

In its 2004 report, Online Distance Education Market Update: A Nascent Market Begins to Mature, research firm Eduventures predicts that the number of fully online distance education programs will grow by at least 20 percent over the next three years and tuition revenues from these programs currently represents more than $5 billion annually. Further, although the early years of online learning were dominated by for-profit entities, Eduventures believes traditional institutions will overtake the lead based on brand strength and awareness.

“We were one of Sonic Foundry's first customers,” explained Nick Laudato, associate director of instructional technology for the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education. “Since our initial purchase of Mediasite, we have expanded our online capabilities in terms of quality, variety, flexibility and reach. Mediasite has helped us enhance our course offerings and improve their efficiency and effectiveness. It also has allowed us to reach students who couldn't otherwise attend our institution,” he said. The University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs is an excellent case in point. Last May, it graduated its first class of students who received their graduate degrees via distance learning enhanced with Mediasite—six time zones away in Macedonia.

Key higher education institutions that are using Mediasite include: Johns Hopkins University, UCLA, Drexel University, Northwestern University, New York University, University of Pittsburgh, Purdue University - Fort Wayne and Cornell University.

Sonic Foundry is changing the way organizations communicate via the Web and how people around the globe receive vital information needed for work, professional advancement, safety and education. The company’s Mediasite solution empowers customers to quickly and cost-effectively create and deliver rich media content that includes fully integrated audio, video and presentation graphics with the ease of a few mouse clicks. Organizations and individuals throughout the world are able to mediasite their presentations, lectures, meetings and events to create a rich end-user experience that far surpasses conventional Web conferencing or text-based blogs.