Anystream Apreso Classroom 1.2 Powers Lecture Capture on a Campus-Wide Scale

New Content Capture, Scheduling and Management Capabilities Deliver Enterprise Software Advantages at Desktop Software Prices

Anystream today unveiled version 1.2 of its automated lecture capture and Web publishing software, Apreso Classroom(TM), with a host of enterprise-level functions and practical implementation options that broaden the software's applicability for colleges and universities of virtually any size and budget.

Apreso Classroom's enterprise software design lets colleges and universities automate the many complex tasks required to capture, encode, manage and distribute rich media versions of lectures. Instead of dedicating expensive technical personnel, or having to train faculty to create online lectures, Apreso Classroom lets administrators centrally manage and monitor dozens of units campus-wide.

"By letting us capture lectures as dynamic presentation content, Apreso Classroom recreates the original lecture experience on the user's desktop as closely as possible in the universally viewable Flash format," said Mike Kubit, Manager of MediaVision and Classroom Technology, Case Western Reserve University. "This, combined with the software's automation and scalability, supported our decision to integrate Apreso Classroom into our Technology Enhanced Classroom infrastructure and deliver presentations as part of our MediaVision Courseware," Kubit said.

In Apreso Classroom 1.2, Anystream enhances the software's original functionality with centralized campus-wide scheduling, capture and content management capabilities -- and new deployment options -- that showcase the modularity and extensibility of its underlying enterprise software architecture. Among the highlights of the new release:

Flexible Deployment Options: Colleges and universities can now cost- effectively turn virtually any classroom -- from basic to smart classrooms -- into an Apreso Classroom capture node without requiring additional hardware purchases;

Flash Video Support: Now Macintosh and other non-Windows computer users can play back Apreso Classroom video presentations. Flash joins existing Real and Windows Media support, making Apreso Classroom presentations viewable by students on any operating system;

Podcast-ready MP3 Support: Colleges and universities can meet the needs of students on-the-go by automatically creating MP3 downloadable versions of lectures;

Term-based Scheduler: Administrators can now use Apreso Classroom's centralized scheduling interface to build semester-long templates that include session start and end dates, holidays and exams, and even provide "video opt- out" options to suit professor preferences;

Content Manager: New system-level content management functionality simplifies storage, search, metadata description and distribution of rich media Apreso Classroom lectures across the university. The content manager builds on Anystream's world-renowned digital media workflow automation expertise and provides a foundation for the future ability to repurpose and distribute a variety of media assets, including broadcast-quality video, classroom artifacts and more.

"Anystream designed Apreso Classroom from the ground up to serve as a truly scalable, enterprise-wide platform capable of making rich media assets attainable, affordable and manageable for higher education," said Mark Jones, Anystream vice president of education products. "By doing so, we've introduced a new model that gives colleges and universities the practical ability to use media to improve learning outcomes, boost student satisfaction and experiment with reaching new broadband audiences," he said.

The company also announced continued market adoption of Apreso Classroom with a host of new clients including The Wharton School of Business, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, Brandeis University, University of Massachusetts - Lowell, and Temple University's School of Podiatric Medicine.

Introduced in October, Apreso Classroom is an automated, unattended solution that lets administrators set up lecture capture in any number of classrooms -- once -- for the entire semester. It captures professor remarks, video and any visuals projected during a lecture, including software applications like Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Web pages, document cameras, full motion annotations and more. The software then automatically synchronizes and publishes the information as an interactive, rich media record of the classroom experience - called an "Apreso" - to any Web location for universal student playback.

Apreso Classroom's extensible enterprise architecture enables it to seamlessly integrate with other campus-wide information systems, including course management systems such as Blackboard's Learning System(TM). This integration allows links to finished Apresos to appear on familiar Blackboard course pages alongside other course materials.

Source: Anystream