Conference sessions

As webcasting and lecture capture evolve, Mediasite continues to take you to the next step, simplifying how you capture, deliver and manage your multimedia content. Monty and John provide a glimpse into what’s around the corner for Mediasite. Plus, get the inside track on general areas for their team’s longer term development focus. As always, your candid questions will be welcomed and addressed.

Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) has captured distinguished lectures, keynotes and classroom sessions since 2004. Even though Mediasite was used regularly, it wasn’t a key component to the college’s key initiative until 2009 when it launched a new academic major – this time, to an audience of primarily distance learners. With Mediasite now crucial to the initiative's success, IT professionals had to “re-learn” everything they knew about classroom design and management – from room layout to camera placement, acoustics to appearance, and components to production processes. Kirby sheds light on the best practices followed, lessons learned and general advice during the design, implementation and deployment of two unique rooms on Penn State’s University Park campus.

Mediasite Recorders can accommodate many different types of analog and digital audio, video and image inputs. In this interactive discussion, learn how to best leverage differing source types to achieve the best presentation quality. Tom also discusses how the Mediasite system can be used in creative ways and with other equipment to ingest signals that may be outside “traditional” input methods.

You deployed Mediasite. You have an initial group of active or avid users. But how do you make that next step to broaden Mediasite adoption across your campus? Empowering faculty and presenters, motivating production staff for improved "customer" experience, proving the value and building the business case are some of the critical steps to expand Mediasite use and sustain it across your organization. Hear from individuals who have been there. Learn from their experiences what worked (and what didn't) as they share how they moved beyond early adopters to increase faculty and other departmental buy-in.

At Ashland University, professors of business communication courses and voice courses record student presentations for students to review, reflect and improve. In this session, Timothy and Thomas share different methods of recording and distributing student presentations, demonstrate best practices for setting up and managing your Mediasite catalog and show how to use the video upload feature and Mediasite Editor to facilitate this process. You'll walk away with practical ideas for how to use these methods at your own institution.

What's in the experts' bags of gear when they hit the road to capture live events? You might be surprised. See the best gadgets to have on hand to create the ideal portable Mediasite setup and learn tricks of the trade to produce outstanding webcasts and make your job easier on the road.

Strategy development strengthened NCSU's overall performance, competitiveness and future success in the highly competitive online professional development arena. Deborah provides a thorough and realistic context for the development of a customer- and market-focused strategy to guide ongoing decision making, resource allocation and overall management. Using audience participation in a game show atmosphere, this session examines how NCSU determined its core competencies, strategic challenges and advantages to establish objectives. It then examines how the university converts objectives into action plans and how progress is assessed to ensure that strategies are successfully deployed for goal achievement.

Join the ever-popular duo of John and Shane for a lightning round tip-fest of things you may not have known you could do with Mediasite. Walk away with 1-minute wonders, tips and tricks that are sure to simplify your Mediasite day. And contribute your own "did you knows" during the open mic segment of this session.

In fall 2009, CU-Boulder launched a lecture capture pilot to determine the benefits, limitations and challenges associated with the technology and to better inform their future decisions for larger scale deployment and support needs. From this process, Duncan and Chris share what they learned about room design considerations, the collaborative process and technical hurdles, as well as how they fit lecture capture into an existing support model. They will also share how the experience led to improved classroom technology design, including redesigned Crestron touch panels, and best practices which are being applied to other projects.

Interested in integrating Mediasite into an online program and/or videoconferencing facility? Adam shares the process and technical information the University of Maryland used to integrate Mediasite into its high-definition distance learning studios and online programs. Learn about the UMD model and technical particulars while Adam overviews the setup for UMD's Mediasite backend and discusses various scenarios for Mediasite Recorder configurations.

During 2009, Mark helped deliver a complete series of webcasts with specialist presenters to introduce the recently revised New Zealand Curriculum. The professional development programme, "Digital Pathways Development", services over 132 K-12 schools. Most presentations feature "first time" presenters who have never presented to a live camera or been recorded for internet access. They are often apprehensive about what it will be like and have all sorts of misconceptions about the experience. Mark shares the pedagogies they've formulated to help with the presenters' transition, allowing them to shine and at the same time achieve a good flow of material, communicate succinctly and engage their audience.

As a newer user, getting the most from Mediasite means understanding the key questions to ask and decisions to consider as you grow into your new platform. Todd shares his getting started experience with Mediasite at OHA, providing insights and best practices for budgeting, staffing resources, options when demand exceeds these resources, video and audio options to make the most of your recorder and when to consider hosting content.

TU Delft is continually working toward the goal of recording more with fewer people. Their Collegerama Control Rooms record lectures in six rooms with two centralized Mediasite Recorders. To further automate their classrooms they are testing an autotracking camera solution which uses dual cameras - one to track, the other to film. Join Jan and Robert as they discuss how they are integrating Mediasite into different AV settings to achieve a campuswide automated Collegerama network controlled by only an handful of people.

Constant challenges to cost-effectively produce and deliver timely, accurate and complex public employee benefits-related information prompted the Wisconsin Retirement System to look for new ways to reach and educate its more than 550,000 members. In 2006, this small state agency implemented Mediasite and immediately enchanced the quality, effectiveness and reach of its messages. Sari and Kathryn share examples of how the department changed business practices based on their use of Mediasite as well as techniques used to measure Mediasite's effectiveness.

Autodesk University (AU) is Autodesk's largest user conference and has traditionally been a face-to-face event. Last year they combined live and on-demand virtual learning and networking. The result: AU Virtual, an online, global complement to the on-site AU experience, which reached 19,000 attendees and moved AU closer to becoming a year-round learning and networking destination. Joseph and Jeff share how Autodesk developed this online learning strategy and leveraged Mediasite with web database solutions to extend the AU experience. Follow the lifecycle of Autodesk webcasts from AU Virtual’s simulated live broadcasts to live streaming keynotes to the ultimate destination: AU’s long-term, year-round professional development catalog and networking portal. Learn about key decision points, lessons learned, best practices and tips for measuring success. Plus, see the experience yourself and explore the technical side of creating online training for both large and small events, including registration integration for both ecommerce and lead generation.

Have you ever considered what happens to your Mediasite data when it isn’t on a Recorder or in the Management Portal? This aspect of Mediasite use impacts the quality of your service just as much or more than fancy banner graphics or Silverlight Players. However, planning for proper server management is often frustrating and filled with strange terms and buzzwords. Rob cuts through the confusion and explains what you need to know to make your functional requirements meet your server infrastructure. Learn best practices for managing uptime/availability, backups and restores, disaster recovery, monitoring, physical server issues and staffing.

You built your system, now how can you fill the seats? Villanova University's College of Engineering is a world leader in online graduate education. In the past year, they implemented a strategic marketing plan to grow their student base worldwide. Using the latest e-marketing and traditional marketing tools, the college grew enrollments by 25% in the first year that the campaign ran. Sean details the plan and tools used by the college, showing what essential tools can be used to track marketing as well as reach potential candidates and turn them into registered students.

The Mediasite User Group (MUG) is a vibrant online community of members sharing best practices, insights and personal expertise that will help you get the most from Mediasite. Learn more about the MUG, exciting new initiatives and how you can become involved. Share your ideas and feedback with the Steering Committee to help shape the future direction of the user community.

Maturing technologies such as wired and wireless networks, low-cost projectors, flat panel displays and productivity software are integral components of a traditional modern-day educational facility. New and emerging technologies such as collaboration software, personal broadband networks, virtual environments and 3D displays are now creating opportunity to re-think the learning space – what and where it is – and what happens inside. Demands for flexibility, collaborative learning and access to digital information are resulting in a new design paradigm for learning space that transcends academic disciplines. Concurrently, new technologies enable development of highly specific and realistic simulation environments for education, business, the health sciences and more. Finally, the development of virtual environments offers opportunity to connect a community of learners in ways independent of real space, yet may dramatically impact the development of real space in the coming years. Join Mark as he explores developments in technology, classroom design and concepts for future facilities.

With 60 complex software modules updated with hundreds of new features every six months it is hard to know what you need to know to perform at your best. From the sales team, to services consultants, to the development team, to technical writers, most employees need relevant product knowledge in the course of doing their job. Learn how QAD uses the latest Mediasite features to enable people WITH the knowledge to capture, tag and post content and allow people who NEED the knowledge to easily access, rate and certify on it. Scott shares how they use embedded catalogs, embedded players, RSS, podcasts and download links to create an end-to-end business process for knowledge creation, publishing and consumption.

Leiden University is implementing a campuswide, fully delegated Weblectures Service using Mediasite. Every school on campus has its own Mediasite Support Organisation responsible for capturing lectures and supporting its faculty. Using advanced Mediasite access permissions each school can fully manage its own presentations, players, recorders, encoding profiles, presenters and part of the catalog. Patrick explains how they designed and implemented these advanced access permissions using groups, roles, folder security, system policies and operation and portal restrictions that delegate rights that match users' responsibilities.

Rich media has taken on new significance today. Whether it is used to advance teaching and learning, to communicate in Web 2.0 environments or to explain important IT issues, creating memorable content is essential. Using visual and aural examples, James shows innovative strategies, memorable stories and production techniques to make your rich media stand out with simply outstanding results! Lean not only the technical side, but also the creative and staffing sides of successful projects. While it is easy to embrace new, innovative technologies, many times we do not take the necessary steps to ensure our message is effective and sustainable. Listen, see and learn how to make your stories truly memorable.

Surgical training has undergone significant changes to the extent that trainees are exposed to far less practical surgery than previously. Videosurgery, a web-based business and education forum, specializes in video production of surgical conditions and procedures. It embarked upon the opportunity to capture and host video from the operating room and broadcast it live to a select and secure audience or archive it for on-demand viewing. Andrew demonstrates the structure of Videosurgery's system including capture systems in the OR and their integration with the Mediasite recording and hosting software as well as broadcasting via videosurgery.com

Learn how multi-server and load-balanced Mediasite deployment models can expand your webcasting capacity, increase performance and provide high availability and redundancy. Walk away with best practices and system configuration guidelines that will help you maximize your own Mediasite platform today and into the future.

Several enterprises successfully use Mediasite as a for-profit tool, regularly generating revenue for their organizations. Learn how this group of panelists have integrated Mediasite into the heart of their business models to generate incremental revenue, turn a profit and maximize ROI. Walk away with best practices and lessons learned for different revenue generating scenarios, e-commerce models and strategies to grow your potential customer base.

Massey University is a bi-cultural, multi-campus university with New Zealand’s largest extramural enrollment. The institution's Manu AO Programme to accelerate Māori leadership and promote values unique and significant to Māori culture is at the forefront of their Mediasite initiative. Matt demonstrates how they achieve high quality webcasts from non-studio environments using portable equipment in the field and lecture theatres with limited budget and minimal staff. Learn the steps Massey took to automate lecture recording using pressure mat PTZ camera control and Richmedia Access Points (RAPS), a solution they developed to enable rapid relocation and setup of portable recorders between lecture theatres and events.

Expand the way you think about using Mediasite in remote locations. Can you combine Mediasite with videoconferencing and desktop sharing applications like Smartech's Bridgit? If you need to capture a live lecture, but don't have a Mediasite Recorder in the room, what options do you have? If you have a limited budget, how can you maximize the reach of a Mediasite Recorder? Rob shares practical solutions to all these situations based on his own implementation at Drexel.

In addition to using Mediasite for lecture capture, the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business uses Mediasite extensively for its career services department and for alumni development. From corporate presentations to research training to mock interviews, Mediasite aids students' job search and interview skills. Additionally, Booth uses Mediasite to provide content to its alumni network to maintain relationships and a sense of participation in the Booth community. Join David to learn how your organization can also maximize Mediasite for outreach initiatives that get results.

Sonic Foundry’s Rich Media Impact Awards recognize excellence in the practical and creative integration of Mediasite in business, education, health and government. Members of the Mediasite user community are invited to nominate organizations that achieved measurable improvements in information accessibility, cost savings, efficiency and productivity through Mediasite. Join us as we recognize this year’s winners with awards for: Enterprise, Excellence in Education, Facility Design, Global Reach, Government, Healthcare, Prolific Use, Rapid ROI, Scholastic Achievement and Student Impact.

Learn how Mediasite can go beyond simply the "capture station" concept and be employed as a new media tool to produce 100% virtual events. That is, events that fully leverage the "virtual" component from the start, without compromising on the real "sense of presence" required to be successful. With real examples, Helder highlights how companies such as Merck, L'Oreal, Pfizer and medical associations have produced 100% virtual events. He'll discuss the type of events that can be produced, how-to format content to enable extensive audience participation, event revenue generation and how these events affect the relationship between organizations and their target audiences.

One of the Mediasite's core strength is its ability to seamlessly integrate into any classroom, lecture hall or auditorium and with any AV technologies. With endless possibilities, however, the options and decisions on what to integrate and how can be overwhelming. This panel of experts discusses the considerations, best practices and guidelines that lead to successful room integration - from economical environments to high-end multi-use rooms.

As cliche' as it sounds, you never do get a second chance to make a first impression. And this holds true for webcasts as well. Learn from webcasting experts how to improve the production value of your own events as they share their first-hand experiences with staging, lighting techniques, camera choices and angles, tools of the trade and more.

Cheryl and Bridgette provide closed captioning for many of the trainings they produce for the Anchorage School District. Due to the costs associated with contracting out for these services, they hand-code their own files. Although this can be time consuming, once they created a code template, the process actually became quite painless. Cheryl and Bridgette provide a brief overview of closed captioning laws, best practices, how to hand-code your own (including access to a template you can use) and end with a discussion of available tools and services others may be using and wish to share with the group.

Mediasite's support for Microsoft Active Directory and LDAP enables authentication across the enterprise. The recently added support for SAML 2.0 extends the capability to use federated login in the enterprise. Learn how to leverage directory integration, single sign-on (SSO) and federated login to access and authenticate across the enterprise. Sonic Foundry experts also discuss how Mediasite ticketing using External Data Access Service assists with accessing Mediasite resources, plus other forms of custom integration.

Whether it’s live or on-demand webcasts, online training, lectures or events, the value of streaming media is tough to beat. But what is the best way to deploy Mediasite to meet the needs of internal and/or external audiences? Depending on your organization's structure, available resources and your team's streaming maturity, several options exist - on-premise, hosted or a hybrid combination of both. Hear from Mediasite hosting customers the key factors that guided their hosting decision, scenarios that prompt a hybrid approach and the advantages/results they've seen to date.

Robert has spent several years developing video systems that capture, stream, deliver and videoconference. Although individually sophisticated systems, some of the services were outsourced or not centrally located and integrated to work well together. That bothered Robert, so he envisioned how to bring these services in house and how to better organize them to interact with each other. The result...a design he is implementing at Portland Community College called their Visual Communications Infrastructure. Robert provides an interactive look at this new design and integration philosophy which includes a group of Mediasite Recorders in a master control area that use HD end points to transfer video, audio and content from classrooms around the city.

Plan for a successful Mediasite upgrade by understanding pre-upgrade considerations, version compatibility with previous Recorder and Server software, minimum system requirements, recommended server configurations and the Mediasite migration tool. (For customers upgrading from Mediasite 4.x or 5.0. Does not apply to upgrades from version 5.1 or later.)

It’s not always easy to coach your presenters on performance, or appearance. But no matter how advanced your technology is, basic rules of appearance and performance still apply. Experienced presentation professionals, Jodi and Pete, will train you in the five areas most crucial to presentation perfection. Join them for a lively presentation of simple ways you can make your speakers (and yourself) look and sound your best, whether you’re filming or live, and make sure you don’t have examples of our bloopers in your own Mediasite library!

Share your ideas and feedback regarding specific product development directions with members of the Sonic Foundry product team.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to leave the conference with fun and unique Mediasite gear. (Must be present to win.)