Message #76 From:
NewsBot Date: November 8, 2006 05:45:00 AM
WIZD News Harvard Extension School Chooses Switchpod.Com to Host Course Podcasts
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Switchpod.Com, a division of Wizzard
Software (OTCBB:WIZD), announced today that Computer Science E-1,
Understanding Computers and the Internet at the Harvard
Extension School, has selected the Switchpod Network to host its
audio and video podcasts this fall.
CSCI E-1 is part of the Harvard Extension School’s
Distance Education Program, which allows students to take this course
for credit via the Internet. CSCI E-1 is also available – free,
but not for credit – via podcast. It is the
first course at the Harvard Extension School to be podcasted in its
entirety in both audio and video formats. E-1 presents students with the
opportunity to gain a complete understanding of computers and the
Internet, so that students learn not only what they can do with each but
also how it all works and why. Topics include hardware, software, the
Internet, multimedia, security, website development, programming, and
dotcoms. Last year's podcasts had nearly 10,000 subscribers.
“As E-1's apparent subscriber base has grown,
so has its bandwidth requirements, so much so that the podcast now seems
to receive one to four terabytes of downloads per month,”
said David Malan, Instructor at the Harvard Extension School and of the
E-1 course. “We're thrilled that Switchpod has
offered not only to provide E-1 with the storage it needs this term but
also to keep up with its ever-increasing bandwidth requirements.”
Each of E-1's lectures is recorded in video and audio formats,
digitized, and posted on the course's website, where it remains
available for on-demand viewing in high-resolution RealAudio and
RealVideo formats, each synchronized with slideshows of lectures'
slides, for registered students until term's end. Available via podcast
to the public at large at no charge are the course's lectures and videos
of the week, along with some sections and workshops. All of this content
is available as RSS (XML) through E-1's RSS feed, allowing automatic
downloads of podcasts as they are published. The podcasts can also be
downloaded and subscribed to directly through iTunes
or through iTunes U.
This year's podcasts include recent, newly recorded lectures and include
additional content, such as its videos of the week. Offering the course
in podcast format provides students with more portable access to the
course's content and encourages access to a technology that the course
itself explores.
“Using podcasting in higher-education
institutions is a revolutionary way to accommodate busy students who
need to budget their time wisely,” said Jake
Fisher, co-founder of Switchpod. “We are
pleased to be able to provide the Harvard Extension School’s
CCSCI E-1 with the reliability and support it needs to create a
successful learning environment.”
About Harvard Extension School:
For nearly a century Harvard Extension School has given the wider
community access to many of Harvard University’s
academic resources and while doing so, has provided a curriculum that
continually evolves to meet the interests and needs of its students.
This year, of its 620 courses, 100 are offered online, thereby making a
Harvard education accessible worldwide. These courses are taught by
distinguished Harvard professors, lecturers, and affiliates, as well as
other notable individuals from area universities and practitioners in
the field. Further information is available at www.extension.harvard.edu.
About Wizzard Software:
Founded in 1996, Wizzard Software has become a leader in the speech
technology application development market. Wizzard architects solutions
to business problems using its expertise in consulting, speech
development tools and building speech based applications for the Desktop
and Internet. Wizzard has achieved global recognition because of its
expertise with voice communication whether it is via computer or
telephone. Wizzard's successes have led to expanding speech technology
opportunities in both the government and commercial sectors including
several healthcare industry products and services. For more information,
visit www.wizzardsoftware.com.
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