Sonic Foundry, who provide rich media webcasting, lecture capture and knowledge management, together with the Digital Event Services team from Saville Audio Visual, providing streaming facilities for JISC 2011, making it the most interactive event in the history of the educational conference. JISC – which once stood for Joint Information Systems Committee – works with UK colleges and universities in the innovative use of digital technologies.
More than 600 delegates attended JISC 2011 at the new BT Convention Centre in Liverpool. A remote audience of over 300 also had the opportunity to participate, thanks to a new hybrid conference experience through Mediasite by Sonic Foundry.
“Sonic Foundry and Saville helped us to offer our online participants a truly inclusive experience, as though they were physically there with us in Liverpool,” said Robert Haymon-Collins, JISC director of communications and marketing. “The Mediasite presentations, alongside the Twitter feeds, were streamed to their computers in real-time, with opportunities to ask questions, take part in online polls and contribute to the sessions taking place.”
“It is our aim that in the future, wherever appropriate, our events will be delivered through these multimedia channels,” he continued, “so that as many people as possible have the chance to learn about digital technologies for education and research.”
The JISC annual conference has used social media technologies in the past to extend the reach of the conference. This year more than 300 people took part in the online conversation on Twitter, with over 1,000 tagged tweets being posted before, during and after the event.
”JISC envisioned engaging both their in-person and remote audiences by creating an interactive hybrid event,” said Ray Hassell, international director of sales for Sonic Foundry. ”They surpassed that vision with JISC 2011. Working with our partner Saville AV, they used the Mediasite webcasting platform in conjunction with social media channels to generate buzz and conversation among delegates that is continuing even after the conference. The organisation and attention to detail both during the preparation and the event itself were fantastic. We were pleased to be part of such a well-executed, enduring event.”
JISC’s annual conference has been bringing expertise and knowledge to over 750 senior managers, academics, library professionals, policy makers and IT experts from educational institutions in the UK and internationally. The 2011 program consisted of a variety of keynotes, sessions, workshops, demonstrations and exhibition stands providing delegates with the opportunity to seek advice, guidance and inspiration to realize the potential of their existing technologies within their institutions.
Since 2003, the patented Mediasite lecture capture and content management system has automated the recording, delivery and management of multimedia presentations that combine video and accompanying visual aids for live or on-demand viewing. Saville uses Mediasite to deliver its own exclusive eStream webcasting service.
