The Type of AV that You Can Feel
What about AV makes it interactive and worth talking about? I would assume this is different than just hanging a standard projector in a room that is hooked up to an input source and walking away. This is the type of AV that I think has the room for the most growth and can be intriguing because it allows us to be immersed in what we are interested in or what we are trying to learn. Plus, we are all tired of just staring at a PowerPoint!
Currently, at my school, we don’t have much of this AV happening partially probably because of the cost factor, but it might also be because there has not been a vision for what it could provide or what it would let us do. eSports also is a great way to make your campus attractive to students that want to use tech and this allows the school to have a program that is new and growing. If you are not considering eSports, though, I would like to talk about some other interesting options for making tech immersive and more than just stale images. So what are some good examples of this?
Visiting places remotely, allowing people to tour buildings before they are built, holograms, interactive responses, and projection mapping are just a few of the ways AV can come alive. I think now that Zoom is here to stay people will also find ways to creatively bring people in from afar so it seems like they are just with us. That can be anything from better camera angles or a virtual background that livens up the discussion. The Wall at Edmonton Public Library is an example of a project that can take AV and transform the space into something that catches our attention and invites us to interact. AV can be used to transform the environment and to help us learn about any topic that we choose.
How can we create these kinds of AV opportunities at a small university with a limited budget? I think we can start by giving guidelines for content. Having ways for people to connect with the message. People enjoy when they can shape the narrative or discover the options that are possible. Too often it feels like we go through life listening to a message that goes in one ear and then out another. What about our experience will cause the user to remember what our vision was? Flashy can sometimes help but allowing us to be part of the process causes the person to connect with the subject and personalize it. The other important detail that I would suggest is to start small to make sure this is something that you want to do. This will then give you a chance to see how well things can scale since not everything can be duplicated easily.
These would be some of the same suggestions that I would give to a small school starting an eSports team. Figure out what is a good starting point and do that. This will let you test the waters and get comfortable with what you have. The other helpful idea would be to go visit an install. There are all types of good immersive AV at other schools and eSports labs are going up like crazy as well. This allows you to network with others and to learn what it is that you can do that will allow you to succeed. Seeing the product in use just gives you a new appreciation for what all is involved and what the vision behind the equipment is.
Lastly, I would always encourage you to talk to your stakeholders on campus. They are usually the ones paying the bill and they are going to be the group that benefits from the tech that you install. Growing this relationship will always pay dividends. They need to know that you are on their team and able to help. I believe this also allows us on the support side to take some ownership of what is happening. This connects us to the vision of the school which then hopefully translates to us being able to carry that forward with what gets used.
Interactive AV, while not the bread and butter of our industry yet, can be so powerful since it allows us to be able to connect with the topic of choice. We are part of delivering that message and tech is what makes the experience memorable. I hope we all get a chance to dive into some of these options soon and when you do please share your story with others!