This week, AV-1er Hal Meeks shares his first month with an iPad. I was fortunate enough be given an iPad through work. It was easy to justify based on what I do for a living. The reality was that I was prepared to buy one for myself, so I am sitting on the money to do just that at a later date. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you my initial observations... Continue reading

This June in Las Vegas, EduComm brings together top thought leaders, innovators, and speakers to present, discuss, and navigate the unprecedented challenges and opportunities shaping the future of higher education. Here is AV-1's short-list of recommended activities and sessions while... Continue reading

If I wanted to have an indifferent dining experience, I'd stay home and boil an egg. I came to dine at your table for something more -- for a memorable experience of good food and efficient service. If you can deliver those two things (and then get out of the way), you will be handsomely rewarded, else, you're likely to receive the same tip I get at home. And so here are a few tips for the waits-of-the-world who really want to do a good job and make good tips: it's all about Courtesy, Timeliness, Mindfulness. Let me know what you think! Continue reading

Most designs for classroom technology are based on a 20-year old paradigm of furniture, cables and pipes (and lots of equipment). While continuing to replicate these dinosaurs may serve to ensure job security (for now), this model requires heavy infrastructure that adds cost and locks the room into a rigid floor plan that does not support progressive teaching and learning practice. A 20-classroom project designed with traditional AV technology can carry $300k of excess cost. The real price, however is the loss of agility, that is, the ability to reconfigure the classroom to suit changing needs. Continue reading

Come April, we like to pause a moment to reflect merrily upon all the hi-jinx and lallygagging that carried us through the long, cold winter doldrums. Ah, the leaky basements! Oh, the delayed supply shipments! Jeepers, those goofy budget cuts... Continue reading

On Monday, we posed six questions to the AV-1 community about the value of professional development. This is my analysis of your responses. Please let us know what you think. First, we fall into a pretty tight band with regard... Continue reading

Our recent pre-InfoComm survey told us that 63% of AV-1 readers attend InfoComm for educational (Professional Development) purposes. This got our readers, and us at AV-1 HQ, asking more and more questions about professional development. The questions came more quickly... Continue reading

The Consortium for College and University Media Centers (CCUMC) and AV-1 invite you to submit a proposal for a presentation at the 2010 CCUMC Annual Conference (deadline for submissions: April 2) in Buffalo, New York, October 6 - 10. This... Continue reading

This week, Dartmouth's Greg Wadlinger draws from personal experience, current events, and organizational theory to illustrate how Trust is a prerequisite for Change. Read the full article on the AV-1.insider. (You can trust us -- we have your best interests at heart.) Continue reading

Long-time AV-1er, Ernie Bailey, is Director of AV Services at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He recently completed his term as chair of InfoComm's Technology Managers Council and, with all that free time no doubt, penned an excellent... Continue reading

Among trade shows and conferences in our field, InfoComm sets the gold-standard: The annual, worldwide exposition produced by the trade group (previously known as ICIA) bearing the same name attracts a comprehensive roster of exhibitors and offers a banquet of... Continue reading

We have detected strong interest among AV-1 members in having a get-together with fellow AV-1 members while attending InfoComm in Las Vegas this June. By completing this survey, you are helping us estimate potential turn-out. Anticipating attendance is crucial to... Continue reading

Foreword In 2006, I accepted a leadership position at UNC to which Hotline, Labs, and Classroom Design reported. Our charter was to do great things and be agents of change. Despite the great expectations attached to the new role, it... Continue reading

Earlier this week, we delivered our first-pass results of the AV-1 Salary and Education survey. It proved to be the most-read article on the AV-1.insider, to-date. At that time, we promised you a bit more granularity in a subsequent report... Continue reading

Nicely Done! Over 200 people -- better than 1/3 of all AV-1 members -- responded to the second AV-1 survey (Salary and Education). Significant sample data such as these enable us to feel comfortable suggesting that some of these statistics... Continue reading

The AV-1 community is based upon the belief that successful stewardship of learning ecosystems includes those engaged in every facet from planning and design to management and support. Because of your participation, AV-1 is the first place to browse for... Continue reading

AV-1 readers, you are awesome. In the first of our surveys, we had 130 responses. Some of the responses were not surprising, like the fact that 79% of us have VCRs in up to 75% of our rooms. That is... Continue reading

For more than a quarter-century, VHS tapes (and VCRs) were the kings of on-demand video (at home, school and work). Never mind dog years, 25 tech-years are an eternity during which VHS users gleefully amassed large content collections without giving... Continue reading

There is no denying the appeal of interactive whiteboards: to interact directly with the computer image transcends the mouse-and-keyboard experience, opening opportunities for memorable learning experiences. What if you do not require all the applications offered by out-of-the- box smartboards? Why fork out $2k-$10k if you could achieve basic smartboard functionality on any kind of display, using only a $40 Wii video game controller and a few parts from Radio Shack? Would that be good enough? Continue reading

Mark Mayfield, Editor of AV Technology magazine, offers $10 gift card to first 100 AV-1 members to take user survey. Sponsored by Biamp Systems. Continue reading

Although most of what we do appears to be tech-related -- all cables and components -- the reality is that we are part of a person-to-person business, built on understanding, communication, collaboration and trust. That's service. This week, contributor Anita Vidwell shares her Thanksgiving adventures in service. Continue reading

Boulder, CO. ITS and the university libraries of CU Boulder partnered for an ambitious project: The Norlin Commons, which opened ahead of schedule in July. The good folks at CU Boulder rolled out the welcome mat to show our EDUCAUSE contingent around. We met an energetic team of librarians, technologists and planners eager to discuss the fruits of their five-year project. The result is the Norlin Commons, a splendid mash-up of "mixed-use" and "flexible" zones, where services and beverages intersect at a place where students naturally congregate to get work done, unwind and refuel. Browse to http://insider.av-1.org for full article. Continue reading