US student achievement is down, ranked 34th in the world, despite an 84 percent increase in education spending since 2000. As a result, administrators and educators in the US are under pressure to improve test scores and better prepare students with a 21st century skillset, which is seen as a blend of academic, technical and employability skills. According to The Flipped Learning Network, teachers and administrators are increasingly turning to video as a tool to help students improve. Specifically, a recent survey from PBS LearningMedia found 74 percent of teachers say technology enables them to reinforce and expand on content.

Many educators are looking for inspiration from massive open online courses (MOOCs), Sal Kahn's widely publicized institute, and the trend of "flipping" classrooms where students review lectures at home on video and do homework in class. But even the most accomplished educators are facing technical challenges presented by complex video software, hosting sites with light security and a tidal wave of new viewing devices used by students.

"There is a lot of good news in education today and video is one great example of it," said Stacey Roshan, a math teacher at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland. "In the four years that my advanced math classes have been flipped, student achievement and satisfaction has improved. The same result is proving true for many of my colleagues. Making video easier to do in a scalable way is a step in the right direction for educators and students."

New software introduced today called TechSmith Relay streamlines video creation and management for educators, allowing them to simply click one button to record, store and distribute their class lecture content. TechSmith Relay hosts the content for districts and allows students, teachers and administrators to set up their own video libraries to share and collaborate on schoolwork. The accounts can be securely accessed from anywhere, at any time, and are viewable on tablets, home computers and even smartphones. TechSmith Relay also allows teachers to understand how well students are comprehending information through quizzing and analytics in every video. This knowledge provides teachers real-time insight into how well students are grasping lessons.

"Video is becoming increasingly popular as a learning tool in school systems," said William Hamilton, founder and president of TechSmith. "TechSmith is delivering on a promise to make video solutions easy and accessible system-wide, even for teachers with absolutely no technical experience. We want to help administrators address the growing pressures to close achievement gaps and show measurable results in their districts."

TechSmith Relay is compatible with TechSmith solutions Camtasia and Snagit. TechSmith Relay is now available through an annual subscription-based service. To learn more about TechSmith Relay visit www.techsmith.com/techsmith-relay.html.

About TechSmith Corporation

Founded in 1987, TechSmith Corporation provides practical business and academic platforms that can dramatically change how people communicate and collaborate across devices. TechSmith's platforms enable users to work more effectively wherever they may be, and ensures that the process of creating, sharing and collaborating around content is simple and intuitive so that others can learn from their knowledge. Learn more at www.techsmith.com and follow @TechSmith on Twitter for the latest news.

Racepoint Global
Stephen Schuler, 617-624-3238
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TechSmith Corporation
Rebecca Toth, 517-381-2300
r.toth@TechSmith.com