Off the Rails Episode 137: Markdown APIs

May 13

Written By AVSF

Recorded May 8, 2026

This week on Off the Rails, the gang celebrates finals week the only way higher ed AV/IT knows how: by watching a major cloud platform wobble and quietly whispering sweet nothings to the on-prem rack. The Instructure Canvas mess kicks off a discussion about cloud dependency, LMS integrations, sketchy APIs, cyber insurance, and the comforting lie that “hosted” means “not our problem.”

Then it’s on to upcoming NWMET and InfoComm sessions about building local AI tools for AV design, documentation, math, and workflows… because sometimes the best cloud strategy is “don’t.”

The main topic tackles higher ed media production studios, virtual production spaces, visualization labs, esports rooms, and all the other shiny innovation boxes campuses love to build before remembering someone has to staff, fund, maintain, and explain them. The crew digs into automation, realistic expectations, revenue potential, student involvement, and why your $3,000 LED volume is adorable.

Finally, a listener's question about HyFlex classroom audio leads to ceiling mics, Catchbox, lectern mics, Dante, and the timeless truth that microphones are happiest when they’re disappointing someone.

News story:

https://www.kcur.org/education/2026-05-07/hackers-hit-university-of-missouri-system-and-9-000-other-canvas-schools

AVSF Presentations:

NWMET Conference: https://www.nwmet.org