- As part of InfoComm International’s continual efforts to provide the best and most up-to-date courses available in the pro-AV industry, the association’s Rental & Staging Council sponsored a DACUM (Design a Curriculum). This brainstorming meeting, held December 6-7, 2005, at InfoComm Academy in Fairfax, VA, broke ground in determining current educational needs of the rental and staging community.
- InfoComm’s member Rental & Staging Council called on Dr. Katherine Manley with the Whitener Group, a subsidiary of NOCI (National Occupational Competency Testing Institute), to tap the brains of several experts from the rental and staging community. Using an independent facilitator helped InfoComm avoid any biases that might affect the outcome of the DACUM.
- DACUM participants included AV technologists from Alford Media Services of Texas; AV Concepts, Inc. of Arizona; AVW-TELAV Audio Visual Solutions of both Texas, U.S., and Toronto, Canada; CEAVCO Audio Visual Co., Inc. of Colorado; HB Group, Inc. of Connecticut; Hi-Tech Rentals, Inc. of Florida; and Presentation Services of Virginia.
- During the two-day event, Dr. Manley used a time-tested DACUM method developed by Ohio State University to gather increasingly detailed information on the work of rental and staging AV technicians and the competencies required to successfully do their jobs. A report based on the Whitener Group’s findings will be submitted to InfoComm’s Professional Education and Training Committee Curriculum Committee and the Rental & Staging Council. The two member groups will work together to create the necessary content and discuss appropriate delivery methods for the new curriculum.
- “Given that our current Rental Online program is now over five years old, it is time to reassess and provide education and training that meets the needs of today’s rental and staging industry,” said Melissa Taggart, InfoComm vice president of Education and Workforce Development. “A DACUM is a systematic way to learn from the best in the industry what it takes to develop others professionally. This is a key step, since all of the education and training we will develop in 2006 will be based on the results of this process.”
- According to Tom Stimson, chair of InfoComm’s Rental & Staging Council, “This particular DACUM is significant in that it is our first attempt to accurately capture the role of the AV Technician. The technicians who participate in the program will be ‘paying forward’ all the favors and lessons they have earned over their careers. From this knowledge base we can develop better training materials that will reinforce the professionalism that our members and their customers expect. In the long term, we can look forward to developing a Best Practices program that will be an extraordinary benefit to current and new members.”
- This DACUM marks the second such event held by InfoComm International. In 2005, members and staff attended a DACUM with BICSI members and staff to begin the process on a new reference work that will be published in 2006.
