Every child in a K-12 classroom today was born well into the era of the Internet. None of them know a time before screens and digitized ways of communication and learning. Introducing digital signage in classrooms where these students (should) do most of their learning seems like the natural choice in such a situation.
Thankfully, the evidence supports this assumption.
Between visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners, 65% are visual learners. Additionally, digital signage can capture up to 400% more views than traditional, static signage. Both of these facts point to the need for digital signage for schools today.
1. Make learning interactive and fun in the classroom
We have long since waved goodbye to the days when screens were considered a total no-no for classrooms.
Rather than being a distraction, technology like digital signage, tablets, and computers in classrooms can make learning more fun and palatable for students who might not find traditional classroom tools as attractive.
One of the biggest benefits of digital signage in education is that it’s fully customizable. Teachers can use it for a range of teaching purposes, including but not limited to:
- Dynamic presentations and lesson slides
- Eye-catching HD graphics and diagrams
- Interactive maps to simplify understanding of tough subjects like History and Geography
- Colorful and high-quality bars and graphs
UK primary school teacher Natalie uses digital signage in her classroom to display back-to-school slides, to-do lists, and classroom rules for her students.
Digital signage in the classroom can help take educational games to a new level. Another teacher, Ashli Baker, does exactly this by having her students play an engaging math review game on a touchscreen installed in her classroom.
These uses of digital signage for schools and classrooms place it far above solely using whiteboards and paper. One cannot expect the same level of customizability, interactivity, and dynamism from the latter.
Try customizing these digital display templates for school, and see what works for your classroom.
2. Make announcements and bulletin boards
One big benefit of digital signage is that it’s ‘reusable’ because of the ease with which you can switch displays on a single screen.
This makes it an environment-friendly option for repeat school events, announcements, and updates. Usually a lot of paper and materials are wasted in such situations, since these materials are only good for one use.
By incorporating digital signage into your announcements and bulletins, you have a one-time investment that lasts long-term, and can easily be customized and changed to reflect any new announcements, events, or school notifications.
Examples include back-to-school announcements, like this colorful digital display template.
Another great use of digital signage for events would be to raise awareness for a donation drive, such as a school supply drive, as shown in this digital signage template.
Similarly, you can use digital signage for schools to acknowledge and appreciate students’ achievements. Recognizing students on a big screen, and rewarding their hard work serves to boost motivation and morale.
Other examples of announcements that can use digital signage are:
- Lunch menus
- New timetables and exam schedules
- Graduation news
3. Create navigation tools for visitors
Using digital signage for visitors to your school serves two purposes: to present an impressive image of the school to the public, and to help visitors navigate the school’s premises and organizational structures.
You can add a screen at the entrance mapping out the lay of the land, with several other screens in hallways and outside classrooms, directing visitors where to go. Even outdoor digital signage for schools is useful if you’re having an outdoor event and want to help parents find their way.
Visitors are often confused about which person to contact for a particular issue, so it’s useful to have a digital display board for schools, in which you show the structure of your school’s departments.
You can take inspiration from this organizational chart digital display template, and customize it to your departmental hierarchies.
4. Motivate students and inspire creativity
Digital displays in schools are not just beneficial from the faculty or administrative standpoint; they inspire creativity in students, too.
Place a large LED screen in your school’s auditorium or gymnasium to allow students a resource to supplement their performances and speeches during school events. Digital displays are especially useful as backdrops for plays, since they can be adjusted to fit a variety of scenes.
Make digital displays in the classroom accessible to students for presentations to really unleash their creativity. Digital signage trumps the traditional projector because images are brighter and crisper–this will keep other students engaged in their class fellows’ presentations as well.
Another way you can make digital signage available to students is in common areas like student lounges. Large screens in these areas let students communicate with their peers to call society meetings, advertise community events, run student council election campaigns, and more.
Giving students access to digital signage helps to cultivate an overall dynamic campus environment, and foster school pride.
5. Enhance the faculty meeting experience
Faculty can complement staff meetings with digital signage to make the meetings more engaging, and to encourage participation.
Digital signage can be used by staff in meeting to discuss a number of topics, including:
- Employee performance
- Policy changes and implementation
- Student behavior and challenges
- New and improved pedagogies
- Curriculum revisions
Staff meetings are generally thought of as tedious affairs that participants tend to doze off in more often than not. Incorporating digital signage into this situation can help turn this around, because, as discussed earlier, 65% of people are visual learners.
Screens placed outside meeting rooms can serve as navigation tools to ensure people find the venue, and are at the right place at the right time.
Digital signage has the potential to transform the modern educational landscape. Using it via the right tools can lead to enhanced learning, increased participation, and improved productivity in students and teachers alike.
