AV Technology Enables Hybrid Higher Education During Pandemic

It's undeniable that Covid-19 has changed many pieces of our society, in many different facets. One of the biggest changes has been the response in the AV industry, with a definite shift toward live streaming. This is present in houses of worship, corporate offices and especially, education.

AVinteractive.com recently posted a great article discussing the rise of live streaming in education, between remote lessons, video conferencing and more.  We're taking a look at some of the highlights from that article, below. 

Educators today are seeing some students attending class from home while their classmates are at school, some teachers teaching remotely, and some schools still entirely operating at home. 

Experts say these three workflows are the most relevant 

• All students are off campus with Pre-Recorded Lessons or Live classes can take place over Zoom, Teams or Google Meet
• Some students are out of school, and some are in person, while a lecturer broadcasts to Zoom or Teams
• Students are spread out throughout school to maintain social distancing, logging into video conferencing

“Lecture capture is now a must in all lecture theaters, increasingly expanding into live streaming to overflow spaces and remote participants.  Institutions that haven’t invested in capture technology are likely to focus their budgets on it now.” 

-avinteractive.com

Teams and Zoom are becoming more and more popular, and a big piece of the answer.  However, keeping students engaged in a talking head format has also proven to be challenging.  Adding live production gear to a workflow can really help improve this issue.  

A higher quality camera or even a PTZ Camera can help a teacher move about the classroom, as they would with students present.  This will ensure that the teacher is not shackled to a laptop, and can teach effectively.  

Better yet, a live production switcher feeding into a video conferencing platform can give multiple views of a classroom, and even provides the option to blow up notes full screen for students. 

Live production is here to stay and is likely to become a major permanent piece of educators workflow, even when schools return to full capacity.  

Check out the full article here.