Commercial Integrator June 2022 - 14

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PERFECTING YOUR CRAFT
The Building Blocks of an AVoIP Campus
The transition to AVoIP solutions can present a challenge, but education institutions are rising to the
occasion. By Alesia Hendley
INFOCOMM '21 was a very unusual
show. We were all trying to get back
into the swing of being social again. The
timeline of the show was weird (even
though I enjoyed the October weather
more than June weather), and show
attendance was a lot smaller. A lot of different
dynamics came along, as each of
us in attendance braced for an in-person
event as best we could.
One undeniable fact was the presence
of the Higher Education Technology
Managers Alliance (HETMA) at InfoComm
'21. Maybe they were so visible because
of the badge decoration/HETMA flags or
maybe I just had more time to speak with
people at the show and could chat for
more than five minutes. Either way, it was
great connecting with the community. The
higher-education and K-12 sectors will always
hold a special place in my heart. The
#avtweeps who occupy these verticals
are just different, and I can say that from
experience.
I was an A1 on an AV team within K-12.
I operated in a role where the industry
saw me as an end user, but, in fact, I was
more of an in-house integrator. We were a
group that was labeled as end users, but,
ultimately, we had to solve problems for
another group of end users - whether
it was teachers or students - and our
hands were always full. These unique
spaces and the groups of #avtweeps who
work in them have played a specific role in
bettering communication and learning in
our vastly changing world.
Come Full Circle
We've now come full circle with InfoComm
'22. This month, I want to highlight not only
AVoIP in higher education but also how
teams across the industry are adjusting and
how they're continuing to perfect their craft
by implementing AVoIP solutions.
It's no secret that not every campus is
14
Commercial Integrator JUNE 2022
technology landscape evolves. " The
biggest challenge that we've been
facing is making things work with what
we have, " she explains. " In other words,
making [things] work without spending
thousands of dollars. Our system isn't
old, but there are a lot of updates that
occur. And, sometimes, I'm not aware
of the updates unless something is not
functioning properly. " Jones continues,
" Without upgrading our system
completely, we've found ways to make
things work for us. I believe the AVoIP
solutions we've added into our space
are making it a little easier. "
Kameesha Jones, who works at Florida
International University (Biscayne
Bay campus), has found that AVoIP
solutions added into the university's
spaces are making technology integration
a little easier.
working with the same budget. The transition
to AVoIP solutions can present a challenge
from a budgeting perspective. Not
every team has a large budget to rebuild a
system from scratch. That's why it's important
to create a strategy that sets up in-house
teams for success over time, each step of
the way. This not only builds trust but also
helps create comfort in this new, converged
approach blending AV and IT.
I spoke to audiovisual technician
Kameesha Jones, who works at Florida
International University (Biscayne Bay
campus). I asked about the challenges
her team and she have faced as the
The Building Blocks
Change is never easy. Growing pains
come with the territory of perfecting our
craft and growing with the technology
we utilize. That's why relying on our
partners is so important to the process of
scaling AV systems. Ensuring a seamless
transition involves many things. But, from
Jones' point of view, three contributions
from integration partners have helped her
institution progress over time.
" [The first is] presenting solutions that
are easy to use, " she explains. " Everyone
is not tech savvy, so we wanted to make
sure that our more seasonal professors
as well as clients are comfortable with
sharing a video on YouTube or showing
a document using the doc cam. " The
number-two factor, versatility, is closely
related. " We wanted to make sure that
our spaces can accommodate everyone's
needs, " Jones stresses. She offers widely
divergent examples: an interactive Zoom
board meeting for a board of trustees;
a student event with a DJ and a rolling
PowerPoint; and a tech conference that's
being livestreamed.
The number-three factors, Jones continues,
are effectiveness and efficiency.
" Our team can host up to seven events at
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Commercial Integrator June 2022

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