As the United States and the broader world begin to emerge from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we’re starting to see increased investment in a number of commercial AV vertical markets. Perhaps no market has seen greater recent investment than education, encompassing both K-12 and higher-ed campuses, as schools adopt a hybrid learning model. And with the American Rescue Plan Act having recently passed, we can expect education institutions to receive yet more funding.
To get a handle on the latest trends in the education vertical, Sound & Communications’ Editor, Dan Ferrisi, chatted with Listen Technologies’ VP of Global Channel Sales, Sam Nord. Listen Technologies is an active player in the education space, and Nord offered valuable insights into where the category is going.
Trendspotting
Nord remarked on the trend toward hybrid learning and said it has been a catalyst for integrators, technology managers and end users to deploy Listen Technologies’ products (and other manufacturers’ products) in ways that the company itself hadn’t even envisaged. As an example, he cited that educators have repurposed what was principally a tour-guide system to help in-person students hear well in socially distanced classrooms. And education facilities have repurposed other technologies to enable remote students not only to hear their teachers well but also to hear their fellow students’ questions and comments.
On a related note, when Ferrisi asked Nord how integrators and other AV professionals can equip their business to take advantage of the opportunity that the education vertical’s shift to hybrid learning presents, Nord encouraged them to be maximally nimble and flexible, rather than falling back onto the old ways of doing business. Integrators should prepare themselves, for example, to enable and outfit the aforementioned hybrid classrooms. They should be aware of our industry’s drive toward a standards-based approach. They should up their game with respect to being IT conversant.
To learn more, check out the 15-minute video interview.
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