Video Conferencing

Athens State University—like many institutions of higher education today—is grappling with the challenges of a growing segment of students who take classes online. In fact, 51 percent of the two-year school’s student body takes classes exclusively online. To best serve those students by providing them with the flexibility to view course content anytime, anywhere, Athens State uses Tegrity lecture capture. However, that’s not where Tegrity’s benefits end.

What technologies and features do higher education favor for digital signage and video and web conferencing deployments? And what can be done to ensure that these technology purchases are used wisely? Here’s what is happening on the AV technology scene.

Alternative revenue streams are increasingly attractive to higher education leaders struggling to live in the new budgetary normal triggered by the recession. Monetizing assets such as audio, video, and images an institution already has or is continually generating through digital asset management (DAM) can be tantalizing to those managing a school’s coffers. But in the academic environment, can officials look beyond the perception that for-profit endeavors cheapen a school’s reputation? 

Telepresence isn’t for every institution. Have your campus leaders considered other related technologies?

“Think of video conferencing on a spectrum from low cost on a student’s own device up to sophisticated telepresence systems,” says Lew Epstein of Steelcase. He explains that sharing projects outside the classroom or across the world can be done on almost any screen.” All of that can happen with the device in your pocket or on large screens in the classroom; the point is that within that spectrum, it’s all executable now and it’s all happening.”