Using Mediasite for Lecture Capture Found to Enhance Student Performance at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

MADISON, Wis. - July 11, 2008 - Sonic Foundry, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), the recognized market leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, today announced findings from Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine that medical students have adopted lecture capture with Mediasite as an essential part of their educational program.

A Mediasite campus since January 2004, Penn State Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine deployed a pilot program at the onset of the 2007-2008 academic year to record lectures to first year medical students. Previously, the hospital and college had adopted Mediasite for grand rounds, continuing medical education, internal review board meetings and other campus education programs (http://media1.hmc.psu.edu/mediasite/catalog). Under the pilot, all large-room lectures would be mediasited and then posted online minutes after the classes ended. Due to the success of the pilot, the school made Mediasite a permanent program and expanded it to record lectures to all second year students in January. During this academic year, lectures to the first year students were viewed a total of 22,451 times, averaging out to about 59.1 views per lecture by a class of 154 students. Student Mediasite use increased throughout the academic year, with 97 percent of students using Mediasite to review lectures by the semester's end.

Almost half of the students surveyed (41 percent) cited reviewing complicated material as the number one motivator for using Mediasite. The majority (88 percent) agreed that Mediasite helps them achieve their educational goals. Much fewer (25 percent) said podcasting had the same effect.

"The fact that students prefer Mediasite over podcasting makes sense to us because in medical school the slides and the visual information are very important. You cannot learn a medical school curriculum just by listening to audio," said Dr. Russ Scaduto, Director of Education Technology at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine. "Mediasite encapsulates the entire classroom experience, helping students put themselves back in that environment. Reviewing the lecture in its complete format helps them remember what happened in class, down to the hand gestures of the faculty member."

Faculty members reported that recording their lectures did not decrease class attendance. The survey also revealed a correlation between the grading method and the use of Mediasite. Students watch lectures more often via Mediasite for classes where grades are awarded as honors, high pass, pass and fail, vs. pass/fail.

Feedback received during the survey included anecdotal comments from the first and second year medical students, including:

• "I love Mediasite, it helps me a lot because I am able to go back and listen to parts of the lecture that I didn't understand the first time or catch pieces of material I missed."
• "This is an amazing resource that has helped me to actively answer my own questions without having to waste both my and my professor's time by seeking them outside of class."
• "Mediasite is really great because I can pause the lecture to write notes and not miss anything."
• "I came to every class but use Mediasite for difficult to understand lectures, fill in my notes and clarify difficult points."

Additional Penn State Hershey Medical Center findings include:

• Students took advantage of Mediasite's anytime, anywhere access to information by watching lectures around the clock, seven days a week.
  • Most lectures were watched on Wednesdays (18 percent). On weekends, students accessed the same lectures, but with lower frequency (11 percent Saturday, 12 percent Sunday)
  • Peak hours for students to watch lectures were between 3 and 5 p.m. followed by steady usage to 10 p.m. Students continued to watch throughout the night, with some viewing even between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. 

• Students are using Mediasite to keep up with their studies and want the information as soon as it is presented.
  • 30 percent of the viewing occurred the afternoon the day the lecture was recorded.
  • 55 percent of the viewing occurred in the first 3 days.
  • 95 percent of all viewing took place in the first 15 days.

Student surveys were performed on November 26, 2007 and May 5, 2008. In November, 85 percent of the respondents were Mediasite users. In May, 97 percent were Mediasite users. This groundbreaking study is the first to reveal student preference of rich media to podcasting and having immediate access to on-demand lectures. Additional information can be viewed at www.sonicfoundry.com/hershey-student-survey.

About Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Founded in 1963 through a gift from The Milton S. Hershey Foundation, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is one of the leading teaching and research hospitals in the country. The 501-bed Medical Center is a provider of high-level, patient-focused medical care. Annually the Medical Center admits more than 27,000 patients, accepts more than 788,000 outpatient visits, receives nearly 48,000 patients for emergency room visits and performs more than 23,000 surgical procedures. The Medical Center campus also includes Penn State College of Medicine (Penn State University's medical school), Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, and Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital-the region's only children's hospital.

About Penn State College of Medicine
Enrolling its first students in 1967, the College of Medicine at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center confers the Doctor of Medicine degree and, in conjunction with Penn State's Graduate School, offers Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees in anatomy, biochemistry and molecular biology, bioengineering, cell and molecular biology, genetics, integrative biosciences, microbiology and immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and physiology. In addition, the College of Medicine offers Master of Science degrees in laboratory animal medicine, health evaluation sciences, and homeland security. Collectively, the College and Medical Center boasts a portfolio of approximately $100 million in funded research. Projects range from the development of artificial organs and advanced diagnostics to groundbreaking cancer treatments and understanding the fundamental causes of disease.