ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 25, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Teachers and professors can offer live lectures as enhanced podcasts to students - with an easy-to-use $30 software program appropriately named ProfCast (http://www.profcast.com).
Making lectures available to students through podcasts is growing in popularity on campuses across the country. ProfCast takes this a step - even a leap - further. It gives professors and lecturers a simple yet powerful new tool: integrating live lectures with the PowerPoint or Keynote presentations that accompany them.
A 15-day trial version of ProfCast is available through the company's website.
Helping to learn
Here's how a typical student benefits when the professor has recorded lectures live, using ProfCast. A ProfCast-captured podcast is downloaded to a Windows or Macintosh computer - or on a video iPod - for a multimedia playback of the class. Student notes can easily be matched with the lecture slides and audio. Those who might miss a class can also download the lecture, helping them review for the next class or an upcoming exam.
Visually impaired students or those with non-video iPods or other non-iPod devices can still listen to the widely supported m4b format.
New tool for professors
"We have a tremendous amount of classroom discussion. And it's important for students to have access to that information after the class is done," says Dr. Ken Riopelle, a research professor in Wayne State University's department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. "ProfCast is clearly an essential tool in teaching - and an easy way to disseminate information."
Educators at Duke, MIT, Stanford, Brown, Penn State, University of Michigan, and University of North Carolina are also using ProfCast, among many others in the U.S. ProfCast also is at work in universities abroad, including Obirin University, Japan; University of New England, Australia; Universite Paris Dauphine, France; University of Cambridge, England, and elsewhere.
How it works
ProfCast is an all-in-one presentation-to-podcast tool for the Macintosh. It offers an integrated workflow for creating, recording and publishing podcasts.
"Everyone knows that performances are different than rehearsals," says company co-founder and president David Chmura. "There is a certain excitement from presenting in front of a live audience. ProfCast captures your voice while you give your presentation, so your recorded presentation will have a higher level of engagement."
ProfCast is designed specifically around a presenter's workflow. Instructors deliver presentations as usual. ProfCast provides an intuitive publishing assistant that helps users publish their enhanced podcasts in a matter of minutes. ProfCast is currently available for Macintosh users (a Windows version is planned for next year). It can be purchased at http://www.profcast.com/buy/.
About the company
The husband-wife team of David and Michael Chmura founded Humble Daisy, Inc in 2002. The company's goal is to provide simple and elegant, user-centered solutions to facilitate personal and professional success. Humble Daisy is based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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Carolyn Russell
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