AV SuperFriends

Recorded September 8, 2023

Instead of the news, we focus on a topic we've noticed a lot recently: that the AVIXA CTS is being pushed as an entry-level certification. It really isn't, nor should it be, but if it's getting that reputation, it devalues the certification for everyone.

Next, student workers. They're a fantastic resource and we all have dozens of them running around and helping out, right? Wait, some of you don't have students in your department? You need to fix that, tout suite! It's great real world IT experience for them and great workforce augmentation for us!

Finally, Jamie managed to finagle a new job without leaving his chair via a re-org. We all share our top tips and tricks that someone new to management needs to know.

Reddit posts that bother us:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CommercialAV/comments/1693dcj/why_arent_there_3rd_party_cts_resources/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CommercialAV/comments/14nvvke/currently_a_service_tech/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CommercialAV/comments/15luqwq/what_does_a_typical_day_for_a_first_year_av/

• https://www.reddit.com/r/CommercialAV/comments/155o7oh/any_certs_helpful_for_someone_breaking_in/

Alternate show titles:

• Big D and Little d

• I've got my little d

• CTS-VR

• If you're a professional, keep up with your sh*t

• Sometimes, they are the presents

• Mixed bag of nuts

• If you don't trust them, then why did you hire them?

• Fake IT

• Students are People

• Put up or Shut up Time

• I don't have time to dig my own grave

• I don't need seven goalies

• Force it from below

• He got his little d at InfoComm

Recorded September 1, 2023

There's no news today, so we're going to read a letter from a listener who raises some questions about how we budget and plan long projects. They're not wrong, but also things are not quite cut and dry.

Then, the joys and challenges of modern room systems. After fighting for so long to get away from h.323 codecs ruining everything, are we recreating the same problems? We do our best to avoid brand names because multiple AV SuperFriends are being told from leadership that these room systems are happening with or without them, so might as well get on board. The rest of us are hoping we can avoid them.

Finally, we all share a few tales of the stuff we've broken. Marc destroys projectors, Chris destroys large LCDs, Jamie destroys codecs (hooray!), Larry destroys speakers, and Justin destroys his own health.

Alternate show titles:

• North Carolino

• Used Carl Salesman

• Not OUR dashboard

• They cause my ass to burn all the time

• I've tried it; I don't like the taste of it

• We thought about it, we did it, and now I want to undo it

• I feel greasy

• You're like a toddler in a liquor store

• We do a lot of weird garbage

• I've smoked a lot of things

• Getting Blown Off on Ladders

Recorded August 18, 2023

Let's talk about the Student Experience. And that's really why we're all here, isn't it? We discuss what students are expecting from a university in 2023, advocating for students when no one else will, and crushing everything down to be delivered by Zoom or Teams. After all, we have one chance to get it right; are we cutting corners that puts that all at risk?

After we're done complaining, we also discuss some good examples of technology-enabled spaces that put the student experience first– esports, maker spaces, informal learning spaces, and more.

Alternate show titles:

• 80% is great as long as everybody gets it

• Students don't quantify experience

• They recognize when they don't like it

• A reason to be in the room

• This thing's a dog turd

• The adequate room

• The student experience is adequacy

• Removing stuff can improve a system

• Never do widget-fest

• We did not do academic harm

• Building community spaces

Recorded August 25, 2022

Did you know esports is dead? Neither did we, but here's an article about it and while it may not be filling stadiums, the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.

Then we're joined by Don Merritt from the University of Central Florida to discuss learning spaces without focusing on "the stuff." As technologists, it's tempting to talk about features without activities and Brand A vs Brand B, losing sight of the nature of what we're doing. After all, if the students and faculty don't care what model projector, display, DSP, or control surface is in learning spaces, should we?

Finally, Dante AV is here. And there's just way too many flavors.

Connect with our guest:

• Don Merritt, Director of Instructional Resources at University of Central Florida

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/donmerrittphd/

• UCF Office of Instructional Resources - https://oir.ucf.edu

Article discussed: https://sambarberie.substack.com/p/esports-is-unraveling

Dante AV: https://www.audinate.com/products/manufacturer-products/dante-av-video

More suggested links from Don Merritt:

• National Center of Education Statistics - https://nces.ed.gov/

• FICM - 4.3.1 Space Use Codes: Definitions, Descriptions, and Limitations (ed.gov)

• This is the National Center for Education Statistics' page for space use codes - national definitions of classrooms, labs, etc.

• The UK Higher Education Learning Space Toolkit - UCISA

• Journal of Technology and Teacher Education - Learning & Technology Library (LearnTechLib)

• Journal of Learning Spaces (uncg.edu)

• SCUP Fellow Research Project Final Report Contents

• Designing Spaces to Serve Communities | Learning Spaces Collaboratory (pkallsc.org)

• Learning Environments Research | Home (springer.com)

• Equal Access: Universal Design of Physical Spaces | DO-IT (washington.edu)

• Research on Active Learning at Duke - Duke Learning Innovation

• Teaching in an Active Learning Classroom (ALC) | Center for Educational Innovation (umn.edu)

• Teaching my first gaming in education seminar | Bryan Alexander

Alternate show titles:

• Students Learn Less

• It's not about the technology

• We are not supporting faculty as well as we should

• There is still value in the sage on the stage

• There's more on their plate than you think there is

• Keep it as simple as possible

• We're all not using the same definition

• We're in danger of using the local definitions

• Learning Campuses, not Learning Spaces

• Wifi in stairwells

• Watching them in their natural habitat

• Gravy on top of it all

• I was terrified the cornole league was going to fold

• We can make online hotdogs

Recorded August 4, 2023

In our spiciest episode yet, we tackle everything from hybrid meeting rooms to work from home, auto-framing cameras in giant board rooms, conference room envy, departmental arms races, policing conference room usage, and why NDI isn't the right solution for most scenarios… or is it? (No).

Article: https://www.avinteractive.com/news/collaboration/what-do-you-really-need-to-make-hybrid-work-productive-02-08-2023/

Alternate show titles:

• Chairs are for winners

• Number One Growth Segment in my Portfolio

• I'm not installing conference rooms at their house

• Don't hear what I'm not saying

• For all the wrong reasons

• The Classic IT Trap

• Space Rich

• Korums

• Run and Gun and Get Things Done

Recorded July 21, 2023

We're joined by Marina Walton from Trinity University to talk Faculty Support covering everything from identifying champions, supporting innovative learning spaces (that everyone hates), engaging department chairs, hosting an IT Open House to put faces to names, adding a personal touch to IT support, and much more. We also discuss an article (and related study) about giving faculty more time to learn and adopt new technologies before deploying them campus wide.

Connect with Marina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-walton-m-a-ed-cts-884782173/

Article discussed: https://edscoop.com/faculty-edtech-review-time-survey/

Full report: https://www.wgulabs.org/posts/cin-faculty-survey-2022-faculty-as-edtech-innovators-moving-beyond-stereotypes-to-promote-institutional-change

Alternate show titles:

• We just figured out how to use the other one
• It's the same thing, just a different name
• Biting off that hard bite first
• Find the complainers
• This has never worked
• Of course it works– watch!
• Does it turn on, show a picture; don't worry about it
• Just because it works, doesn't mean it's a success

Recorded July 28, 2023

We're joined by AV industry luminary, influencer, blogger, journalist, podcaster, and all around great person, Alesia Hendley, to talk InfoComm 2023, her journey through almost every vertical of the AV industry, and coming future trends.

We also discuss an article on why there isn't a single, universal AVoIP standard and the growing influence of conference bars and all-in-one conferencing devices getting used in all the wrong spaces. Should pro audio companies really be getting into prosumer, IT-focused "room in a box" solutions?

Alesia is on all the things:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alesiahendley/

• Twitter: @thesmoothfactor

• Web: https://www.thesmoothfactor.com/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesmoothfactor/

Article discussed: https://www.avinteractive.com/news/avoip-news/does-there-really-need-to-be-a-single-av-over-ip-standard-27-07-2023/

Alternate show titles:

• Come home and die

• I need a grown-up job

• Don't be afraid to pivot

• Audio is going to get better– whoop de doo

• Half of our industry doesn't get Twitter

• What if they're stalking me?

• To y'alls point

• Different levels of shitty

• Part of a complete, balanced breakfast

• You can stick that thing right up your keister

• The hootie-hoo comes up first on the Googling

Recorded July 14, 2023

We're joined by Steve Greenblatt and Brittany DiCesare from Control Concepts to talk programming, programming, and more programming. While most AV projects seem to involve a vague scope of work and set of drawings, leaving the dots to be connected by the programmer, Steve and Brittany suggest a more holistic approach wherein software and automation is considered from the beginning. We talk about manufacturer plug-ins and modules, hiring programmers vs. growing programmers, AI-powered easy buttons, and designing AV based on the quality of software support in the control software rather than the hardware capabilities.

Control Concepts https://www.controlconcepts.net

Steve Greenblatt, President

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegreenblatt

• Twitter: @stevegreenblatt

• Ask the Programmer podcast: https://asktheprogrammer.podbean.com/

• AV Nation A State of Control podcast: https://www.avnation.tv/series/a-state-of-control/

Brittany DiCesare, Client Success Manager

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittdice

• Twitter: @brittdice

Alternate show titles:

• Hipster AV

• Run what you brung

• Economical Tchotchke Versions

• Becoming relevant again… maybe

• Faster, Easier, Cheaper

• You've gotta control it somehow

• The Easy Button is killing programmers

• I experiment with all kinds of things

• Professional Configurator

• A lot of sorta-working stuff

• The Large Brain the Sky

Recorded June 13, 2023

We figured since five of the six AV SuperFriends were all in the same building, we'd record our On Topic episode for July. The topic is Showcase Spaces, but rather than review our own showcase spaces, we discuss the general process of developing a showcase space, what the end user clients want, and that's it's absolutely, completely possible to have a showcase space that is just terrible in every way and still serve its purpose.

Alternate show titles:

• That's going to take an architect
• The finest of the fine stuff
• What's the wow factor
• But they look good

Recorded June 16, 2023

Marc visits the Userful booth at InfoComm 2023

Userful: https://www.userful.com/