2025 Program
A lightning bolt (⚡) denotes a Lightning Round session
WEDNESDAY
BISHOP BARNWELL ROOM
9:00AM – 9:45AM
Be Heard and Sound Better – How to Setup Audio DSP Like an Audio Engineer
Presenters: Jeremy Krug, Biamp Systems
Description: We have incredibly powerful tools in our technological toolbox today that can work wonders to improve audio clarity, intelligibility, and overall sound quality. But if your background is more on the IT, Video, Facilities, or other technologies, knowing just how to turn the dials to get the best sound may be a bit foreign. Let a veteran recording studio engineer, teacher, and author explain a handful of tools and concepts that will help you get the most out of your sound system.
10:00AM – 10:45AM
AV and USB-C Technologies: Transforming Learning Spaces for Success
Presenters: Joseph Frotton, Extron
Description: In today’s dynamic educational landscape, harnessing the power of USB in audiovisual systems is essential for creating immersive and engaging learning environments. Like all technology, Universal Serial Bus – USB has evolved over time. USB-C now offers a much wider set of functionality including data, video, audio, and power delivery, becoming a standard component of many AV systems. With increased bandwidth, a smaller connector format, and support from major device manufacturers, USB-C is primed to be the leading interface for laptops and Unified Communications. This session delves into the fundamentals of USB for professional audiovisual systems, including USB microphones and cameras. Explore strategies for leveraging these technologies to create flexible learning spaces that foster interactive and hybrid learning methods. Discover the importance of selecting the right cables and the role of power wattage for ensuring successful integration of USB-C devices. Dive into approaches for switching and distributing video, audio, and USB data, facilitating content delivery. Learn considerations for implementing future-ready systems that can adapt to evolving requirements.
11:00AM – 11:45AM
Zoom Spaces AV from USB/HDMI to On-Net to Cloud – Making the Connection!
Presenters: Dr. Lance Ford, Zoom
Description: Zoom Spaces AV moves beyond traditional USB and HDMI connections as AV sources. In 2024, The Zoom Spaces Development team has made a series of announcements that have elevated the AV experience to a whole new level! Supporting NDI and Dante inbound as well as outbound allows for flexible deployment options that can dramatically expand a collaboration experience.
Zoom Spaces ProAV can provide a control interface allowing you to route sources between a variety of spaces leveraging a slew of resources that are not physically connected to a third-party AV infrastructure engine.
Zoom Spaces latest expansion includes an opportunity to dynamically connect additional Zoom Spaces Touch Devices to increase or compliment the number of cameras, displays and annotation surfaces, providing the ability to create robust ad-hoc AV collaboration experiences without the need of any of physical connections by leveraging the cloud as an AV engine.
In this session, we want to share with you some of our roadmap and reasoning behind it, as well as gather your feedback on what Zoom is working on in 2025.
1:00PM – 2:45PM
Making Friends with Facilities and Crushing Capital Projects
Presenters: Mike Pedersen, Iowa State University, Josh Hamon, Stantec, Evan Danforth, Lynn Solmon, Erika Krishnek, Boise State University
Description: Whether cookie cutter or cutting edge, collaborating is essential to delivering supportable, enterprise level AV systems. Learn from BSU AV, BSU Capital Projects and others about their past and current relationship. How they get and keep a seat at the table of every campus project. This session aims to provide some tips and tricks on how to make friends with your facilities team and start the process toward more successful capital project implementations. Filled with real-world examples of failure and success, this practical session provides insights to improve trust and communication and ultimately lead to more successful projects.
FARNSWORTH ROOM
9:00AM – 10:45AM
Mastering USB-C and USB
Presenters: Donald Trinh, Jason Parson, Atlona
Qualifies for AVIXA credit!
Description: Are you ready to elevate your AV expertise? A comprehensive overview of USB(-C) technology, best practices and common mistakes in AV environments, and troubleshooting tools and techniques to streamline your setup, led by AV legend Donald Trinh. Gain essential insights into USB and USB-C technology for effective AV environments!
11:00AM – 11:45AM
Evidence Based Teaching with iClicker
Presenters: Grace M. Tuttle, Macmillan Learning
Description: This quasi-quantitative study explored the effects of iClicker in University Foundation 100 classes at Boise State University. This research evaluates data of 7,812 between Spring 2017 to Fall 2019 between Clicker group and non-clicker group. The main conclusion of this study is that polling is a statistically significant predictor of higher final course grades.
1:00PM – 1:45PM
Zoom in to Zoom Room Classrooms – a case study
Presenters: Jim Wellings, Steve Campbell, Utah State University
Description: Utah State University maintains a large distance learning network connecting more than 30 locations and 200 classrooms across the state, until recently using Cisco teleconferencing hardware to deliver more than 60 programs and 600 courses. USU adopted Zoom in 2020, adding support to more than 160 main campus classrooms that were not already Cisco connected. Since 2022, we have worked to upgrade our existing Cisco spaces to Zoom Rooms, with our developers using Zoom’s API to automatically create and configure Zoom meetings for courses and make them available in our Canvas LMS. Zoom Rooms presented an opportunity for us to manage, control, and improve our Zoom experience. Two years into our upgrade project, more than 260 Zoom Room licenses have been deployed statewide.
We will share insights, experiences, hard lessons, and successes from our Zoom Room transition and system upgrades.
2:00PM – 2:45PM
Leveraging Data to Impact Classroom Issues Beyond Our Control
Presenters: Cass Hall, University of Idaho
Description: It takes a village to solve the many inherent problems with classroom scheduling and usage: faculty placed in locations that don’t have the right technology to meet their needs, faculty insisting on a room near their office, too many courses being taught during the same time slot, no backup locations for classes to be moved in case of outages/flooding, lack of flexible learning spaces – the list goes on and on. After years of tolerating the issues we couldn’t control though they were deeply impacting our classroom technology support team, we found a way to tackle the problem by inviting the village to a data party. Join me to learn about the data utilized and the workarounds and compromises that solved the problems.
BERGQUIST ROOM
9:00AM – 9:45AM
⚡ AI and Physical Spaces – Stop writing notes and start engaging
Presenters: Dr. Lance Ford, Zoom
Description: Using Zoom Rooms to become ingestion points for Zoom AI Companion as well as other lecture capture tools that enhance, streamline and safeguard all the content created in class.
⚡AI Personas in Community-Engaged Courses
Presenters: Margaret Sass, Boise State University
Description: This lightning talk will discuss an innovative method of leveraging AI-driven personas to enhance students’ understanding of diverse stakeholder perspectives, facilitating better communication and collaboration with community members. Attendees will gain insights into how this method can be applied within their own courses to create interactive learning environments that support meaningful, impactful partnerships.
⚡Connecting AI, Best Teaching Practices, and Instructional Design: An AI-Pedagogy Support Model
Presenters: Jendra (Jen) Elbek, University of Idaho
Description: Faculty in higher education have expressed concern over two prominent challenges: limited time to improve teaching practices, and concerns about students misusing AI. This presentation introduces a new model that illustrates the complementary relationship between AI use, best teaching practices, and instructional design support. Applying the concepts represented by this model can potentially help to reduce faculty workload, foster authentic student engagement, alleviate some of the apprehension of AI use, and lessen academic dishonesty.
10:00AM – 10:45AM
⚡How to Be Efficient in Ten Minutes
Presenters: Erik Talbert, Idaho State University
Description: The truth is, you cannot “become” efficient, nor can you learn how in ten minutes. But you can and should always be working at it. I’ve spent most of my career in higher ed support, and teaching roles, and have learned that working efficiently is a massively useful skill. I will share some general efficiency tips, and offer examples from my work in AV and IT.
⚡Applied Acoustics: Conferencing Tech is Not a Computer Peripheral, It’s a Room Peripheral
Presenters: Jeremy Krug, Biamp Systems
Description: Is it certified for Teams? Or Zoom? Or THX? None of that really matters if you don’t match your AV conferencing technology to the physical room where it will be used. Here are a few quick tips that can save you money, save you time, and help you find success with AV systems.
⚡What software do you ROCK???
Presenters: Dr. Lance Ford, Zoom
Description: How third-party software integrations create a cohesive AV experience for your end users – Event Management System? Learning Management Systems? Digital Signage Software? ZOOM ROOMS are the GLUE!!!!
11:00AM – 11:45AM
Setting Expectations with Your Integration Partner as an In-House Integrator in Higher Education
Presenters: Jimmie Singleton, AVI-SPL, Christopher Dechter, University of Wyoming
Description: Already have an in-house integration team or looking to move toward in-house integration at your institution? When should you engage a commercial integration partner and how do you set proper expectations to ensure that you are still involved as a stakeholder? Join this session with the team from AVI-SPL and the in-house AV team from the University of Wyoming to learn how they truly work together as partners on projects and set proper expectations with each other throughout the process. This session will dive into how to manage a joint project and overcome issues that arise throughout the process, ensuring that the institution is getting exactly what they need to serve their students and that the integration partner is setup for continued success and work with the institution.
1:00PM – 1:45PM
10 Step of -Ate: A Method for Madness
Presenters: Kevin Lee, Pepperdine University
Description: With a handful of skilled technicians supporting hundreds of classrooms for thousands of faculty, how can an audiovisual technologies team keep track of chronic issue resolutions among the sea of noise and madness? At Pepperdine University, a simple, transparent, and memorable system is used to monitor overarching problems while not losing focus of day-to-day support. Join us for a discussion of how this is done and share your madness with us.
2:00PM – 2:45PM
Shining a Light on Classroom AV Usage
Presenters: Kiana Felker, Pepperdine University
Description: As an audiovisual support team, we assist with the integration of new classroom technology and provide maintenance and support when issues arise. There’s a gap of visibility when it comes to how the rooms are used. We can collect anecdotes from specific faculty members but being able to illuminate the way in which classroom AV systems are interacted can help us design more effective classrooms. Join us for a conversation about how Pepperdine’s AV Technologies team set up such an environment and what new insights can be collected.
THURSDAY
BISHOP BARNWELL ROOM
9:00AM – 9:45AM
Using AI Tools for Student Research
Presenters: Bethany Schultz, Christa Sandidge, Northwest Nazarene University
Description: This session will explore the evolving role of AI in student research, focusing on ethical considerations and practical applications across various stages of the research process. Participants will gain insights into how researchers are using AI, learn ethical guidelines for its use, and tools for refining topics, analyzing data, and enhancing their research workflow.
10:00AM – 10:45AM
The Value of ATHEN: Access Technology Higher Education Network
Presenters: Natalie Davison, Boise State University
Description: Ed Tech Specialists are often consulted regarding how to build accessible courses and remediate the accessibility of course materials. ATHEN is a professional organization that brings together diverse professionals to spread information and consult about Access Technology best practices and innovations. Join this session to learn how ATHEN can support your work facilitating accessibility in courses!
11:00AM – 11:45AM
Designing for the Human Factors of AV
Presenters: Mike Pedersen, Iowa State University
Description: In this class we will do a crash course in a narrow segment of human factors – looking at the sensory and cognitive capabilities and limitations of humans and some corresponding best practices for design. We’ll study the human information processing model to learn how humans receive and interpret their world. Then we’ll look at the seven stages of action and consider the gulfs of evaluation and execution. Finally, we’ll get practical and look at system design methods that can be utilized to help people overcome the two gulfs including concepts such as affordances, conceptual models, making things visible, giving feedback, and mapping.
Transitioning Phone Services to the Cloud
Presenters: Peter Jurhs, Boise State University, Patrick Carlton, CompuNet
Description: Boise State University is modernizing its phone system by moving to the cloud for phone services. The University selected Zoom Phone as its platform. The presentation will walk through the key decision points to consider and lessons learned. By attending, hopefully, it will allow you to avoid some of the pitfalls in the migration process.
FARNSWORTH ROOM
9:00AM – 9:45AM
Maximizing Hybrid Learning: Does having more cameras matter?
Presenters: Jordan Scales, Don Duterte, Crestron
Description: Remote learning has become an integral part of education, especially in today’s environment. However, ensuring equity for remote participants in lecture hall settings has historically been a challenge. Traditional methods often left remote students feeling disconnected from the in-person experience, leading to decreased engagement and participation. In this presentation, we will explore the evolution of remote learning in lecture halls, identify past challenges, and highlight new technologies and tools that foster inclusivity for both students and faculty.
Get a better understanding of how to use 2 or more cameras in Remote Learning environments, discuss different methods camera positioning and whether using more than one camera can provide a more engaging experience, and get ideas about how different viewing experiences will impact your hybrid room designs.
10:00AM – 11:45AM
(repeat) Mastering USB-C and USB
Presenters: Donald Trinh, Jason Parson, Atlona
Qualifies for AVIXA credit!
Description: Are you ready to elevate your AV expertise? A comprehensive overview of USB(-C) technology, best practices and common mistakes in AV environments, and troubleshooting tools and techniques to streamline your setup, led by AV legend Donald Trinh. Gain essential insights into USB and USB-C technology for effective AV environments!
1:00PM – 1:45PM
Expanding Physical Therapy Education in Idaho with the Help of Technology
Presenters: Erik Talbert, Dr. Deanna Dye, Idaho State University
Description: In 2018, Idaho State University began offering its long-established DPT program from its main campus in Pocatello, ID to a second cohort at its health science campus in Meridian, ID. But it was not simply broadcasting existing content so remote students could follow along. ISU’s physical therapy program has students and faculty on both sites, and the cohorts progress together largely through synchronous classroom videoconferencing. This session will detail the process, challenges, and triumphs with two people who have been part of it from the beginning–the faculty member and department director who helped lead the effort, and the AV/IT staff person who was hired specifically to support it.
BERGQUIST ROOM
9:00AM – 9:45AM
⚡How many cameras do you need?
Presenters: Dr. Lance Ford, Zoom
Description: Versatility of Zoom Room to add cameras and AV resources over the cloud – 4 Cameras (physical bus or NDI (with control) + 3 cameras (on ZR in companion mode)
⚡ Auracast, Access and Accessibility
Presenters: Dan Case, Carroll College
Description: Will the new Bluetooth standard of Broadcast Audio be a big thing on college campuses or is it just hype? Find out more about this new standard and its potential uses not just in the classroom and for accessibility, but all over campus.
⚡The UDL 3.0 Game Show
Presenters: Jo Ann Arinder, University of Oregon
Description: This quick gamified session will cover the basic changes and what they really mean to us. Discover the UDL updates present in the new 3.0 guidelines. A short introduction explaining the motivation for the updates and the history of the UDL guidelines will be provided. Then the main changes will be highlighted.
10:00AM – 10:45AM
An Ed Tech Tragedy or Blessing in Disguise?
Presenters: Frank Alaimo, Andy Borts, University of Nevada Las Vegas
Description: We will take a dive into the required needs for classroom refresh / new initiative support in the wake of the C-19 aftermath. Universities had to leverage new technology for faculty and students but has this trend continued or cooled? Leadership was looking to equip your campuses with technologies that enable more efficient and effective teaching at the time of need but has that need remained or has the technology refresh cycle been forgotten again? Investments in ed-tech were needed not only during the pandemic but also beyond it. How is your university leadership supporting your team’s endeavor in the on-going support model?
11:00AM – 11:45AM
Bringing Classroom Potential to Life Through Technology and Pedagogy
Presenters: Frank Rosa, Talem3 Business Solutions
Description: Unlock the full potential of classroom technology and assets by joining our session on empowering faculty with effective use of classroom audio-visual tools and assets. We’ll explore the pedagogical value of classroom technologies and versatile learning spaces, focusing on strategies that enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. This session will provide a practical solution to three key business challenges: enhancing faculty training on the pedagogical value of classroom assets, establishing an effective channel for faculty feedback on learning spaces, and enabling virtual room visits for upgrade design and planning.
1:00PM – 1:45PM
Interactive AV Solutions for Modern Learning: A SMART Approach
Presenters: Melissa Jenkins, SMART Technologies
Description: Discover how SMART Technologies’ interactive AV solutions are transforming modern learning environments. This session will showcase innovative tools and strategies that enhance student engagement, streamline collaboration, and support both in-person and hybrid classrooms. Learn how these cutting-edge solutions bridge AV and IT to create dynamic, adaptable spaces that prepare students for future success.