Why do we do this?
Hi gang. It has been a hot minute since we last spoke and I am sure that everyone is doing great, right? Everyone has full staff, ample budgets, and plenty of equipment for your summer upgrade activities. No? Well as John McClain most famously said during his defense of Nakatomi Tower, “Welcome to the party pal.”
This is probably the most stressful environment that I can remember working in the technology industry. There has been an explosion of technology usage during the pandemic with the rapid adoption of hybrid, hyflex, whathaveyou, which has led to higher expectations for both what our spaces can do as well as how our staff can better enable faculty to utilize these technologies to deliver instruction and facilitate research. I know our institution has seen an uptick in support requests and requests for more equipment since things got back to “normal”. There have been a ton of pieces about the return to normal, so I am not going to add to that pile, but what I do want to ask is why do we do this? By this I mean work in Higher Ed technology.
Higher Education is by its very nature a little chaotic. A few chaos forces out-of-the-box thinking and keeps people engaged. But at what point do the challenges outweigh our ability to remain flexible? Equipment shortages and punchline-worthy lead times (40+ weeks for some items), hiring challenges, and the ever-evolving nature of our industry are ratcheting up the stress. I would not be truthful if I didn’t say that there has been more than one occasion where I question why I am doing this. But I stick with it because, for me, the challenges are worth it.
Helping our customers is one of the most satisfying experiences in this work. I have said time and again that Higher Ed is different. We are not producing a product or selling a widget. We are a knowledge and research business. And there are many ways that we help with this from designing and equipping different room types, assisting with streaming classes all over the world, and working with faculty and students on how to better assist them with teaching and learning.
Collaborating and working with other AV professionals is the lifeblood of the Higher Ed technology industry. I consider the equipment, designs, product development, etc. the byproduct of these relationships. It would be interesting to do a study on the impact of knowledge sharing on how we do our jobs. I have learned more interacting and talking with you folks than I have ever learned from a webinar or manufacturer training session. If I need an equipment recommendation or help to develop a strategy on how to overcome a challenge, I am reaching out to the Higher Ed community as my first step. You all know better than anyone how we should be doing things.
I do have to throw in technology at some point in these ramblings. Showing what can be done to meet the needs of our faculty and students can be a rush sometimes. When a faculty member brings a unique scenario to the table, it is a lot of fun figuring out how to make it work and meet their needs. Pushing the limits and trying new things keeps this work exciting and new.
So enough of my ramblings, I want to hear why you do this. What makes you tough out the rough patches and fight through the challenges. Shoot me a message on the Twitter and let me know why you do this.
Get to Know BC Hatchett
BC Hatchett, M.A.Ed. is the Associate Director for Classroom Technology with Vanderbilt University Information Technology. He holds a master’s degree in education and has worked in higher education technology management for 15 years. BC is also one of the co-founders of the Higher Education Technology Managers Alliance (HEMTA) which is working to provide a greater voice for the higher education technology industry. He is extremely passionate about serving his institution and providing the best possible experience to Vanderbilt’s faculty, staff, and students. Outside of work, BC enjoys spending time with family, friends, watching the Nashville Predators, and quoting The Big Lebowski as often as possible. Feel free to connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.