In the recent years, Information Technology applications in campuses have improved in leaps and bound. Digital signage offers a dynamic way of sharing information to students and other stakeholders in school. The IT industry has now penetrated campuses as school officials start to acknowledge the convenience of using digital information boards for information dissemination. In addition, advertisements in campuses present an opportunity for the information to be seen by students who represent a huge percentage of current and future clients.

Benefits to the School

Digital signage in campuses offers several benefits. First, through digital signage, emergency notifications and alerts can be displayed in an instant, providing timely communication for everyone because the message or information can be displayed instantly on digital boards around the campus.

Another benefit is that specific schedules for content to be displayed and where they will be displayed can be determined in advance and executed automatically. Working on several display areas can cause delays in communication but with the use of digital signage, this problem is eliminated.

By using digital signage, live information can be displayed. This includes weather updates, school news, and scores of teams during sports events in school. Also, winners in inter school competitions and outstanding students and faculty member can have their photos displayed. This can boost the morale of other students and faculty members and exhibit the various accomplishments of the school in all areas of endeavor.

Clutter in the campus can be eliminated with the use of digital signage. Traditional advertising medium use printed tarpaulin, wooden display boards, and lots of paper for those who post information on bulletin boards and walls. Tarpaulin and wooden boards need strong support such as steel frames and posts that occupy more space and is a hazard during typhoons and other natural disasters. With digital signage use, the result is a clean and safe campus with an ambiance of state-of-the-art technology.

Lastly, since most campuses have several canteens and kiosks operated by outsiders who rent spaces, the school can provide digital signage for these small businesses in the campus and earn from them. Canteens or cafeterias can use digital menu boards. Menus can be scheduled and the display is automatically changed during the day when certain menus will be available. The canteens or cafeterias have to pay for this type of service and the earnings can help schools with tight budgets generate income for the school’s operations.

For huge campuses with numerous buildings, interactive digital kiosks can serve as maps for visitors new to the campus. They can hit a name of a building in the campus and they will see the location and directions.

In terms of learning, the use of digital signage has made instruction easy, interactive, and innovative. Teachers can use digital whiteboards for instruction. This makes teaching convenient since content such as texts and images can be shown on the white board. Using it saves time and effort. In addition, images such as graphs, maps, and flow charts can be presented in colorful and interesting designs to grab students’ attention. Business colleges can have live foreign exchange rates and stock prices displayed. Finance laboratories are easily made available using video walls. Market trends can be displayed for students to study, analyze, and use for their lessons.

Most schools have areas where students can stay while waiting for their classes. Entertainment can be provided through educational films and documentaries shown using video walls. In receiving areas, the school history and milestones can be shown for new students and visitors to see.

The digital signage industry will hopefully bring a lot of innovations and improvements in schools and contribute to its growth and development. This technology is an innovative way to educate students, especially since children nowadays learn more through visual aids.

Image Credits:

http://archive.sph.harvard.edu/research/pqg-conference-2012/images/abstracts1.jpg

http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2012/11/images/640_lcd.jpg

http://m1.behance.net/rendition/modules/63847579/hd/81949e7da6c6f5957d568f9fcc2e2959.jpg