Off the Rails Episode 29: I Don’t Want to Go to That Room

Recorded November 12, 2021

Two of the AV SuperFriends have been to two large trade shows and conferences and lived to tell the tale.  Larry and Chris were both at InfoComm in Orlando and EDspaces in Pittsburgh and, while both shows were smaller than in previous years, there were still large crowds, lots of people to talk to, and plenty of AV and learning spaces discussions.  It was also a bit weird to see people from the neck down and not wedged into a box on Zoom.  But that does raise the question: will manufacturers continue to make major announcements at large trade shows, or will they host their own events? 

Then, we return to the conversation about how to identify our departments on campus.  We first discussed this in June and since then some of us have taken new positions and others have found themselves embroiled in a division-wide reorganization.  How should we position our departments to campus?  Are we too focused on the equipment in our classroom spaces and not enough on the larger learning experiences that take place outside those spaces?  Or are we too centered on the academic aspect of our roles and not enough on the general construction-related tasks and responsibilities that many of us have?  It’s a pickle!

Finally, we review some new trends in learning spaces—that is, trends of the physical environments.  We’re all seeing more learning taking place outside the four walls of a traditional classroom space, so how are we addressing the mixed hybrid online environments, informal spaces, classrooms without student seating, student seating outside of classrooms, and computer labs without computers.  If nothing else, it’s clear that everyone loves coffee.

Furniture mentioned during the show: https://www.nookpod.com