In this “Rooms That Respond” Launch & Learn, I sat down with Jeffrey Frank (CTI) and Dr. Adeline Tatum (UCLA) to talk about what adaptable learning spaces actually look like in the real world — not just in a slide deck. The big theme: design around what instructors and students need to do first, then wrap the AV around that so it’s predictable, supportable and doesn’t create friction. Jeffrey nailed it: flexible can’t just mean “feature-rich.” It has to be intuitive enough that faculty can move from lecture to group work to hybrid interaction without stopping to think about the tech. We dug into what changes when a room doesn’t have a clear “front of room” — audio coverage, sightlines, camera strategy, distributed displays and the extra logic/hardware it takes to cover all angles. Yes, it can raise budgets, but Jeffrey’s point about scalability and standards matters: don’t buy things twice, and build repeatable room types so support teams can keep spares and maintain consistency. On UCLA’s side, Adeline shared what made their 10 pilot rooms work: early support, “test the room” sessions, and language that respects faculty (“orientation training,” not “training”). Her biggest warnings were overengineering and skipping faculty voices — because pedagogy and AV only work together when you actually design for both.