Join the Educational Technology Collaborative October 12-15 as Penn State University hosts us for the 2026 Annual Conference! This event attracts AV & IT professionals, instructional designers, technology vendors, manufacturers and those in related fields that support higher education institutions. This event provides a place for peers to network in the field, share experiences across institutions, learn best practices in audiovisual and IT services on campus, as well as provide numerous topics for training and showcasing technology.

Register Today!

	Regular Registration Rates 8/8-9/14	Late Registration Rates 9/15-10/17
Member Prices	$700	$800
Non-Member Prices	$850	$950
Life Member Prices	$400	$450
One-Day Member Pass	$300	$350
One-Day Non-Member Pass	$350	$400
Pre-Conference Workshops	$100 each	$100 each

Conference Information

The hotel for this conference is The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center. Join our room block to be at the conference hotel. Booking in our exclusive room block means you'll receive the negotiated discount rate of $169.00/day plus tax. Discounted room rates are available until September 11, 2026.

Venue Information
The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center
215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803
(P) (814) 863-5000

View Hotel & Travel Information Here

DRAFT SCHEDULE OUTLINE - Subject to change

Monday, October 12

Pre-Conference Activities

8:00 AM – Breakfast on Your Own
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Map the Maze Workshop
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM – Sponsor Showcase Setup
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM – Lunch Break for Workshops
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM – Accessible by Design Workshop

Conference Begins

5:00 PM – First-Timers Orientation
5:30 PM – Welcome Reception
6:30 PM – Dinner with New Friends Meetup (pay on your own)

Tuesday, October 13

7:30 AM – Attendee Breakfast
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM – Sponsor Showcase
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM – Welcome & Keynote Address by Dr. Sam Richards
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM – Snack Break
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM – Concurrent Sessions

Developing and Sustaining an Effective Campus-Wide Accessible Course Development Program, the Northwestern Model: Jim Stachowiak, Northwestern University
Growing up & Transitioning our Department from Support to Integration: Kayden Kassof, American University
Crestron Sponsored Session

11:30 AM – 1:30 PM – Lunch & Showcase Time

12:00 - 1:00 PM - Interest Group Meetings

Women in Technology: Dr. Yolanda Martinez, EdD, Director of Educational Technologies, South Texas College
Instructional Design: Allan Pierce, MEd, Lead Help Desk Analyst, Information Technology Services, University of West Florida

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM – Concurrent Sessions

AV, AI, and the Year Everything Changed (Again): Christopher Dechter, Creighton University
Maximizing Your Technology Budget with AVoIP: Michael Frank, Visionary Solutions, Inc.
Transactional vs. Transformational Leadership: Which type of leader do you want to be? Mike Ferry, UCF

2:30 PM – 3:00 PM – Snack Break
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM – Concurrent Sessions

Making Touch Panels Accessible: Brian Raley, Towson University
Behind the Screens: How Penn State, BYU and Shippensburg Are Standardizing the Campus AV Experience: Sidney Keith, Squirrels
Nureva Sponsored Session

4:00 PM – 5:15 PM – Break Before Dinner
4:15 PM – 5:15 PM – Interest Group: Emerging Tech with Mike Pedersen, Iowa State University
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM – Recognition Dinner
7:00 PM – IDEA Committee Social

Wednesday, October 14

7:30 AM – Attendee Breakfast
8:00 AM – 3:00 PM – Sponsor Showcase
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM -- Meet the Board Breakfast
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM – Morning Remarks & First Timers and Long Timers Photo
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM – Concurrent Sessions

The Future HyFlex Classroom: Achieving Meeting Equity for Every Student: Ryan Wilden, INOGENI, Inc.
"If We're Broke, How Do We Fix it?" - Building Effective Classrooms on Small-University Budgets: Kate Mobley, Truman State University
Shure Sponsored Session

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM – Snack Break
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM – Concurrent Sessions

AV Infrastructure Done Right: The Therkildsen Industrial Engineering Building Case Study: Mike Pedersen, Iowa State University
Designing AV Systems to Match Your Campus Values: Karl Rosenberg, Extron
Blame the AV: The Retention Crisis Higher Ed Isn't Talking About: Jay Lyons, Logitech

11:30 AM – 1:15 PM – Lunch & Showcase Time

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM -- Interest Group Meetings

Leadership: Mike Ferry, Assistant Director, Instructional Technology, Office of Instructional Resources (OIR), UCFIT, University of Central Florida
DEI: Steven Crane, University of Buffalo

1:15 PM – 2:15 PM – Concurrent Sessions

Gemini for Everyone: The Essential, Free AI Toolkit for Faculty, Staff, and Students: Jay Strumwasser, CDW
Asset Management at Scale - Integrating Databases, Resources, and Live Monitoring: Sergiy Khrustal, University of Melbourne (AETM)
AVIXA Certification Demystified: Jim Spencer, Legrand AV

2:15 PM – 3:00 PM – Showcase Time + Snack Break
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM – Concurrent Sessions

Transforming AV Support - The journey to cloud based control & monitoring across campus: Mark Dunlop, University of Aberdeen
Old Space, New Vision: Deploying Turnkey AV in Pace University's Gymnasium: Gary Albaugh, MicroTheory Engineering
Any Device. Any Platform. No Panic. - A Real-World Blueprint for Unified BYOD: Joshua Kim, WyreStorm

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM – Sponsor Breakdown
4:30 PM – 8:00 PM – Campus Tours & Dinner at the HUB

Thursday, October 15

7:30 AM – Attendee Breakfast
8:00 AM – Morning Remarks
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM – Concurrent Sessions

Immersive AV Design: Transforming Space Planning Through Virtual Reality: Harry Ortiz, Stevens Institute of Technology
Blessing and a Curse: Classroom Tech with One-Time Funds: Ryan Corcoran, WSU
Designing AV for Higher Ed: How Vendors Can Better Support Teaching and Learning at Scale: John Pfeffer, University at Buffalo

9:30 AM – 9:45 AM – Snack Break
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM – Concurrent Sessions

From Inventory to Insight: Building a Data Strategy for Smarter Learning Space Decisions: Ryan Mackay, Talem3
The Architect, the Technology Integrator, and the Academic Director: Jimmie Singleton, AVI-SPL
Tap, Don't Type: Rethinking Classroom Tech Support with NFC and ServiceNow: Cherly O'Leary, Auburn University

10:45 AM – 11:00 AM – Snack Break
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Concurrent Sessions

Telemetry for A/V Systems: Improving Reliability with Metrics, Visualizations, and Alerting: Jake Nelson, Rutgers University
The Power of Partnership: How a Small College Built a Big AV Success Story: Michael McHugh, Goshen College
Beyond the Display: Building Scalable AV EcoSystems for the Modern Campus: Jude Vargo, Panasonic.

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM – Lunch & Tangible Takeaways
1:30 PM – End of Conference / Break for Board