Simply Connected: Recent Episodes
Data Projections
Simply Connected is a Bi-Monthly podcast that addresses technical challenges Schools and Business have. From virtualizing classrooms to virtualizing boardrooms, The Simply Connect team at Data Projections is well versed at solving those technical struggles in innovative ways.
It’s the season for scaring, so what better time to share some spooky AV integration stories from the field. There’s no ghosts or ghouls involved, but if tangled cable runs, tight crawl spaces and bailing wire-secured projectors are your idea of a frightening time, look no further!
A Giant Spider’s Web or a Tangled Mess of Cables? Sometimes it’s Hard to Tell The Difference It’s one of the most common spooky sights that AV professionals see out in the field – a gordian knot of cables that even a family of rats wouldn’t nest in (more on rat-related mishaps later).
Proper cable running and management are underrated parts of AV integration, so it’s easy to see why installers frequently run into hair-raising cable nightmares, like cables that start and end in places unseen. Or cables snaking like spaghetti, piled on the floor and without a single cable tie in sight. And that’s just the rack room. On the other end of the run, things can get even scarier, with cables punched through makeshift holes in the drywall or running along the floor in high traffic areas.
Most of the time, poor cable management is due to an inexperienced, rushed or just plain careless installer. If you’ve never done cable management before, it’s a lot harder than it looks. For experienced installers, though, there’s nothing spooky about arranging cables neatly.
How do they do it? By using a handful of tricks like the following:
- Planning where the cables will be routed before connecting anything.
- Color coding and labeling cables by function and destination.
- Bundling like cables together and securing them with ties.
- Running the cable out of the rack’s sides so technicians can access the hardware without cables getting in the way.
- Using cable management accessories like cable combs and bars.
In this case, the treat that comes after the tricks is a beautifully organized rack room.
They May Not Be Haunted, But Older Buildings Can Still Make an Installer’s Heart Pound If you’ve ever wondered why AV integrators ask so many building-related questions before starting a project, there’s a good reason for that. Even if you’ve worked in the same office building for decades, you’ve probably never crawled around in the ceiling, under the floor or behind the walls. Sound creepy? Slinking around in dark, tight spaces is just part of the job for AV installers. Hope you’re not claustrophobic.
Why do AV professionals hang out in crawl spaces? Mostly to figure out where the cable is going to be run, which is why you’ll get a lot of questions about facility access during the project’s initial planning phases.
And it’s no surprise that these old, musty spaces sometimes harbor wild animals, which are typically not happy to have visitors. We’ve heard stories, including one where a rat – it’s always rats – jumped out at a technician inspecting some hardware racks. We’re guessing those racks hadn’t been inspected in some time, giving the rat a chance to find a warm, cozy spot – perfect for staging a sneak attack. When you’re surveying crypt-like networking rooms in old buildings, it’s not uncommon to run into the occasional rodent ambush.
Every now and then, though, it’s the building itself that ambushes the installer. We’ve seen, for example, an entire drop ceiling collapse on one of our installation teams. Unsurprisingly, it was in an old school. Tasked with doing more with less, it’s often the case that school districts need to keep their old facilities around until they’re practically haunted. At least it feels that way for some AV installers.
No rats in the ceiling, though, which was a plus.
Nothing Scares an Integrator More Than “Creative” Installation MethodsFor many AV integrators, what frightens them the most is their own imagination. For example, imagine what could happen if a projector was suspended from the ceiling with nothing but bailing wire. What if it fell during a class or meeting? Now that would be scary, and potentially dangerous.
Or what if your business took apart its expensive video wall – we’re talking a 3×3 here – and tried to perform maintenance on it without any in-house AV expertise, voiding the warranty in the process?
Yes, it’s terrifying to think about, but stories like these demonstrate why partnering with a certified AV integrator is so important. If those organizations had a maintenance agreement in place, they could’ve avoided the kind of mistakes that make facility managers turn white with fright. That’s why reputable AV integrators prioritize long-term maintenance contracts for their clients – it’s no trick.
How Do AV Integrators Face Their Fears? With a Detailed Needs Analysis and Site Survey As you can see, AV installers run into the scariest stuff during the initial phases of integration. Prior installation mishaps, extremely outdated technology, structural challenges, the occasional rodent on attack – these usually emerge before any hardware has been installed.
That’s why experienced AV integrators spend time and effort on a thorough needs analysis meeting and site survey. If there are any potential obstacles the installation team needs to know about – like a disintegrating drop ceiling – they’re discovered during the project’s planning stages. It’s during this stage that the AV team will take note of each room’s layout, size, construction, and access points, including scary crawl spaces that no one wants to go into.
That is, no one but experienced AV integrators, as they are accustomed to dealing with the spooky side of technology installation.
The post Simply Connected Halloween Edition: Spooky AV Stories appeared first on Data Projections - .
Cameras are an integral part of the corporate and education technology experience in today’s world. While this is something most of us can agree on, the challenge becomes what type of camera and set up is best for each unique space’s technology needs? To make the most of camera views, microphone reach, and production capabilities, one of the smartest things a client can do to enhance the experience is work with a professional integrator.
What Types of Cameras Are Used Today for Audiovisual?
Decades ago, most people considered camera usage for audiovisual to be primarily camcorders, which eventually progressed to phones. Technically, these two types of cameras play into the broadcast news arena, but not so much in commercial AV.
In commercial AV, the following types of cameras are the most commonly used for audiovisual purposes:
- When it comes to audiovisual for education K-12, camcorders and phones tend not to be the primary go-to for technology. In this scenario, the main type of camera used is one that is installed and mounted on a wall, ceiling, or tripod as a fixed installation that does not move around.
- PTZ, or pan-tilt-zoom cameras, are sometimes used because of their ability to zoom in and back out, and also shift from left to right.
- All-in-one cameras have a sound bar camera and microphone. It can look similar to the sound bar that many of us have at home for our TVs.
- Document cameras are used to put a picture of a document onto a screen. These types of cameras are typically used in classrooms or courtrooms.
The bottom line is that a camera used in commercial AV today is one that offers multiple types of connectivity.
The Best Types of Cameras for Optimum Connectivity
When it comes to technology today, the two primary types of cameras used are:
- HDMI
- USB
HDMI cameras generally feature better methods of transporting data longer distances. Particularly if there is more than one camera in a given room or space, integrators prefer these cameras because it more easily transports data over long distances and it more seamlessly switches between multiple cameras.
USB cameras offer software driven features and flexibility that HDMI does not. If utilizing only a single camera or if a specific type of smart technology is needed for the space, integrators may recommend USB camera usage.
Because HDMI and USB cameras are used for different needs, it is not unusual for both technologies to be used. For example, if a space utilizes an HDMI camera, it may eventually be needed to convert to USB so that it can be used on a person’s laptop or be used on a video conferencing platform. So why use HDMI if you may have to convert it? The primary reason is versatility.
An integrator can break out HDMI into multiple signals. This allows one signal to be sent to USB devices for video conferencing and the overflow to be sent to the lobby or even another conference room. This capability only works for spaces that use multiple cameras.
The key to finding the best type of camera for optimum connectivity in your space is to work with a professional AV integrator to help you create the specific kind of experience you want, whether that be strictly for video conferencing or for a grander production scale.
Controlling a PTZ Camera to Offer Different Viewpoints Within a Space
PTZ cameras typically work off of a manufacturer remote to move it up, down, left, right, and preset or fixed positions. Sometimes it may be possible to do a wide angle shot of a room that captures the audience or participants and another camera that focuses on the presenter. If using an HDMI camera, these images can then be stitched together.
In addition to showing two different viewpoints at one time, HDMI cameras will allow an integrator to manipulate the sizes of the images to perhaps make the footage of the presenter larger than that of their audience, if the client so desires.
The best way to know what viewpoints a client will need with a PTZ camera is by having them work with the integrator to discuss what kind of footage they envision of an event. It could be:
- Presenter only
- Classroom only
- Picture in picture
- Moving the camera
- Stitching two images together
This information gives an integrator the data they need to set up the right type of technology within a space.
Usually, cameras look to see if someone is within a preset area or a digitally drawn space in the camera. Programmers can set an area to pick up movement without producing a terribly jerky motion. Microphones can trigger a signal to cameras that there is sound-based movement there and to catch that area. Most soundbars look for a person being in a physical area and then if they are talking, they can zoom in on them.
Each client has to decide if they want stationary presets or a production that requires a program operator.
How to Create a Pleasant Camera Experience for the Far End User
In conference and boardrooms, the main goal is to frame the picture so the far side can see the entire group and be able to focus on specific people who are talking. This can sometimes create a dizzying effect for some viewers, and to help mitigate that, AV integrators:
- encourage clients to review demos before installing the technology
- ensure the client is comfortable with the technology, which increases proficiency
- review the space and environment to address any problems that could hinder the picture, such as sunlight from windows
Part of creating a more pleasant camera experience is to know when it is time to trade from a true PTZ camera to a sound bar. To make the best choice, it comes down to the physical size of the room. All-in-one cameras can be better for small and narrow spaces, and they are USB devices.
The breakover is deciding if a client wants more than one camera and the size of the physical room. Often the room dimensions will lead the way as to where to start in terms of valid camera choices for the effect a client wants to achieve.
If you are interested in evaluating what type of camera technology would be best for your classroom, boardroom, or corporate area, it is highly recommended to work with a reputable AV integrator. The professionals have the capacity to give life to your vision with the ideal camera setup.
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Learning is the focus of education, but how we all learn can be very different, and that is not a bad thing. One of our favorite professional resources for this topic is Dr. Lance Ford, who has a lengthy history in education, specifically in finding technology solutions that are valuable to the classroom. In addition to being a teacher for about twenty-nine years, Dr. Ford also acts as a ZoomRoom Educator, in which he works with educators who are exploring the Zoom platform or need assistance in tying it into the classroom to help students learn.
More importantly, Dr. Ford is excited about the value of learning when it is done in a way that reaches students where they are and inspires them to grow.
The Value of Learning
The goal of learning is to learn something new and help other people with that knowledge to, in turn, enable them to achieve what they want to do. This is the foundational concept of education. However, there are some challenges that should be addressed to facilitate learning, specifically:
- Impacting learners
- Individualizing learning
- Using flipped classrooms
- Understanding that time is boundless for the knowledge transfer process
By exploring what each of these areas means and how they can impact the education process, it can be possible to empower both teachers and students to create an environment tailor-made for learning.
Impacting Learners
In standard classrooms, the following situation happens in some shape or format:
- A bell rings, signaling the start of class (or for college classes, there is a certain day and time of the week for class)
- Students come to sit in the class
- The teacher begins sharing knowledge with them
- The student takes notes on the knowledge
- The student is able to regurgitate that knowledge back to the teacher via an assessment process
- A student’s understanding of a subject or topic is strongly based on the results of that test or assessment
During the pandemic, learners were impacted differently. Limited remote teaching methods that are quickly employed during an emergency situation, such as moving to learning online, can make it hard to individualize the learning process. Students had multiple challenges to pandemic learning, including:
- Various learning styles
- Unique ways of engaging in content
- Access to technology
- Limited ability to see nonverbal signs if they did not have video capabilities
Yet, because of the experience educators and students had during pandemic-related remote learning, it has yielded more tools that can be used in combination with other methods to individualize learning so that every student can benefit, even when in the classroom. For example, video communications that took place during that time allowed teachers and students to make their lives more relatable to each other as they interacted, adding an important relationship component that enhanced the overall learning experience.
Ways to Individualize Learning for Students When They Are All Unique
Ford believes in starting with the desired outcome and the educator working their way back to the student’s individual level. When an educator programs a student’s interests (or lack thereof) to cross-pollinate with other students to share their perspectives on things, a genuine learning experience can occur. It allows students to relate to each other (even if they are in different places in their education) in a way that might not necessarily happen with their teacher.
As far as students being in different places, educators can enhance the educational experience by taking into account where learners are when they get to the classroom. If students are able to learn from each other through cross-pollination as well as learning from the educator, it provides additional avenues for students to learn from. These can vary from student to student, teacher to student, hands-on projects, or even asynchronous learning. Everyone can learn from each other in some fashion in this type of community.
It is important to remember not every student’s knowledge base may be the same in terms of what educational powers that be determined as a predefined cannon for acceptable outcomes and assessment. However, educators can take what a student knows, bring it into that canon, and then spin that diamond of knowledge to reflect on them where they are and scaffold that knowledge to where they need to go.
Enhancing Classroom Learning Time
While classroom learning time is an asset, there are ways to make that time count for more. Some of Ford’s favorites include flipped learning and personalized video lessons.
In a flipped learning scenario, it includes an educator teaching either at their whiteboard or computer, in addition to audio. These teachings can be recorded and offered to students at night before the next day’s lesson. This can have two positive effects:
- Deeper classroom discussions. Students will come to class ready to discuss ideas on a topic because they already have the basic knowledge from the video. This allows more creativity and interaction for students to learn from their peers and their different ideas. This honors the time a teacher and their students spend in the classroom together, with everyone weighing in and learning from each other instead of listening to a teacher simply disseminate information.
- Personalize learning. Even if the information is already available via the internet or another source, it can have a greater impact on a student when it is their own teacher presenting the information. Students are more apt to approach their teacher with questions if that teacher is the person they learned it from. This also enhances the student-teacher relationship.
Learning Should Be Muli-Faceted
Learning is no respecter of time and location. Learning is applied knowledge. In other words, learning is not confined to the classroom, five days a week during class. Instead, it can happen any time people go to apply knowledge and are struggling with it. They need to get from where they are now, with the information they do not know, to where they need to go.
Time can be boundless for the knowledge transfer process. This means educators should provide kids multiple options for when they learn and then meet them where they are as opposed to where they want them to be. This does not mean teachers should be available 24/7 to their students. What it does mean is that educators should not feel like a failure if they teach an 8 a.m. English class, and the kids are not ready to learn. However, it may require the educator thinking of alternative ways to get information to students outside the confines of the classroom so that time in class can be more lively and productive when the students arrive.
Kids need educators to reach them where they are. Everyone can learn, and everyone can have potential because it is never too late to do the right thing. It simply requires educators to figure out how to move forward in a way that better engages the student.
As educators look to engage students in new ways and have learning take new forms, technology in the classroom is key. Technology should not be restricted to remote instruction but used in a way that can make even classroom-based learning more effective.
The post Episode 11: The Value of Learning appeared first on Data Projections - .
Particularly in recent years, education technology has become an integral part of learning for students. Although some campuses adopted modern technology during the height of the pandemic mainly to facilitate virtual or remote education, the result is that it has enabled most schools today to have access to technology for use inside the classroom as […]
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When a company decides they are ready to take action in either establishing or upgrading technology, or even improving the existing infrastructure of an audiovisual system, it can make for a much smoother process if they understand the steps an AV integrator goes through, the questions they ask, and why they do what they do. […]
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