There’s no doubt that it’s inconvenient for teachers and students alike to put something out on the old-fashioned school notice boards.
Not only do they have to fit their ideas and designs into the size of one A4 sheet, but they also have to go through the hassle of finding a printer to get their content into paper form and hanging it on the board.
In this article, we will talk about a way to make the whole process more convenient for your students and teachers by adopting digital message boards for your school’s halls.
By using digital signage, you’re allowing your students to be more creative with their ideas and have more freedom with their designs. And to top it off, they can do it all with a few easy clicks.
What Are Digital Message Boards for Schools?
Our world is rapidly transitioning into a digital one. Almost all of our means of communication are digital, we now do our shopping online, and many people’s work and education are also switching to digital.
And that’s for a good reason. Digital is more convenient in almost every way. You can do whatever you want to do, anywhere you are. It’s also more catching to the eye, and it’s a lot more engaging.
With that said, we can guarantee that getting a digital bulletin board for schools is the way to go.
But what exactly are digital message boards? They’re high-resolution screens that hang around your school or college campus and enable teachers to easily communicate announcements, emergency messages, or any information they want their students to know.
They also allow students to advertise whatever school-related activity they want easily.
For example, are some students starting a new study group and are looking for members? Or maybe they want to announce some vital information to other students regarding the upcoming exams.
How Can You Use Digital Message Boards in Your School?
One excellent advantage of installing digital signage is allowing students to generate their content. And when you provide young students with the freedom of creativity and the convenience of a digital screen to display their content on, they will leap at the chance.
So you can expect your students to advertise whatever school-related activity they want with the right tools. And the possibilities are endless!
Another perk is that bulletin board announcements receive more attention and engagement. Pictures, slides, and videos are beautiful when they’re made right, and a large seamless screen is a sight to behold.
You can also use the boards to distinguish students for their accolades and expect the distinguished students to get positive recognition for it, which gives students a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment for their hard work.
What Are the Benefits of Digital Display Boards in Schools?
There are many benefits of digital signage that can help your school. For example, digital message boards allow for more engaging and friendly school signage design, which could achieve many things, such as making the school feel more welcoming and taking out the age-old boredom associated with education facilities.
You’ll also be able to change and adjust the content displayed anytime, from anywhere. And that opens a few doors to keep the students updated on what’s happening around them at school.
Also, screens are eye-catching. And nowadays, people tend to accept information from a dynamic screen rather than pages in a book or newspaper.
Keeping your students up with current events is crucial in helping develop well-informed citizens. In addition, studying current events allows students to understand the importance of people, events, and issues in the real world outside of school.
Digital bulletin board content can also feel welcoming for parents when you’re running a welcome day at the start of the school year and will help many students ease into the school.
Another great way to help newcomers is by displaying maps, timetables, and essential relevant information to help take their anxiety down a notch, similar to how hotels use digital signage to improve guest experience.
How Is Digital Signage Useful in the Present Education System?
Due to the influx of information nowadays, most young people have a short attention span, and it’s especially shorter than that of their millennial peers who didn’t grow up with screens everywhere.
Since young people grow up with screens all around them, they’re used to spotting information more intuitively when it’s digital.
This is precisely why switching to digital signage in your education facility is important. There are endless possibilities of exciting and attention-grabbing content you can display on the digital message boards to keep your students engaged.
How Digital Message Boards for Schools Are Improving Internal Communication
In schools that use a traditional message board, exchanging information between offices is pretty passive and one-sided, which dulls the process entirely.
On the other hand, digital signage can increase employee engagement through various methods. This is crucial because disengaged employees and poor internal communication can set your school back financially.
Moreover, by adopting digital message boards around your campus, you’re substantially improving your school’s educational and communication opportunities.
What you’re doing is evolving traditional school signage from a one-sided process of pushing out content into a collaboration between all parties involved to have total freedom to display what they want.
For example, if a group of students have a suggestion they want to make, they have the convenience of easy software that allows them to express their thoughts through catchy media.
They can compose their ideas into slides or video form and then send the file to the supervisor in charge of the digital boards. And one easy click later, they have displayed their content for their colleagues to see.
What Type of Content Can You Display on Digital Message Boards in Schools?
The possibilities are endless. If you think something can be beneficial and add value to your students’ day, you have the complete freedom to display that all over your campus.
And with the feature of immediate changes to what’s displayed, you can technically convey more than one thing at a time.
For instance, you can have the timetable on display, and the next moment you can promote some after-school activity. You can also advertise the date for the next school sports event or congratulate a student for their academic achievements.
Another useful way of using digital screens is emergency training. You can always put the instructions out for everyone to read so they know how to act when it comes to a real emergency.
And in an actual emergency, you’ll have the opportunity to convey information through the screens quickly so that everyone will know what to do, and less panic will arise from the situation.
Where Should You Install Your Digital Display Screens?
We advise that you take a moment and study your campus to find where a digital message board will reach the maximum number of people.
You’ll find hotspots both inside and outside the buildings that fit your criteria. Both should be tended to, not one or the other.
Indoor Digital Signage for Schools
Students in big numbers spend a lot of time at the cafeteria, so consider installing a digital message board there. In fact, it’s one of the most important places to place one.
Another great location to consider is the main entrance and hallways. Every campus has a main hallway where almost everyone walks through multiple times a day. And a digital message board there will have tons of engagement and reach virtually all of your students.
Outdoor Digital Signage for Schools
If your school has an outdoor sports pitch, installing a screen there is a great idea. Not only does a large number of students attend the school’s sports events, but parents do as well, so a digital screen there is the right call.
Choosing Hardware for Digital Signage in Education
After deciding where you want to install your digital screens, you have to choose the proper hardware to go with it.
We see many schools make the common mistake of buying and using ordinary household TVs or non-commercial-grade digital signage equipment. The problem with those is that they’re not designed to run for as long as your school should run their hardware.
We advise you to choose commercial-grade digital message boards that were explicitly designed to run for the duration of the school day to avoid exhausting the materials quickly and having to go through the hassle of frequent maintenance.
It’s also advisable that you beware of used products. There’s a big market for used digital signage screens. And while they may look alright on the outside, they may have been overused and burned on the inside.
A crucial step some people skip is taking the correct measurements for the digital display screens. Every space has an advisable appropriate size of screen that fits it.
For example, a small break room shouldn’t have the same size screen as the school’s gymnasium. So make sure you don’t skip this step if you want to achieve a professional-looking set of screens.If you need more information on choosing digital signage solutions, check out this guide.
Choosing Digital Signage Software for Your School
There are more than a few digital signage software choices. Their essence isn’t too different from one another, but you should find one that your staff feels comfortable with at the end of the day.
Some digital signage software is a bit more complicated with extra options and choices that would take some getting used to, but, in the end, it will be worth it.
Some digital signage solutions don’t provide much functionality. But on the other hand, they offer you the ability to navigate the operating system with incredible ease.
We’re not saying they’re worse by any means. What we’re doing is acknowledging that everyone has their cup of tea. And that’s completely fine.
If your staff is familiar with one, consider installing it on your digital screens. This will save you a lot of time and money teaching your team how to run your software.
How To Get Started With Digital Message Boards for Your School
The first step is planning out where you want to install digital message boards on your campus.
After choosing the walls you want to hang them on, you need to make sure they’re being installed at a comfortable eye level, not too low since that can be harmful to the neck and not too high where the students are looking at the ceiling.
The second step is a bit fun: shopping. Remember that quality comes before quantity. You’re not doing yourself any favour by going out and buying an excessive number of screens if half of them are going to be obsolete in two years.
So make sure you’re buying from a trusted source so that you can install the screens and forget about the hassle of constant maintenance.
The third step is choosing the software. Find an operating system that suits both teachers and students. Your students may be fond of something a bit more challenging and complicated, but some teachers will find that difficult.
On the other hand, getting something simple to satisfy the technologically unsavvy staff might limit the options, thus limiting the creative possibilities for your students. So keep everyone happy; moderation is key.
And voila! Your digital message boards are ready for whatever content you choose to be displayed.
Conclusion
Old school bulletin boards are quickly becoming obsolete. Everyone is too busy looking at their smartphone screens, and most people aren’t willing to look away to read something on paper or a board.
We have to adapt our schools to the new digital world, especially for 21st-century students. And when it comes to signage, digital beats traditional in every way.
With digital signage, displaying information is easier. And in the long run, it’ll save you the money you’d be spending on traditional signage.
Also, digital signage is more effective in emergencies. Displaying accurate instructions in a crisis will deflate any panic outbreaks and get everyone to safety effectively.
There’s also the added benefit of making your school look and feel more professional.
And after all that we’ve discussed, you have all the information you need by now. And it’s up to you to take action and provide digital message boards for your school.