UNext.com Chooses Chuckwalla Rich Media Management Software to Enhance Online Learning Experience for Students Worldwide

October 10, 2000

MILPITAS, Calif., Oct 9, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) —

UNext.com, a leading Internet education company, will use the Chuckwalla rich media management system to manage UNext’s vast and growing volume of rich media for online course materials designed for business professionals, the companies announced today.

The Chuckwalla system supports virtually any complex file type — from illustrations to video and audio files. It makes it easy for organizations such as UNext to preserve, use and reuse assets and expedite course development and delivery to the Web. Chuckwalla is a leading provider of rich media management software.

“Chuckwalla is truly a complete, enterprise solution that enables our employees to quickly access and leverage vast amounts of rich media,” said Melanie Hermann, director of creative services for UNext.com. “Chuckwalla ties together the critical processes and helps foster continuous interaction between all the members of our team who create, use and distribute rich media, including UNext.com course developers, creative services, user experience group, editorial, Web development and Web content management.

“We evaluated many systems and only Chuckwalla provided a scalable solution that could integrate well with our other systems and applications and be easily customized if needed,” she added. “Its unique search capability will increase our efficiency in delivering rich media to our students and employees worldwide.”

UNext offers online business education and training programs developed with leading academic institutions. UNext’s problem centered learning approach relies heavily on rich media — animated illustrations, video, sound, charts, and graphs — to foster an efficacious learning experience for its students. Each course is unique in design and has its own library of rich media. UNext will use the Chuckwalla system to manage its courses’ rich media features. The company expects to release between 80 and 100 courses that make up its masterly level business curriculum by year’s end. A separate line of “shorter” courses also are being developed.

“Chuckwalla is the ideal solution for the emerging distance learning market,” said Craig Lynar, vice president of marketing, Chuckwalla. “Chuckwalla will enable UNext.com to capitalize on its existing rich media course materials while orchestrating the exploding volume of new materials as courses are continuously added and updated.”

About UNext.com

UNext.com is a privately held company dedicated to the development and delivery of advanced business education and training via the Internet. The company incorporates advancements in cognitive science and technology to provide individuals and corporations with the resources, abilities, and skills to build human capital. UNext collaborates with Columbia University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to bring world-class education to the global marketplace through its online learning community, Cardean University. Cardean is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council and is the first online university to receive degree authorization from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

About Chuckwalla

Chuckwalla is an Internet technology company offering fully integratable rich media management software that bridges the gap between content creation and Web site development. By accelerating the development of rich Web pages, Chuckwalla software plays an integral role in enhancing the effectiveness of dynamic Web sites. As the only open-architecture component for managing rich content within a Web infrastructure, Chuckwalla complements all major brands of Web page development tools and distribution methods.

Contact Info

http://www.chuckwalla.com

http://www.unext.com

Chuckwalla

Charlie Branch

408-941-8560

cbranch@chuckwalla.com

UNext.com

Jennifer Karras

847-405-5019

karras@unext.com

Crowley Communications

Pam Crowley

408-377-8384 (PR Contact)

pamc@crowleypr.com