Recorded March 26, 2021 We start by discussing our love/hate relationships with a specific large interactive monitor. We still aren’t sure if we like it or not, but it seems to be the best tool for the job. That might be damning with faint praise, but when it does everything you want but nothing you need, I’m not sure you will get a better endorsement. Chris walks us through AV history as he describes the path that brought us to the one true aspect ratio we should be using. Oh, there are others,...
Apr 01, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 15
Recorded March 19, 2021 This entire episode is about 4K resolution and all the benefits and issues that come along with it. And by 4K, we mean UHD or 3840 x 2160. Larry asks, if you were planning a new classroom building, would you design entirely to make the most use of 4k resolution in standard classrooms? Does that mean every room with 20-foot ceilings for properly-sized displays? If so, those rooms might not sound great, but they’d sure look fabulous! With a screen that large there isn’t a b...
Mar 24, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 14
This is a recording the AV SuperFriends did with Erik Ofgang of Tech & Learning about podcasting in education and podcasting for educators. We cover everything from what types of microphones are best, to how many co-hosts you should have (hint: less than five), to how often you should publish, to developing your story before going shopping. Thanks to Erik for putting up with us! Erik’s article is available here: https://www.techlearning.com/how-to/podcasting-for-educators...
Mar 22, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Recorded February 12, 2021 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 the AV SuperFriends: On Topic from March of 2041. Take that, space-time ...
Mar 08, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Recorded February 19, 2021 (The audio quality gets pretty spotty at times on this recording. Sorry, listeners.) Years ago, the only way to do video conferencing was via proprietary hardware. They had limited interoperability— remember the old People + Content model? — but you could always tell when you connecting to a different system. Then we started exploring the idea of using PCs as the center of a video conferencing system. Software and hardware had caught up to where the quality of the call...
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 13
The big news is that Infocomm has moved— but not out of Orlando, so we can all continue to experience the added risk of a hurricane. But, if AVIXA can’t fix the location, they did a good job fixing the date. We react to the news and discuss why we hope this is a long term change (seriously, who wants to go to Vegas and Orlando in the middle of summer?). On that note, have we considered Infocomm: Nantucket? I hear it’s lovely that time of year! Then we take a dive into the topic of central AV mon...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 12
For this month’s show, we’re celebrating our love… of AV. And it’s going to get messy in here. 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 what...
Feb 08, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Recorded January 22, 2021 What is the perfect Higher Ed AV team size? The AV SuperFriends dig into this topic and come up with the perfect answer! OK, not really, but we do find out that one of our universities has more AV employees than the rest of us combined… and they still need more, more, more! We discuss how different responsibilities affect team structure and attempt to come up with a ratio of supported spaces versus coverage. Chris has numbers. No one else likes them. We then look at how...
Jan 27, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Recorded January 8, 2021 It’s the start of a new year and the AV SuperFriends are off the rails again. We start the show with a sincere apology to all the students, teachers, and parents out there until Rachel tells how she really feels and we have to mark this episode as *EXPLICIT* Next, we introduce a new segment where we do a deep dive into the technical details of a recently-completed project. This one is IU’s flagship active learning room, but used to be the flagship map storage room, and w...
Jan 13, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Recorded December 18, 2020 (Producer’s Note: There’s some background noise throughout this episode that we didn’t catch until after the recording. Lo siento con carne!) 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 give 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 summ...
Jan 08, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 4
How many projects and installations are universities tackling over the holidays this year compared to last? For some of us, a lot-- for some, none. Weird. Then Jeff Peterson and Jordan Basham return to continue the discussion from our last episode about university athletics AV, managing student employees, the future of live AV production, and the critical importance of being able to properly over/under cables. We wrap with a lightning round of our AV-related New Year's Resolutions....
Dec 23, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Shure buys Stem Audio- are they making a play at the conference room market? (Hint: Yes). The AV SuperFriends are joined by Jeff Peterson from Oregon State University and Jordan Basham from Western Kentucky University to talk about AV for NCAA and Athletics as well as the interaction between academic AV and athletics AV. Also, what happens when you have a student you just can't let escape? Finally, we each have a Naughty and Nice list for the AV industry.
Dec 16, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Originally recorded November 20, 2020 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 can’t help it. Next, we play a round of “if you can have only ...
Dec 09, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Originally recorded November 13, 2020 and November 20, 2020. We have a news flash about Flash, where we share our flashing disbelief at the way the industry has prepared for the long-awaited end of Flash. Spin up your VMs and disable Windows Update! Then, Dr. Jon Dorbolo returns to continue our exploration of technology and pedagogy with a look at what the future might bring. Finally, we all went on the Internet and found this! Is that a 65-foot USB cable that you plan to rely upon to ensure all...
Nov 30, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 7
The AV SuperFriends sit down with Dr. Jon Dorbolo from Oregon State University to talk about the interaction of technology and pedagogy. Jon quickly puts us all in our place and runs circles around all of us-- except maybe Rachel and Larry-- as he provides a history lesson on teaching online over the last 30 years. Also, remember Gopher? And Turbo Gopher?
Nov 20, 2020•59 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Originally recorded on November 6, 2020 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 comes up with the idea to charge tuition to online students based ...
Nov 18, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Originally recorded on October 23, 2020 Marc is upset with an integrator and that immediately derails our conversation. Then, we argue about what makes a "standard" classroom. How do we determine what that should mean on our campuses? Has that changed in the last six months? (Hint: Yes... and no). Also, Jamie gets angry and manufacturers in general about equipment mounting.
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Originally recorded October 16, 2020 Jamie is coming in hot with a problematic project. We define AVoIP, then argue about that definition. Is it better to put things on the network or on a network? And who manages all our network stuff, anyway?
Oct 21, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Originally recorded October 02, 2020 We discuss our universities’ responses to COVID-19 and how those decisions might affect higher education AV design in the future.
Oct 20, 2020•47 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Originally Recorded on September 25, 2020 We discuss the changing relationship between trade shows and new products, take a look at AV’s responsibility in supporting pedagogy, and dive into the mailbag to answer your questions.
Oct 11, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Originally recorded on September 18, 2020 We discuss dueling trade shows, doing the wrong things-- but for the right reasons, and dig through the mailbag to answer your questions.
Oct 11, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Originally Recorded September 11, 2020 We talk about some clever, but cheap solutions to common AV issues, dig through the mailbag, and explore the concept of the academic gig economy.
Oct 10, 2020•50 min•Season 1Ep. 1
