AV SuperFriends: On Topic

22: Saying It Smart | AV Superfriends Recorded June 22, 2022 Have y’all heard of this VR thing? It’s a thing! Or is it… We start with an article about highly customized content for highly specialized academic programs and how that just doesn’t scale. And that leads to a discussion covering everything from shared standards for metaverse content to nursing simulation systems to user generated conten...

On Topic Episode 21: InfoComm Preview and/or Wrap-up Recorded May 13, 2022 It’s our annual InfoComm Preview show! Or, if you are listening to this after the first week of June, it’s our annual InfoComm Wrap-up show! Chris, Larry, and Justin will be there in person, so come join us for presentations, tours, and interviews. Or, listen to recordings of those same presentations, tours, and interviews...

On Topic Episode 20: Some Money is Better Than None Money Recorded April 8, 2022 Working with integrators and consultants is a necessary part of the job for any higher ed AV manager, and the AV SuperFriends have plenty of suggestions to make that process easier. Step 1, don’t give away engineering and design. Step 2, don’t give away consulting and end user interaction. Step 3, don’t give away prog...

On Topic Episode 19: Letting Our POs Hang Out There Recorded March 11, 2022 Jamie brings an article that describes two very different experiences with warranty and support… of socks. It’s relevant in a weird way. And in a year when we’re having to be extra flexible with our choices of equipment due to the supply chain madness, it does raise the question of just how much that manufacturer support w...

On Topic Episode 18: In Your Experience Wallet Recorded February 18, 2022 If we’re discussing emerging technologies in learning spaces, we’re obviously going to talk about the metaverse… but not the one you’re thinking of. Marc brings an article and associated study from Forbes and JP Morgan that reveals the plans that the financial world has for the future. And no, it’s not goggles. Larry also re...

On Topic Episode 17: Smalltalk and All That BS Recorded January 14, 2022 This month’s topic was supposed to be about the return of Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) and the upcoming HETMA Spring conference, but in light of ISE canceling their show (again!) and “rescheduling” to May, we figured it was time to satirize the constant canceling and rescheduling of large tradeshows and conferences by writ...

16: The Year of I Told You So AV Superfriends: On Topic Recorded December 10, 2021 It’s a prediction show! Educause suggests 10 IT-related trends we should all be aware of and we decide they’re not in order, so we’re starting with number 6. As with anything from Educause, it’s highly-researched and detailed, but often just a little too milquetoast for our tastes. Then each of the SuperFriends has...

Recorded November 17, 2021 It’s the 2nd Annual AV SuperFriends Holiday Show! Yes, we’re recording this in November, even before Thanksgiving, which just feels weird, but such are the necessities of podcast publishing schedules. In return, we’ve added some additional production to the show in the form of not-at-all annoying sound effects and background music! For our Holiday Show, we couldn’t decid...

On Topic Episode 14: We Got a Zoomy Zoom Going This month we dive deep into the world of AVoIP. It’s a thing. The cost-delta versus point-to-point transmission is almost nil, the technologies and products are maturing, and it opens an entire new world of finger pointing and shirking responsibility! We first discussed AVoIP last October on Off the Rails Episode 4, so please give that a listen for m...

AV SuperFriends On Topic Episode 13: Moron Refresh Rate Recorded September 17, 2021 Fire up your RGB LEDs, put on your headset, and get caffeinated! For this month’s episode of On Topic, the AV SuperFriends are joined by Josh Kell, CEO of Horizon AVL System Integration, to talk about eSports. Josh has been working with Larry on a new eSports arena at UNCG and he provides a fascinating look at deve...

AV SuperFriends: On Topic - Episode 12: Other Duties as Assigned Recorded August 27, 2021 This month’s topic is “Time for Change,” which we interpreted as “how do we think of classroom AV systems in 2021 as opposed to the same systems in 2019?” The technology hasn’t really changed, but the tasks in those classrooms most certainly have changed, which means we now select the technology differently....

Recorded July 7, 2021 It’s Back to School season, so get some new shoes, a nice shirt for the first day, a new Trapper Keeper and pencil bag, and let’s all take an awkward picture by the front door on the way out to catch the school bus. And, we have some survey results to discuss— and we love our surveys! — from Classroom Technology on the ways Online Learning (whatever that means) is changing po...

Recorded June 11, 2021 It’s summer! Spend the next three hours as the AV SuperFriends review all their summer projects, one by one. No, that’s boring and tedious. We’re all doing the same thing you’re doing at your school. Instead, let’s talk about supply chain. We’re joined by Clay Stahlka, Senior PreSales Engineer at Starin to talk about the current situation regarding the AV and electronics sup...

Recorded May 14, 2021 The AV SuperFriends welcome Mandy Beckner, President and Chief Operating Officer at THE rAVe Agency to the show and peer into our Magic 8 Ball to determine what trade shows, conferences, and events are going to look like in the future. The 8 Ball says “Reply hazy, try again,” which isn’t terribly helpful. Some events are already returning with various approaches to COVID-19 s...

Originally recorded April 16, 2021 Is AV part of IT? It’s a topic that keeps coming up in the larger higher ed AV circle and it’s the focus of our discussion this month. Did you know there are still schools out there who don’t consider their AV department to be under the auspices of IT? Some are located in the library, some are under the Provost, some are under facilities, some are part of the TV/...

On a recent episode, we peered 20 years into the future to imagine what universities and learning spaces might look like. The most fun aspect of that discussion was trying to the envision technologies that would be in use at the time. It was a balance between outlandish and very real technology of 2021, even if it currently exists only as a tech demo. On this episode, the AV SuperFriends are all o...

Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again. This month’s theme is supposed to be “the one year anniversary of COVID-19” but as that’s something we’ve all been living 24/7, it fell flat as a topic of discussion for the AV SuperFriends. Instead, we decided to look at long term impacts that COVID might have on higher ed AV and eLearning. We managed to push a monitor cart up to 88 mph and captured a recording of...

It’s February, and as legally required by Hallmark and your Great Aunt Silvia, this show will be Valentine’s Day themed. We each have a box on our desk and we’re going to go around and virtually drop off little cards covered with stickers, glue, and glitter… and foil-wrapped candy. We share our backgrounds and how we got into AV and why we do what we do. For a bit of prognostication, we also cover...

It’s January, so let’s plan for summer! Chris is really, really upset with “Classrooms of the Future” (but not necessarily for the reasons you think) and gives them both barrels. Do you have a Classroom of the Future? Isn't it just the bee’s knees? Then, the AV SuperFriends recover and share their take on how to get ready for summer projects and Justin again explains the wacky budgeting process at...

Plug in the twinkle lights, shine up your aluminum pole, and get out the fancy liquor— it’s time for the holidays with the AV SuperFriends! In keeping with the theme of general end-of-year merriment and holiday wishlists, we all share our letters to Santa asking for our favorite AV-related products… or items that don’t quite exist, but should.  And Chris shares about seven of them, because he just...

On this episode of AV SuperFriends: On Topic, we’re taking a look back at an interesting last few months.  Did we choose the right model microphones and projec... ok, no one really cares about that.  We take a holistic look at AV, eLearning, pedagogy, and the college experience and talk through how making six years of changes in six months might affect the future learning spaces.  Also, Justin com...

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