Technical Debt in Higher Ed

August 11, 2023

In the IT world the phrase “technical debt” is a well-known phrase and it is used effectively to describe problems and why they are so difficult (expensive) to fix. The term first came about in 1992 and was coined by Ward Cunningham. Cunningham was particularly referring to software coding, and that is a common way […]

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Budget, Inventory and ‘Standards’

February 6, 2023

For years, I have been the poster child for standards in classrooms. I have made this argument for a very long time at my school and through talks and at conferences. The arguments for standardization are powerful and plentiful. The ability for staff to only need to be focused on a certain family of products […]

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Learning Spaces

November 17, 2022

In higher education, we spend a lot of time thinking about the technology that goes into classrooms. In my blog from last month, I wrote about what the perfect classroom would look like. I focused on technology and how technology can make our classrooms work better. Yet — everyone who works as a technology manager […]

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IT and AV Market Movements in Higher Education

December 13, 2021

By Chris Pennell Futuresource Consulting There’s no doubt that the higher education sector has experienced a difficult period over the last 18 to 24 months. Profound and far-reaching changes have been applied in an effort to respond to the challenges of COVID-19 and enable students to continue to learn remotely. In the wake of the […]

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My First InfoComm

November 9, 2021

Each year, thousands of AV professionals gather together for InfoComm in either Las Vegas or Orlando. The show can feel like a giant reunion for your AV family, with networking events galore, new products to explore and classes to attend. #AVtweeps will proudly tell you how many years they’ve attended the show. But what about […]

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Rapid Shift to Distance Learning Drives Surge in Demand for Mobile Computing Solutions in Higher Ed

May 20, 2021

By Claire Kerrison Futuresource Consulting The outbreak of COVID-19 forced higher education campuses across the world to adopt distance learning overnight. “The education technology industry has been one of the few to witness growth as a direct result of COVID-19,” said Claire Kerrison, senior market analyst, Futuresource Consulting. “This is reflected in the Futuresource Higher […]

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AV Is IT

March 15, 2021

During End User Day of LAVNCH WEEK 3.0 in February (in partnership with HETMA), I enjoyed listening to end users speak about AV security. It was particularly interesting to me since I had just written a blog on how the SolarWinds hack should serve as a lesson to the AV industry. I was tweeting a […]

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Higher Ed Updates: December 2020

December 1, 2020

In the beginning of April and again in May, I wrote updates about the state of higher education for integrators, who may be wondering what their business model would look like for the rest of the year. Paradoxically, it seems like a lot has changed since then, and nothing has changed at all. We are […]

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Dear Zoom: Love Letter or Dear John Letter?

October 1, 2020

Dear Zoom, We began using Zoom three years ago as a corporate replacement for Skype. The technical staff and our faculty and staff absolutely loved it. Slowly, we acquired more and more licenses. Then in March of 2020, COVID hit, and Zoom went from an essential tool to a business-critical application. And that is when […]

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Esports Education Investments Endure and Grow Amid Budget Restrictions

September 29, 2020

By Chris Bull Futuresource Consulting Throughout 2020, esports has been one of the most notable champions amid stay-at-home orders and social distancing policies. The industry has thrived, but it has certainly changed course from its pre-COVID trajectory, and even more so for its application in K-12 and higher education. When we talk about esports and […]

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Let’s Talk About HyFlex: Fall 2020 Classroom Solution and Beyond

July 1, 2020

Over the past several weeks, the higher ed world has become more widely acquainted with the term “HyFlex.” For some, it’s a vague word that leads to more confusion than clarity. Let’s take an opportunity to think about it and what type of AV installs and equipment would support a HyFlex classroom. Interestingly enough, this […]

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The Fall 2020 Classroom

June 1, 2020

It’s June of 2020, and colleges and universities have finished their crazy spring semesters. Most are pivoting, rooted in planning for the fall semester of 2020. A few themes seem to be emerging that will begin to shape what this next school year looks like, and therefore how the AV market will play a role. […]

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COVID-19 and Higher Ed: An Update

May 6, 2020

A month ago, I wrote a blog about how financing at higher education institutions works. In that blog, I wrote about how most places, for various reasons, were going to have some tough budget decisions to make due to COVID-19. In the current environment we live in, things change day-to-day. So, I wanted to take […]

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Data Privacy Issues in Higher Ed

November 7, 2019

Management guru Peter Drucker is often quoted as saying, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” I have long believed in this philosophy and work with my teams to make sure we are setting goals and measuring our success. While I think Drucker was right, he lived and worked in a much different […]

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The Classroom Has Changed. So Has the Projector.

November 6, 2019

THIS IS A PROMOTED POST FROM CASIO  While the classroom has changed, so has the projector. Lamp-based projectors of yesteryear have downsides: They’re bulky. They’re expensive. After only 2,000 to 3,000 hours, they’re at half the brightness. They need constant maintenance. They run hot. Then there’s the issue of mercury; the lamps in projectors leak […]

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Gary Kayye Is UB Tech’s Opening Keynote Speaker for Third Year in a Row

June 4, 2019

On Monday, rAVe co-founder, Gary Kayye, will address the 1,000+ registered attendees of 2019 UB Tech Conference, the top conference for higher education leaders, technology gurus and tech professionals. His topic? It’s sort-of about how the ubiquitous “network” is changing everything on campus — specifically, how we can leverage the always-connected network to teach to […]

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ROI in Higher Education

February 2, 2019

If you are paying attention to the higher education world, you have noticed a pattern over the past few years. Since 2016, over 70 colleges have either merged or closed (the majority of them closing). While most would not call it a crisis quite yet, everyone in higher ed is paying attention and working to […]

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Hitachi Debuts Two New 5,000 Lumen 3LCD Laser Projectors Aimed at Higher-Ed

August 23, 2018

Hitachi America expanded its Collegiate Series line with the addition of two new 3LCD laser projectors. Both the LP-EU5002 and the LP-EW5002 are spec’d at 5,000 ANSI lumens and are WUXGA 1920×1200 to WXGA 1280×800, respectively. These maintenance-free operation projectors have 20,000 hours light source life and up to 50,000 hours with Long Life 2 […]

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Gary Kayye Delivers Opening Keynote at UBTech, Talks About Designing His Perfect Classroom

June 5, 2018

rAVe Founder Gary Kayye opened up the 2018 UBTech Conference to a full house of about 800 in the Mirage Resort in Las Vegas yesterday. UBTech is an annual technology conference aimed at higher education leaders. Gary’s message was all about the journey that led him to design what he hopes is the perfect collaborative […]

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A Thoughtful Approach to Active Learning

October 9, 2017

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 […]

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What’s To See At InfoComm 2016? Part 1: Here’s A Start

June 3, 2016

Every year the largest AV trade show in the United States provides more “things to see” and this year’s show in Las Vegas is no exception as it promises to be a great one – make sure you follow those well-known rules of attending the show in terms of comfortable shoes, clothing, hydration, scheduling booth visits […]

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AV/IT? IT/AV? Just Where Are We These Days?

April 27, 2016

As I ponder each day’s occurrences in the audio visual industry, the one thing that has come to mind lately with all of the articles and blogs I read, as well as podcasts that I listen to, is whether the industry really has an understanding of where it actually is in terms of that so-called […]

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Top Five AV Installs in Higher Education

October 13, 2015

Audio visual technologies offer endless possibilities by transforming the way students learn and interact.  This is the main reason why we continue to read about more and more universities installing AV technologies in their facilities and all throughout campus.  The design standards of campus buildings have absolutely evolved since I was in college, and it […]

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Telepresence Robots Enable Higher Ed Students to Tour Campus, Take Classes – The Interview

September 9, 2015

In my first Convergent TechWeek I included a story that caught my eye that week about higher education and telepresence robots: Telepresence Robots Enable Oral Roberts University Students to Tour Campus, Take Classes, and Participate in Graduation from Anywhere in the World Tulsa, Okla., August 26, 2015 — Carousel Industries, a leader in unified communications, managed services, […]

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Higher Ed & Corporate Thinking – Part 2

December 3, 2014

Thanks to my colleague Brett Tipton for his contribution to today’s blog post. Brett is a writer, teacher, and public speaker. He brings a great in-the-trenches perspective to the topic of higher education, how well it prepares students for the real world of corporate America, and how corporations themselves — and IT departments, in particular — […]

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Higher Ed on the Hot Streak Down a Green Path

October 29, 2014

The lofty halls and ivory towers of academia have been a cornerstone in the sustainability movement and continue to be a beacon for those looking to become learned students of sustainability. We see this in a rise in curricula, degree programs and students matriculating into careers in sustainability in a range of disciplines from business, […]

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