Higher Ed Av Podcast

Kevin Jahnke is the Manager of Classroom Services at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and has been with UWM for over 20 years in progressively responsible roles in addition to completion of both BA and MLIS degrees through UWM. In his current position he is responsible for technology oversight of 170 General Assignment Classrooms, 7 full time staff and 15 students. This position requires a combination of planning, purchasing, programming, and design as well as leadership responsibility for the team. Kevin is affiliated with CCUMC, UBTech and InfoComm (AVIXA) as a member of the Technology Manager’s Council as well as the UW-System Educational Media Technology Council and UW-System IT Management Council. Additionally, Kevin has completed the InfoComm (AVIXA) CTS and Crestron DMC-E certifications and attends industry events, workshops and conferences regularly.As for projects one of the bigger things that’s happening right now at UW-Milwaukee is a Shared Services initiative. This is a multi-year project tha

What happens when you're the IT person and all of a sudden in charge of the AV department? What is the transition like? What do you need to know and how do you find the right resources? Ben Lewis, AV Manager at the University of Oklahoma, discusses his transition from the IT side to the AV management side at OU. We talk about where resources can be found, building industry relationships, and transferable skills. I also surprise Ben with a cameo appearance by Lexi Peters from Episode 4.

ISE 2020 has come to a close. What were the takeaways? Did it live up to the hype and did Coronavirus or the weather truly impact the feel? I discuss the show with Adam Harvey, Stephen Bell, and James Scutt from the University of Hertfordshire. We cover the products that stood out to us, the issues facing the show, their award winning service team, and a synopsis of the LTSMG conference.Learn more about ISE on Twitter at @ISE_Show and online at https://www.ISEeurope.org.Connect with Adam Harvey on Twitter at @AdmHrv and on LinkedIn, Stephen Bell on Twitter at @StephenBellAV and on LinkedIn, and James Scutt on Twitter at @JAScutt1 and on LinkedIn. Learn more about the University of Hertfordshire on Twitter at @UniOfHerts and online at https://www.herts.ac.uk.

ISE 2020 is off the a crazy start! I am excited to kick off the conversation with two incredible women in AV, Amy Redfearn from Involve VC & AV Jam UK and Alesia Hendley (aka The Smooth Factor) from Access Networks. We talk about the major issues facing the show including CoronaVirus, travel weather, and trends in AV. The ladies offer their top three predictions for this year’s show. Oh, and Jason Ward and Noel Kennedy from AV Jam make a special cameo.Huge THANK YOU to Harman for use of their podcast studio. Connect with Harman on Twitter at @Harman_Pro. And learn more about them online at https://pro.harman.com. Be sure to check out the LyraAKG mic and their new AV management systems.

I love when I get a chance to chat with some of our incredible #AVTweeps! This week, I welcome on Jon Bannan, Associate Director of Media & Technology Support Services at The College of New Jersey, located in Ewing, NJ, where he has been for over 22 years.Jon started out working for a private IT support firm. Fast forward a couple of years, a marriage and his first child on the way and Jon made the jump into the higher ed world when the opportunity arose. When Jon started, the College had 0 technology enabled spaces installed on campus and all classroom technology was delivered by a team of 30 student workers. Since 1999, the College has implemented over 300+ tech enabled spaces and the number increases weekly.The current A/V team is made up of 5 full time staff and 12 student technicians which are responsible for A/V design and project management of new construction/renovations, daily support of all campus spaces, academic, administrative, athletic, student spaces, annual A/V refreshes, etc. The team is

While giving the keynote at the Northwest Managers of Educational Technology (NW/MET) Conference last year, the event quickly became my favorite regional AV event. This year’s conference is being held at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, April 22-24, 2020. Jon Loney, Manager of Instructional Multimedia Services (IMS) joins the show to discuss this year’s conference by giving us a preview of the sessions and social events planned. We also discuss AV on campus and Jon’s role at Whitman College. Oh, find out the significance of “wine,” “onion,” “wheat,” and “apples.”Learn more about the Northwest Managers of Educational Technology (NW/MET) and register online at https://www.nwmet.org. Follow NW/MET on Twitter at @NWMET, Facebook, and Instagram.Connect with Jon Loney by email at loneyjs@whitman.edu and on LinkedIn. Learn more about Whitman College on Twitter at @WhitmanCollege and online at https://www.whitman.edu.

Technology on campuses is always evolving. The longer you’re around, the more change you see. No one knows that better than Willie Franklin, Senior Technology Specialist at Otterbein University in Westerville, OH. We discuss the changes throughout time, his current and previous roles, and campus projects including digital signage, active learning classrooms, servicing live events, and networked video. Oh, and Willie even turns the table and starts asking me questions! Willie’s events DJ’ing skills come to play!Connect with Willie Franklin by email at wfranklin@otterbein.edu. Learn more about Otterbein University on Twitter at @Otterbein and online at https://www.otterbein.edu.

AV in higher ed is more than just making sure our classrooms are functional, there is a human factor as well. How should we communicate with our teams, run meetings, deal with generational differences, and even have the hard conversations of performance management and disciplinary actions. Kathy Dooley joins the show to discuss.

In what ways do the women in AV have to sacrifice their femininity in order to thrive or even just survive in the industry? Do women have to be “one of the boys”? Are there resources available to find other women with similar life situations in order to support one another. Kari Martinez explored these issues in a groundbreaking “Girls/Women Lifestyle” survey. I welcome her to the show to explore the findings as well as discuss what we as an industry can do from here. Are we on the right track? What needs to change, and what changes can we make?You can view and download the full report here: https://www.thekarimartinez.com/girls-women-lifestyle-survey.Connect with Kari Martinez on Twitter at @thekarimartinez or on her website at https://www.thekarimartinez.com. Find her also on Instagram and LinkedIn.Looking for resources for women in the industry? Get involved with the AVIXA Women’s Council on Twitter at @AVIXAWomen or online at https://www.avixa.org/about-avixa/membership/committees-councils/avixa-women-s-c

That’s a wrap! The inaugural HETMA Virtual Conference closed with a bang. This week we bring you the audio recording of the “Ask Us Anything” AV Happy Hour moderated by Gary Kayye of rAVe Pubs. Along with the HETMA Steering Committee, we explore all the hot topics that came up during the week’s sessions including AV-over-IP (AVoIP), AV as a Service (AVaaS), eSports, managed services, and more. We answer listener questions and take a deep dive into the issues facing higher ed tech managers (aka “in-house integrators”). The episode closes with final conference take-aways and ideas for where HETMA goes from here.Check out all the sessions on the HETMA YouTube page (and subscribe) at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC34BQqMs5DmI88ljYrb7OJw. Episodes posting daily. (Hey! Editing takes work!)Learn more and join the Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance (HETMA) online at https://www.HETMA.org. Connect on all social media channels: Twitter at @HETMA_org, Instagram at @HETMA_org, and Facebook at https://www.f

What is the State of Higher Ed? The 2019 Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance Virtual (HETMA) Conference is happening this week. Co-Founders Joe Way of USC and BC Hatchett from Vanderbilt deliver the opening keynote address to discuss where we are as an AV vertical, as well as give a preview of the sessions to come. What issues are we facing today, and what do we need to be aware of in the near future? Joe and BC make predictions and take audience calls in exploring the topics to come. What do we need to know about AV-over-IP, AVaaS, eSports, vendor relations, accessibility, and more? Take a listen and register for the remainder of the week at https://www.hetma.org/#conference.Learn more about the Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance (HETMA) online at https://www.HETMA.org. Connect on all social media channels: Twitter at @HETMA_org, Instagram at @HETMA_org, and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HETMA-Higher-Education-Technology-Managers-Alliance-2165716436980535/.Connect with Joe Way on

The most important thing we have in higher ed is our team. Hear James King, Audio Visual Speciality at Stockton University, discuss the importance of them investing in one another, even to the point where many of their current staff were former student workers.James started as an AV student worker at Stockton University, moved into IT, and finally back to AV. After a re-org, he and his team fall under IT once again. We discuss the AV-over-IP phenomenon and what we as AV tech managers need to know to be prepared in the future. We talk about bringing AV in-house and the move from programmable to configurable AV, as well as the multiple areas of AV expertise needed from IT to Audio to Video, design and programming. Oh, and a campus on the beach?!Connect with James King on Twitter at @AV_JamesKing on LinkedIn. Learn more about the Stockton University on Twitter at @Stockton_edu online at https://www.stockton.edu.

The Senior Learning Environments Support Analysts at the University of Southern California, Jimmie Singleton and Anton Zeiher, discuss their respective roles in building the customer support department for USC's classroom technologies. How does having an operations team and a customer experience team help ensure both the hardware and functionality compliment the user satisfaction and needs of the faculty and staff? Hear how Anton and Jimmie work together to accomplish their common goal.As an integral part of USC ITS's Digital Transformation, Jimmie and Anton discuss the transition from each side. Jimmie discusses coming into the new organization from the outside and having the courage to challenge the norms in order to create an excellent customer experience. Anton discussed what it's like to go through a reorganization and offers advice for those dealing with restructuring and new methodologies. "Be the change you seek."Connect with Jimmie Singleton on Twitter at @Jimy_Singleton and on LinkedIn. Connect with

We've been teasing this for months, but now it's finally here! The HETMA Virtual Conference! On this episode, the Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance steering committee members discuss the upcoming virtual conference and think tank, happening December 9-11, 2019. As technology managers it is important that we have an open forum to discuss the issues, challenges, and solutions necessary to be successful in our daily roles. This is the purpose of the HETMA Virtual Conference. Sign up for the free webinar-style conference at the HETMA website at http://www.hetma.org. We provide an overview of a few of the sessions as well as begin the dialogue that will continue into the conference. Topics include: The State of Higher Ed AV, AV-over-IP, Accessibility and Universal Design, AVaaS (AV as a Service), eSports, Vendor Relationships, Classroom Staffing and HR, and a AV Happy Hour "Ask Us Anything" Session.HETMA is an advocacy organization focused on the higher education AV industry. The goal of HETMA is to r

What is it like to go through a re-org and into a digital transformation? Chi Hang Lo, AVIT Solutions Architect at the University of Southern California (and my secret weapon) joins the show to discuss the new ITS vision. We discuss USC's AVoIP proof-of-concept currently underway and the pros and cons of the various current offerings, as well as our recent enterprise digital signage integration.Chi talks about vendor management and the process of working with departments and end users in a federated environment. What does good customer service look like, and how can being skilled in other areas, like IT and (real) architecture help serve our customers? How can being a current Master's student in Dr. Dre's and Jimmy Iovine's new Integrated Design, Business, and Technology program through the USC Iovine and Young Academy help inform how to design classrooms? Chi talks about the importance of truly understanding needs of the customer before creating the solution.

This week we welcome Adam Harvey to the show. We discuss the recent summer upgrades at the University of Hertfordshire, including an enterprise digital signage integration. Last time Adam was on we discussed his team's AV Awards win; this year they were finalists once again. Find out how they keep demonstrating quality customer service. Finally, we talk about the LTSGM conference for higher education technology managers being held at the University of Cambridge, November 13-15, 2019, ad the UK's premier opportunity to learn and share among peers.

In August 2019 a good friend of the AV industry, Corey Moss, suffered a stroke. While he is on the road to recovery, we still miss his heart-felt input to the AV industry through Convergent AV and The AV Life Podcast. I felt that as I come back for Season 2, it would only be appropriate to dedicate the first episode as a tribute to his work. I am joined this week by many of the regulars on The AV Life podcast, and I attempt to do my best Corey, following his format and lighthearted camaraderie. This episode is filled with laughs, tears, trips down memory lane, and even "the firing range" (pew pew). Oh, and we even talk AV, getting great insights on digital readiness from a wide range of industry perspectives.Corey is still months away from full recovery, so we do encourage you to consider donating to Corey's Go Fund Me. And do check out Corey's great podcast and article content available at ConvergentAV.net. You can connect with Corey Moss on Twitter at @CBMoss and The AV Life podcast on Twitter at @The_AVLif

CCUMC 2019 is upon us! We have a great introduction and preview to the upcoming Consortium of College and University Media Centers' Annual Conference being held October 2-5, 2019, at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. We have the three presidents on with us today: (1) Past President Kathleen Dooley, Director of Media Resources at Midwestern University; (2) Current President Jim Pierret from Carleton College (Retired); and (3) President-Elect Gina Sansivero, VP of Marketing and Corporate Communications at AltasIED. We discuss the unique format of CCUMC and how attendees become more than just conference participants, but true higher ed family.

Nathan Paterson, Audiovisual Architect at Australian National University in Canberra, AU, rejoins the show. Formerly at Abertay University in Scotland, Nathan discusses what it is like to transition from one role to another, including traveling across the globe to do so. What are some of the similarities? What are the differences? What type of learning curve exists when moving from one campus with its technologies and procedures to another? Hear him discuss how ANU seeks to ensure there are "no digital islands."

As tech managers, we cannot succeed without relationships, especially our vendor relationships. Joe talks with Jason Ward and Chris Smith from UK-based Involve VC about the importance of understanding client needs, as well as the future direction of pro-AV. We discuss cloud services, benefits vs. technology, AVaaS, PSNI, InfoComm, podcasting, and why Aston Villa is the best football team in English Premier League. Jason is the Sales & Marketing Director and Chris works as the Channel Manager for Involve Visual Collaboration.