Managing multimedia: new standards, products, software, and strategies are propelling schools into a smartly managed audio/visual future

University Business, Oct, 2003 by Jean Marie Angelo

Presentation technology has come into its own on campus. But with the increased volume of projectors, plasma screens, electronic whiteboards, DVD players, and digital cameras comes the worry of how to keep track of it all. Those who are monitoring A/V equipment on campus are already looking to the IT department for some best practices. After all, IT managers were faced with the very same challenges 15 or so years ago, when desktop computers, Laptops, printers, and other peripherals became staples of higher ed learning. They've managed to inventory and network their equipment, and it is now time for A/V managers to do the same.

In some cases, A/V managers are looking at network and security systems to help manage equipment from remote locations and keep tabs on it. And in many cases, the A/V and IT departments are merging into one. Such a combined campus A/V-IT department is a prime example of the kind of convergence in technologies and technology management that has swept corporate America over the last five years. Now the term "convergence" is the Latest to be tossed around in A/V circles.

Converge is the word. But in point of fact, colleges and universities were some of the earliest adopters of the IT-A/V convergence concept, says Gary Kayye, of Kayye Consulting Group (www.kavve.com), a marketing and consulting firm to higher ed and other A/V industry segments. He explains that universities have accumulated quite a volume of A/V equipment, especially during the past five years as projector prices have come down. "Universities have 20 times the amount of [presentation] equipment that corporations have," Kayye points out. And even if corporations have the latest models and the newest systems, universities still have a greater level of usage of A/V technology, and thus greater numbers of projectors, display screens, VCRs, DVDs, and other components. "Corporations buy A/V equipment to help with training. But think about it," he quips, "all a university does is train."

Y2K history. What's more, says Kayye, in its own way, Y2K also helped move newer A/V equipment on to the campus and thus move the convergence movement along. Prior to 2000, university IT managers purchased computer hardware and software that would allow them to manage their systems better. After 2000, their attention turned to all assets, including A/V equipment. It made sense to start asking if there could be a more efficient way to manage everything, says Kayye. To date, he believes that more than half of the nation's Large universities have merged their IT and A/V departments. Now the trend is heading to small to midsize colleges, and community institutions.

Case in point is Sinclair Community College (OH), which runs its media services department as part of IT. Suzanna Thacker, cyberservice administrator of Media Services, notes that the department also has merged the help desks for A/V and IT. Students or faculty struggling with laptops, or grappling with DVD players and projectors out of sync in any of the 104 multimedia classrooms, can call a single, cross-trained team of staffers. One byproduct of such departmental and support mergers? A new generation of A/V sophisticates.

UNC: SUBLIME SUPPORT

Without a doubt, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was ahead of the curve when it Launched its convergence initiative in 1998. Now, five years later, UNC-Chapel Hill has an Information Technology Response Center dedicated to the optimum use of technology, purchasing equipment, training users, and troubleshooting problems. The seed of the center was planted in 1994, when UNC introduced its Institute for Academic Technology. Funded by IBM, the institute was attended by technology and academic leaders on campus who aimed to help professors develop applications and presentations. The institute not only morphed into the Information Technology Response Center, but the center, in turn, has spawned several support components. Joe Schuch, an early participant in the institute's activities, now dedicates his time to designing new learning centers and remodeling old classrooms so that they can accommodate appropriate presentation technology. As manager of Multimedia Classrooms, he also helps select equipment. Colleague Jeremiah Joyner manages the classroom hotline, UNC's help desk component. In turn, Joyner and his team of three technicians and one full-time student manager oversee and maintain the presentation equipment. In 2000, Joyner and his team launched a Web site (http://hotline.unc.edu/) that lists all multimedia classrooms on campus, all equipment available to instructors, plus instructions to get just about anyone started. But there's more.

Online hotline: total access. The online hotline has been categorized and cross-referenced, allowing professors to see whether any one of the 130 multimedia classrooms is low tech (an MCO distinction in the UNC system), middle of the road (at MC1), or high tech (MC2). Low-tech classrooms might include an active network port and an overhead projector, while a high-tech classroom would offer a desktop setup, laptop port, projector, motorized screens, and other equipment. Via the Web, a professor can obtain a Listing of all the classrooms and lecture halls that, for example, accommodate 75 students and have a projector, Internet connection, laptop, and DVD player. The browser-based support is backed up with one-on-one technology training provided by Joyner's staff, and onsite troubleshooting, if necessary.