Media Planning: Do It All At Once Or Do It Incrementally?
Stephen Margeton, Catholic University
Greg Stack, Catholic University
Mark Maves, Smith Group Architects & Engineering
I. State of the user: an overview
A. Law School media competencies vary.
B. Media should grow, change and be refreshed as classroom requirements change.
C. General benefits of outfitting classrooms "all at once".
D. General benefits of outfitting classrooms incrementally.
II. Selecting a media consultant
A. Attributes of a good consultant.
B. How to locate media consultants.
C. Complimentary Roles:
1. Architect
2. Engineers
3. Law school faculty and staff
III. Equipment issues to consider
A. "All at once" approach.
1. Some technology will never be used.
2. If it is there, someone will use it.
3. New technology ages quickly.
4. Equipment will be consistent in all rooms.
B. Incremental approach
1. Cost of technology drops each year.
2. Better equipment can be installed each year.
3. Some hope of replacing equipment on a schedule.
4. Chance to observe faculty requirements and competencies in a new or remodeled building.
5. Classroom technology can change with natural evolution of faculty and students.
6. Law school can focus initial dollars on training, testing and curricular development/integration.
IV. Financial considerations
A. Will law school possess the finances to install a complete media package during new construction or remodeling?
B. Can the law school fund incremental parts of a media package over many years from:
1. Annual budget?
2. Surplus funds?
3. Capital campaign for media?
V. Media installation timing issues
A. Media equipment installed quickly during construction.
1. Media consultation, design and installation become part of overall project.
2. Opportunity for more cogent, concurrent coordination between design disciplines.
B. Incremental media installations are a lengthy process.
1. Consulting, RFPs and design work performed separately for each media installation.
2. Timing equipment installation to coincide with semester breaks and other vacations can be a nightmare.
3. Degree of ease or difficulty of equipment retrofit is dependent on the "media" readiness of building.
VI. Special incremental installation issues
A. Law school must still plan for incremental training on the operation of equipment, even when all equipment is in place.
B. How will you support faculty media request during incremental installation stages?
1. Large portable equipment pool and storage area required.
2. Large part-time media staff required.
3. Scheduling considerations must be considered.
4. In addition to daily media responsibilities, media director must also arrange for incremental media installations.
5. Media events are more difficult to arrange with portable equipment.