Most school AV conversations start and end with classrooms. That makes sense: classrooms are where learning happens and where the budget is most obviously justified. But a school is also a workplace, and the staff who run it spend significant time in spaces that are often badly served by their AV: a staff room with a tiny TV that nobody can read from the back of the room, a BOT meeting room with a laptop balanced on a chair, a principal's office where video calls with the ERO or MoE are conducted on a phone propped against a mug.
Getting AV right in these spaces is not expensive relative to classrooms, and the return in staff productivity, meeting quality, and professional presentation is disproportionate. Here is how to think about each space.
Staff room
The staff room is the most-used non-classroom space in most schools. It is where briefings happen, where PLD is delivered, where notices go up, and where staff gather before and after school. Despite this, many NZ school staff rooms still have a consumer TV mounted too high on the wall showing nothing, or a whiteboard that staff have stopped updating.
The right solution depends on how the space is used. For a staff room that functions primarily as a break space with occasional briefings, a commercial-grade display showing digital signage during the day and connecting to a laptop for presentations works well. For a staff room that doubles as a PLD or meeting space, a 65 to 75-inch display with HDMI and wireless casting capability is more appropriate.
Key considerations for staff room displays:
- Mount at eye level for seated staff, not high on the wall where it forces everyone to crane their neck
- Commercial-grade panel, not a consumer TV: the staff room is in use for long hours and a consumer screen will degrade quickly
- Wireless casting so any staff member can connect their device without hunting for a cable
- If the room doubles for PLD, consider an interactive panel that can run the same apps as the classroom panels, making PLD demonstrations directly transferable to what teachers do in class every day
BOT meeting room
The Board of Trustees meets regularly, often with external participants joining remotely since COVID normalised hybrid meetings. The BOT room is also used for parent meetings, principal interviews, ERO visits, and MOE consultations. It is one of the highest-stakes spaces in the school in terms of the conversations that happen there, and it is often one of the worst equipped.
A BOT room needs:
- A display large enough for the table. For a table that seats eight to twelve people, a 65 to 75-inch display ensures everyone can see clearly without leaning. For larger rooms, 85 to 86 inches.
- A video conferencing camera and microphone. Built-in laptop cameras and microphones are not adequate for a room of this size. A room camera that captures the full table and a ceiling or bar microphone that picks up everyone clearly is the minimum standard for hybrid BOT meetings. Systems like the Logitech Rally Bar or similar all-in-one units make this simple to set up and operate.
- Simple connectivity. The display needs to connect reliably to whatever device the presenter or chairperson is using, whether that is a school laptop, a personal device, or a Google Meet or Zoom call. HDMI input at the table and wireless casting are both worth including.
- One-button operation. BOT meetings are not run by IT staff. The system needs to work reliably when a trustee walks in and turns it on, without troubleshooting. Simplicity in setup is worth paying for.
David's take
The BOT room is where the people who govern the school make decisions. It is also where parents come for difficult conversations, where ERO reviewers sit, and where the principal meets with the MOE. It deserves the same level of care in its AV setup as any classroom. A bad video call in a BOT meeting is not just inconvenient: it undermines the professionalism of the school's governance.
Principal's office
The principal's office is often overlooked entirely in school AV planning. In practice, it is a space where video calls happen frequently, where data presentations are shared with SLT, and where one-on-one meetings with parents sometimes require showing a document or screen. A second monitor or a small display on the wall connected to the principal's laptop makes a genuine difference to the quality of those interactions.
For principals who do regular video calls with the MOE, ERO, or cluster groups, a webcam upgrade and a USB speakerphone or desk microphone is a low-cost improvement that immediately makes calls clearer and more professional. The built-in microphone and camera on most laptops are not adequate for a formal or high-stakes conversation.
Video conferencing for schools
Since 2020, video conferencing has become a permanent part of how NZ schools operate. BOT meetings, SLT sessions, cluster group meetings, parent consultations, and MOE or ERO interactions now regularly happen over Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom. The question is whether the school's AV infrastructure supports this or fights it.
The most common platforms in NZ schools are Google Meet (for Google Workspace schools) and Microsoft Teams (for Microsoft 365 schools). Both work well with standard hardware: a room-grade USB camera, a ceiling or bar microphone, and a display connected to a laptop or a dedicated room computer.
For schools that want a cleaner solution without a laptop in the room, all-in-one video bars (such as the Logitech Rally Bar, Poly Studio, or similar) combine camera, microphone, and speaker in a single unit that mounts below the display and connects via a room computer or a plug-in device. These are significantly simpler to operate and maintain than a laptop-based setup.
The most important thing is that the system is simple enough for whoever is running the meeting to operate without technical support. A system that requires IT help to start a video call will not be used correctly. A system that works when you walk in and press one button will be used correctly every time.
