Tech Shout!

Adobe Systems has announced to a new version of Acrobat Connect Pro, enhancing the comprehensive web conferencing and e-learning solution. The latest version comes with new functionality enriching online communication experiences.

Acrobat Connect Pro’s new features include options for archiving and editing recorded online meetings, new presence capabilities that can allow federation with popular instant messaging (IM) clients, and powerful compliance and usage reporting tools.

Also it enhances e-learning with break-out rooms that allows students in virtual classes to initiate separate conversations online, rapid authoring of video-based content, integration with Learning Management Systems (LMS) from Blackboard and SumTotal; and tools that track and organize online classes. Moreover, users can easily tailor training sessions or meetings so that it helps to capture participants’ attention and increase knowledge retention. This can further lead in an online learning experience remarkably similar to an in-person class.

Also the Acrobat Connect Pro with the new version of Adobe Presenter enables users to hold engaging online meetings that incorporate high-impact Adobe Flash Player compatible presentations. Adobe Presenter allows users to turn Microsoft PowerPoint presentations into multimedia experiences that include video, narration, animations, interactivity and advanced quizzes.

Question pooling and randomization, easy-to-work-with video, and the ability to publish presentations to mobile devices or within PDF files are some of the other new features included in Acrobat Connect Pro.

“Organizations and educational institutions alike are challenged with reaching highly distributed workforces or student populations, as well as communicating, collaborating, and transferring knowledge at the accelerated pace of today’s demands,” said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president of Adobe’s Business Productivity Business Unit. “Whether it’s meeting with co-workers across departments, or conducting virtual classes across continents, Acrobat Connect Pro can help break through technology barriers by letting virtually anyone participate in effective online communication and knowledge transfer.”

Acrobat Connect Pro is expected to be available by the end of May 2008, on a hosted or on-premise basis in various languages like English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and simplified Chinese.