The Teaching and Learning Innovation Digest - May 2023

The Audio-Visual (AV) Team
Audio Visual Media Services
The history of hybrid teaching and learning at
Centennial College started a long time before
the COVID-19 pandemic.
In keeping with industry-led innovations that
often drive institutional business decisions,
the years 2010-2011 marked a turning point
for the College. Centennial’s Audio-Visual
Technology not only moved classroom
equipment from analog to digital standard,
but also featured a microphone to the
instructor’s desk and ceiling mounted pan-tiltzoom
(PTZ) cameras for use as a document
camera. Along with this, video conferencing via
Microsoft Skype on the PC was also installed
on the instructor’s desk in all of Centennial’s
standard classrooms. This move resulted in
Centennial’s AV Team receiving 2012 Ontario
College Council of Chief Information Officers
(OCCCIO) awards for AV Transformation
and Media Technology. Clearly, the team
was already paving the way and preparing
for hybrid teaching and learning from a
technology standpoint.
During the pandemic itself, the AV Team quickly
pivoted from on-site support at five Centennial
campuses with over 550 AV installations in
classrooms, labs, meeting rooms, and college
events to provide support and training for
the College community virtually using video
conference products such as Microsoft Teams,
Zoom, Skype, Cisco Webex, and Adobe
Connect. This was a massive shift in response
to the ongoing remote work that allowed
HYBRID TEACHING
AND LEARNING AT
CENTENNIAL
classes and delivery to continue with as little
disruption as possible.
Subsequent to this, February 2021 marked
another milestone. Members of the AV
Team, including Ivan Skyba, Michael Szoke,
Dave Pearce, Leonid Mykolenko, and
Alex Stoupenkov, under the leadership of
Dmitry Nikiforov, Manager of AV Services
and Michael Young, Director of Integrated
Services, started to work on the HyFlex Pilot
Project in collaboration with the Centre for
Faculty Development and Teaching Innovation
(CFDTI) team of the Academic Innovation
and Excellence Unit (AIEU). HyFlex is a
teaching method that blends both in-person
and online learning together. In a HyFlex
structure, students can either attend live
classes in-person or participate in the same
classes online.
The team put a strong emphasis on using
existing HyFlex technology elements in the
Centennial classrooms with adding additional
cameras, microphones, and computer monitors
selected for the project. They also focused on
training and educating the participating faculty
on how to use these devices and products
for hybrid teaching and learning. The team
invested numerous hours designing, installing
HyFlex technology, and modifying AV in 13
classrooms at Progress, Story Arts Centre, and
Ashtonbee campuses. To this end, the team
has curated and maintained the Centennial
College Service Portal, an exhaustive wealth
of information that aims to provide just-in-time
support and resources that cover classroom
technology, video walkthroughs, and IT related
consultations and requests.
The AV Team continued to work and support
the hybrid classroom and lab experiences
based on feedback from the HyFlex Pilot,
which was extended to Phase 2 in the
2022/2023 Academic year. This second
iteration extended to several other schools
and areas (SETAS, SoT, SCMAD, SCHS,
and SHTCA) that expressed interest in
experimenting with HyFlex technology in their
learning environments.
Not everything was perfect during the HyFlex
Pilot Project. There were complaints from
faculty about the complexity of the classroom
technology. Especially about the quality of
audio for classroom Zoom or MS Team video
conferences. For example, one limitation
was that faculty needed to stay at their
podium or wherever their microphone was
installed when speaking to their online student
audience. As a result of these challenges
that faculty experienced, improvements
needed to be made to the technology. The AV
Team researched and responded by testing
and installing a Nureva microphone sound
bar (in classroom D3-05 at Progress
Campus), which proved to be an effective
solution. The much improved audio quality
means up to 1500 sq ft of classroom size not
requiring the installation of separate speakers
or complex wireless microphones. This has
been a game changer and was replicated
in 11 classrooms participating in the HyFlex
Pilot Project Phase 2, along with additional
cameras. These installations, along with
HyFlex technology installation SETAS labs
A3-11 and A3-13 (Progress Campus) were
successfully completed during the Fall 2022
period despite supply chain issues with
required electronic hardware and components.
Currently, the AV Team is busy working on
upgrading CFDTI’s training room (L3-13) to a
HyFlex environment, i.e. Nureva microphone/
sound bar, two confidence monitors for
interacting with online audiences, and a
second PC touchscreen monitor on the
instructors’ podium for use as a whiteboard
and other features. Additionally, SETAS labs at
Morningside Campus (314 and 332) will mirror
HyFlex installations in the two SETAS labs
at Progress.
Dmitry is also working with his team
on the new HyFlex Classroom add-on
standards. Once approved, the new learning
spaces will offer a 130” diagonal projected
image, enhanced audio for in-class and
online audiences, two cameras (one to show
the classroom audience to online students,
the second for showing an instructor in the
classroom), AODA compliant mobile desk
for an instructor with simplified controls, a
large confidence display for projecting online
interaction, wireless connectivity of instructors
computer devices used in the classroom, and
simplified, user friendly, a.k.a “use a remote
like with your home TV”, AV controls.
There’s always something brewing in the
AV department that has been working
tirelessly to support and provide the College
community through these ongoing changes
in the educational landscape. The aim
has always been to deliver exceptional
educational experiences and enhance the
teaching and learning journey for our students,
faculty, and staff in this new and exciting
post-COVID reality.
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