Time Flies When You Are Having Fun | Small World AV
Everyone could not wait for 2021 to start after 2020 was one of the toughest years to be alive and now just like that 2021 is almost over. What have we learned this year about AV in Higher Ed? We all strategized on the best way to get through moving online and into HyFlex. Some things worked and some things did not. We have some tech that is still being used and some tech that has been thrown aside. What can we take forward that will allow us to continue on this journey as we still move into an unknown future in 2022?
Patience and flexibility I think are the two main things I have learned the most in this year as we begin to move forward in this new era of living on Planet Earth. Things will never be the same and we are the agents of helping people adjust to this new reality. Working from home is a new paradigm our schools need to figure out. How we can use this to make our campus a better place is the key instead of dwelling on negatives or how things were done in the past. We want to make our jobs a more attractive and diverse place to work. This, I hope, can also lead to a better work-life balance. I have stressed patience a bunch this year because every project seems to take longer and we even have more hoops to jump through than we use to. Nothing shows up on time, prices have gone up, and slim budgets are even tighter. We also have more demands for what we need to support and adopt. This is good because that means people want to use tech but we need to know what that means in terms of long-term support so this is where we need to work on finding flexible solutions that can maybe meet different needs. Finding a way that we can accommodate one set of goals without turning away another group is the key to all of this. I have learned that I need to be more open to change instead of thinking that I know all the answers or that things have to happen a certain way because that is the only way I know. Change is coming fast and the reality is that it won’t probably slow down anytime soon.
The other main question I have wrestled with this year is what does hybrid mean going forward? That could be hybrid learning, hybrid events, hybrid meetings, hybrid whatever. How do we decide when it works and how do we decide what is needed? How do we decide when it does not work as well and the gathering should be all in person or all online. This is what I am trying to help people figure out. At least on my campus, people like Zoom and almost prefer it now for meetings. So what does that mean? What can we do so that anyone can participate at will? When does that meeting need to be hybrid or all in person and how can we support that better? These are questions that still need to be fleshed out but I think we will be part of what happens in this next year. Online meetings are not going away so how do we make them better and do we include those that can’t be in person to events that need to be hybrid so that they can feel welcomed as well. This allows us to grow our net and market our product if we do it wisely. I look forward to how tech can help us do this better in 2022.
The other lesson learned is that it takes a village. If you don’t have a network to lean on, please reach out to other AV folks. Hearing what others are facing and learning about what is possible with a product or solution that you have not used yet is something you can’t quantify how valuable this is. Special thanks to everything that Joe Way, James King, and Dwayne Smith have done to further AV and our community. Please don’t let anyone tell you that one person can’t make a difference. It is great to be able to share ideas and to collaborate and my favorite is always taking tours and seeing installs in person. This is so helpful and gives us a chance to see AV in action.
We can’t predict what will happen next year but I hope that you have the tools to navigate these turbulent seas. AV is now front and center for the masses so we have the chance to continue to make a difference. All the best as you celebrate the holidays with those closest to you. 2021 will soon be over and then we can enjoy the fun that I am sure 2022 will provide!