Six Ways to Use Digital Signage in K-12 Schools

Digital signage is a space-changer wherever it goes, including K-12 schools where it can make a positive impact in many ways. School districts are realizing this, which is why digital signage is becoming a top solution in education. In fact, 70 percent of high education facilities (universities) have digital signage in place. At the K-12 level, the trend is the same. You'll normally see digital signage in hallways, cafeterias, and around the front office, but digital signage technology is even in some classrooms now. That's because with its usability, versatility and ease of management, digital signage can serve in many roles, including:

• Supporting morning announcements
• Displaying event schedules
• Boosting school spirit
• Helping people navigate the campus
• Alerting students and faculty during an emergency

We'll take a closer look at each of these applications and how they benefit your students and staff.

Pair Digital Signage with Morning Announcements

Many K-12 schools have already transitioned to video announcements, particularly for their morning announcements. Using video in this way provides students with valuable technology and creative training, so it's a natural fit for the K-12 environment. And it can be delivered more effectively through a digital signage network. No matter where your students are - classrooms, hallways, library, etc. - they will be close enough to the digital signage to see and hear everything. Once your signage network is integrated, running morning announcements through it is a breeze. In fact, an integrator can program this functionality so that it only takes a button or two to make it happen.

Remind Students of Important School and Athletic Events

Morning announcements are an active use of your school's digital signage. People are encouraged to stop what they're doing and pay attention. Digital signage, though, is also effective in a passive role. For example, digital signage can be used to regularly cycle through event schedules, such as upcoming holidays and teacher service days, athletic events, performing arts, final exams, book fairs, bake sales, and anything else your school has planned. This is valuable information that can be constantly broadcast through your digital signage network, removing the need for (expensive) print signage or verbal reminders that, let's be honest, most students aren't going to recall.

Showcase Students' Standout Work and Achievements

Digital signage can be a massive spirit-booster for your student body, and for every part of the student body, too. Your school is already spotlighting top academic and athletic performers in some way, but digital signage can turn that spotlight on others. For example, your school may have a UIL math team that's doing well at its contests. Maybe you have a renowned theater program that draws attention. Perhaps your school's marching band is one of the state's best. Digital signage can be used to broadcast their success to the entire student body. Their success may not be as obvious as a tournament-winning football team but celebrating it can weave your school's student fabric tighter and get more people involved in achievement. Digital signage ensures a large audience for spirit-boosting measures like these.

Help Visitors Find Their Way Around with Digital Wayfinding

It won't take long for your students to map out where their classes are, but what about new staff, parents and visitors? Some schools are sprawling labyrinths that people get lost in if they don't know their way around. Wayfinding technology is a proven way to help people navigate through large spaces, including K-12 schools. Wayfinding can be as simple as displaying a map on a screen, or it can be delivered through interactive software. With interactive wayfinding, users can select a particular room for their destination and get a simple set of directions in return. After checking in with the school's front office, visitors won't need further support to find where they're going.

Add Menu Boards to the Cafeteria to Speed Up the Lunch Line

Today's students have a smorgasbord of menu options when it's lunchtime. Students also have to make their decision quickly and with limited information. This can slow things down for everyone. Digital signage can also help here, in the form of menu boards. Menu boards can be positioned where students line up and let them know what's for lunch. That way, students already know what they want when it's time to make a decision.

Send Out a Campus-wide Alert with Instant Emergency Messaging

Digital signage can deliver more than interesting content. It can also be used as an instant messaging platform that can reach all of the screens in the building. This can be critical if a situation emerges on your campus without warning. With a single button press, your digital signage software can send out an emergency alert to all networked displays in the building, ensuring the fastest possible response.

Bonus Tip: Turn Digital Signage into a Revenue Stream with Joint Marketing Opportunities

Some K-12 schools leverage their digital signage space to generate extra income, which can offset or eliminate the cost of a digital signage network. It's as simple as building marketing connections in the surrounding business community - something your school likely does already to sponsor various programs. That same approach can be used to sell digital signage space for advertising purposes. Digital signage makes a strong case for itself as an advertising medium, so your school won't need to pour in a lot of extra effort to develop it into a revenue-generator.

An AV Integrator Can Help Any School Get Started with Digital Signage

There's always something going on at a K-12 school, and there's always information that students can benefit from. Digital signage is the ultimate information delivery system, providing compelling video and graphic content that can be used in a number of ways. We've included six of the most popular here, but it's by no means an exhaustive list. Your school may already have its own ideas of how it could use a digital signage solution. If that's the case, a certified AV integrator can help your school bring those ideas into reality, with leading hardware and software solutions designed to make digital signage accessible for every K-12 facility.