Presented by Logitech
My Take: What Are the Essentials for Higher Ed AV Leaders to Scale Their Tech?
By Gaurav Bradoo
Hybrid learning is now a fixture in higher education, with 80% of students having taken at least one hybrid class. It’s a top priority for colleges and universities to equip a growing variety of active learning spaces with AV technology that enhances engagement and scales effectively. Modern institutions feature rich learning ecosystems that include everything from seminar-style classrooms to labs and makerspaces (a collaborative workspace inside a school, library or facility). That range of learning environments makes it an exciting time to be a student, but it does present AV challenges.
It’s summer as I write this, and while AV and IT teams prepare for back-to-school planning, many are also entering the next five-year refresh cycle for the equipment they installed during the pandemic. They are asking themselves difficult questions: How do we implement uniform technology across such varied environments? How do we ensure ease of use for faculty and students? How do we select systems that are future-proof and that can scale without adding a lot of complexity? And, perhaps most importantly, what technologies allow us to accomplish all that while boosting engagement and improving academic outcomes?
How do we ensure ease of use for faculty and students?
There are a few essential criteria AV and IT leaders should use to define and implement scalable AV standards that support the evolving needs of hybrid and active learning. These considerations will also help set institutions up for long-term success in the next generation of higher education.
Ease of Installation
Scaling AV across a campus filled with diverse and aging infrastructure makes ease of installation an absolute necessity. With many buildings that are centuries old and built with unique wiring schemes and room layouts, colleges and universities tend to discover that the wrong tech solutions lead to upgrades during installation. Those upgrades, even the small ones, can turn into multi-year projects. I’m often reminded of a conversation I had with a higher ed AV specialist who told me, “In one of my classrooms, I needed three outlets to be installed. It took a year and a half.”
Those upgrades, even the small ones, can turn into multi-year projects.
This struggle is not uncommon, and they show why modern AV solutions must minimize installation complexity. Smart design elements like twist-and-lock mounts, cable management features or single-cable connectivity, and minimized components
significantly reduce setup time and disruption. Solutions that operate without requiring proximity to power outlets or central control rooms offer even more flexibility.
Ultimately, scalable systems require less time from AV teams up front and fewer future updates to maintain. By reducing hardware sprawl and installation requirements, institutions can roll out technology faster and more consistently.
Ease of Use
No matter how advanced an AV system is, it won’t deliver value if faculty and students can’t use it easily. Solutions that are overly complex often lead to increased support tickets, lengthy training sessions, and eventual disuse, especially when new faculty are hired. These obstacles reduce return on investment.
Ease of use should be a core standard. Plug-and-play solutions that work intuitively across different spaces let instructors focus on lectures rather than troubleshooting their video conferencing platform or camera. Adoption increases when faculty can walk into any classroom and start a lecture without IT assistance. As adoption increases, so does the impact of hybrid teaching.
Ease of use should be a core standard.
User-friendly design also improves consistency and student engagement. If each learning space offers a familiar, reliable experience, students can stay focused more easily.
Compatibility, Interoperability, and Support
Compatibility, interoperability, and support are equally critical. Faculty should be able to use the platforms they’re already comfortable with—like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet—without friction. AV and IT leaders should prioritize solutions that integrate smoothly into existing tech ecosystems to decrease the burden of training, boost adoption, and enable rollouts at scale.
Standardizing on solutions that are compatible and interoperable also means less hardware is needed per room. Implementing tech setups that don’t require adapters or interfaces reduces complexity, cost, and maintenance.
Finally, solutions backed by strong technical support improve scalability by reducing downtime, the time it takes to solve problems, and the load on campus AV teams. If faculty and staff can rely on responsive, expert assistance, institutions can deploy and maintain AV systems with confidence across a wide range of learning environments.
As higher education embraces hybrid/hyflex learning models, AV and IT leaders have a critical opportunity to define technology standards for scalability. By prioritizing ease of installation, ease of use, cross-platform flexibility, and strong customer support,
institutions can equip every learning space—not just lecture halls—for the years ahead. With thoughtful planning and the right technology partners, AV teams will be ready to future-proof their campuses and give faculty and students the experience they expect.
Institutions can equip every learning space—not just lecture halls—for the years ahead
With a background in electrical engineering, business strategy, product design & innovation, Gaurav is passionate about creating tangible products that enhance the daily lives of people. He has driven product and portfolio management focused around 0-1 and 1-x problem spaces in the consumer electronics industry, created multiple hardware platforms with his Logitech teams, and launched award-winning products based on them.
Connect with Gaurav:
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gauravbradoo
