In an October 28th, 2017 article in the New York Times, “Virtual Reality Gets Naughty,” Alyson Krueger writes about the pornography industry’s deep dive into virtual reality. Despite what you may feel about the ethical issues with the pornography industry, the article is a fascinating read. In particular, it is interesting because of how far […]
Like so many other people, I have read about the Harvey Weinstein scandal over the past several weeks with disgust. As the story grew and the #MeToo campaign went viral, I forced myself to listen to statements from women around the country and to read their messages. I say “forced” because it is not easy […]
Active learning has been on the rise in American college classrooms over the past several years. In general, active learning usually takes place in a classroom that is designed for more group work and discussion and less lecturing from the front of the room. There are dozens of varieties of active learning, and most furniture […]
Fifteen years ago when I took my first job in the AV world (as a tech manager at a college) I remember people asking me things like, “So does this mean you program VCRs?” or “You’re taking a job pushing TV carts around?” In those very early years, yes, we actually did push around some […]
For years, this publication, its founder and many others have been all but begging companies to get into the service business. The days of selling boxes and making margins that can support a business have been over for years. Every now and again you will hear of firms that have managed to make this switch […]
On July 25th, the Wall Street Journal published an article called “The Boss Wants You Back in the Office” (subscription required to view article). The article detailed how IBM, once a national leader in the work from home movement, is moving back to having people report to an office for work. In the July edition […]
Editor’s note: Scott Tiner is a technology manager at Bates College, which often uses Crestron products. This article is not a sponsored post and contains Scott’s personal opinions about Crestron Mercury after working with it at his institution. When companies launch new products, they always focus on major features of that product. Sometimes however, it […]
I started my career in the IT field. It was not until fifteen years ago, into my third job before I even realize there was an AV field. Since that time, I have been proud to call myself an AV guy. The biggest reason I consider being an AV Guy a compliment is that AV […]
For the first time in several years, I was able to attend InfoComm. Before attending the show however, I was fortunate enough to be a speaker at UBTech. UBTech is a trade show/conference about IT and AV in higher education. CCUMC, which I wrote about back in November of this year, worked with UBTech as […]
When SMART put out its first SMART Boards years ago, I found the concept intriguing. However, being in higher ed, the software that went along with the products always seemed a bit too elementary for the people I work with. Additionally, I could not see many uses where a small white board would be sufficient […]
For the past several years, one of the buzzwords in education has been the “active learning classroom.” In fact, the active classroom even made the list of EduCause’s Top 10 Emergent Technologies for 2017. While the concept is not new, the implementation is new. I remember hearing about similar concepts back when (way back when) […]
My first trip to InfoComm was six or seven years ago, one of the years it was held in Las Vegas. I left the show completely amazed at the magnitude. With the multiple halls, the number of training sessions and all the people, I truly realized the size of our industry for the first time. […]
“Yo, his palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy.” With the CTS “exam season” approaching in June, chances are many people are feeling the words of Eminem’s song Lose Yourself. For good reason. Many of those preparing to take the CTS are putting a lot of time and money into the exam. If you chose […]
If you have read my columns over the past couple of years, you have likely noticed a pattern. In most of the columns I try to explore creative ways for integrators to continue to find value. Whether that is in the digital signage realm, by selling to higher ed, or just in the general AV […]
Thanks to an invitation from InfoComm to speak at its Smarter Campus session, I was able to attend ISE for the first time in 2017. The trip and the show were fantastic. I was excited to be a part of this session, and got to speak with some “AV” industry veterans who are well known […]
At the various auto shows that have already taken place this year, all the talk is about autonomous vehicles. Just a few short years ago the thought of autonomous vehicles was a dream. It would be years before such a thing existed. We had some cars that would park themselves with driver intervention, how could […]
I am back from ISE 2017 and had an amazing experience. I learned so much and will have plenty to write about, and will be following up on over the coming months. I had two experiences with customer services, and the differences were so vast, I want to write about them. I am a firm believer […]
Remember the days when all the AV and IT people at a campus needed to worry about were the computers the institution owned, or the installed computer at the podium? Those days are long gone as the IoT has become mainstream in our daily lives. BYOD is a fact of life in our day to […]
In October, the Bates College Museum of Art opened an exhibit titled, Phantom Punch: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia in Lewiston. The title plays off the famous bout between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston in 1965 in our small town. The exhibit is culturally enlightening and eye candy to those of us who are A/V […]
In early November, I had the opportunity to attend CCUMC in San Antonio. The city was amazing, the food was delicious and the conference was great. To read more about the conference and why you should attend (or exhibit) please see my other article in rAVe ED on the subject. In this column, I want […]
At the beginning of November, I attended the CCUMC conference in San Antonio, Tex. For those of you who don’t know what CCUMC is, you should check out the website here. In a nutshell, it is a group developed and lead by Technology Managers in higher education. The group has a mission of providing a […]
Monday morning we woke up to some major news in the AV industry. Samsung had purchased Harman. When I say we, I mean us AV PEOPLE. To the rest of the world, Samsung (a South Korean chaebol) purchased a “U.S. automotive technology manufacturer,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Many of us in the AV […]
I am writing this article on the afternoon of Halloween. I spent the day running errands the get ready for the long winter that is ahead of us here in the North. As I drove around completing those errands, I was amazed with the lawns that are awash with political signs. In addition to realizing […]
On Fri., Oct. 21, a company in small Manchester, New Hampshire was the focus of a DoS internet attack. While the city it is located in is small, the company, Dyn, is not. It provides DNS (Domain Name Server) service to a large part of the country. By attacking this company the hackers effectively shut […]
In the last couple of days, I have run across a few things that have made me remember that education is a little slower in adopting technologies than other industries. Please remember as I write this, I love where I work. I actually think we are very advanced technically and always continue to advance. What […]
Up here in Maine, fall has set in and the golf season is quickly fading away. Southern areas of the country have a few more months of play, but our time is just about done. Luckily, I get to play to the very end of the season. A couple of weeks ago that included a […]
According to an article titled “Amusement Parks Hurtle Into Dizzying Realm of Virtual Reality” in the August 31st Wall Street Journal, there are over 3,000 roller coasters worldwide. Did you know that? Well, unless you happen to be a coaster-fanatic, probably not. Why? Because amusement parks have never been firms that widely use technology. Yes, […]
If you serve the education market, you are well aware that the crazy season is upon us. Students are back on campus and the faculty are joining them and getting ready to begin a semester of new classes. On our campus this is always an exciting and nerve wracking time. Everyone is a little disappointed […]
We have all heard, “Well that is how it was designed.” Or, “the integrators made this more complicated than it needed to be.” I, as much as anyone like to pass the buck, but when dealing with customers we need to make sure we provide the end result they want. A lean model of looking […]
A couple of time I have written on the use of video conferencing in higher ed. At my institution it has grown exponentially. Last year we supported over 200 individual videoconferencing “events.” Many of these were job interviews, done in blocks. So, while I don’t have an exact number, it is likely that we had […]
I recently read The Lean Startup by Eric Ries and could not help but think about how IT and AV could benefit from the processes Ries defines. I particularly found myself thinking of the AV integrators and the struggle that some of them have right now with the small margins they are receiving on equipment. […]
This month, I take a quick break from writing about ITIL. Why? Well, it is June and in the AV world that means InfoComm. We all know that InfoComm is the closest that all of us AV people get to a national holiday. I won’t be in Vegas this year but will be watching intently […]
