By Theresa Bontempo
Schools and children’s education are the foundation of the success of our society. By keeping students learning the basics of math, the English language, grammar, history, spelling, and science, these children can help to shape our future with technological advancements and even cures for different diseases or cancers.
Technology never stops advancing and that goes for schools too. When trying to give your students and staff the best kind of experience, digital signage is the way to go because it can help broadcast school news, emergency alerts, or even be used as a wayfinding tool for anyone new to the district.
Digital signage can help a school system out in numerous ways, which is why we’ll be discussing important topics in this article including:
- How to implement digital signage into your school system
- Top ways that digital signage can be used for student safety and emergency alerts
- How to find the right digital signage and content management system for your school district
How and Why Every School System Should Have Digital Signage
Digital signage is new wave technology that can be beneficial to those new to the school district and more!
Digital signage can be beneficial for new staff and students as a way to learn the campus and school policies. Image courtesy of Samsung Business Insights.
Bulletin boards are just not enough anymore when it comes to new student and staff onboarding. Instead, digital signage can be a better option and help both new teachers and students learn to navigate the halls efficiently, learn school policies, and feel more welcomed using bright and colorful LED/LCD screens.
Could Be Used to Promote Student Safety
Since we will be diving deep into how digital signage can help make any campus safer with a number of reasons, it is also important to mention how and why they should be implemented into any school or university. By displaying important safety protocols, announcing necessary drills, and even offering students and staff information about CPR training and other useful safety training can help to make the campus a safer place to be. It could also be a great way to show where on-site security may be, encourage students to report suspicious activity, and even be a useful evacuation guide in case of an emergency.
Navigation System Useful for New Students and Staff
Another reason that makes digital signage so necessary for schools is that it could be a great wayfinder to navigate around campus for the very first time. There is nothing more intimidating than starting your first day of school or work and unsure of where to go. Digital signage can be updated in real-time to display where certain departments are located on campus, list room numbers, and provide a detailed map of where everything is on campus.
Inspire Both Teachers and Students in Classrooms and Hallways
Another incredible way that digital signage can play a huge role in uplifting staff and students is to display inspirational quotes and other people talking about their experience at the school. For many people who are nervous about starting at a new school with people they don’t know and an entirely different layout of campus to explore, the nerves could be getting to them. Having student and staff testimonials displayed on digital signage about why they love their school can be a great way for people to start feeling better about being in a new setting and even make staff feel like they’re doing their job right!
Provide Real-Time Updates and School Announcements
Another way that schools can use digital signage is through displaying school announcements–which also do a better job than sending kids home with paper flyers and having bulletin boards posted around campus. Digital signage can be updated in real time using a content management system (CMS) and can be updated instantly to reflect sudden updates and changes that students and staff should be made aware of.
Top Ways to Use Digital Signage For Student Safety and Emergency Alerts
Keep students and staff safe by displaying emergency alerts and other important events all in one place!
By adding digital signage in schools, it can keep both staff and students safe with important alerts. Image courtesy of Class Tech Tips.
One of a school’s top priorities is to keep students and staff safe. This could be by doing important safety drills throughout the year, keeping everyone safe using emergency alerts, and keeping the school updated quickly. Safety is key for any school and digital signage can be a great way to keep internal communication flowing smoothly and effectively.
Check out some of the best ways that digital signage can help keep your school safe!
Display Urgent Safety Messages and Broadcasts
The real-time update feature of digital signage can help to broadcast urgent messages, updates, and even emergency alerts. Whenever there’s a weather drill, evacuation, or you want to announce incoming news to both students and staff, digital signage can be updated campus-wide to keep everyone safe and in the loop.
Can Provide Information For Safety Classes and Upcoming Trainings
For teachers, custodians, and administration that works at a school, it is important that they learn the crucial methods to prevent someone from choking, perform CPR, and how to administer an Epi-Pen for students that are in a health crisis. Digital signage can help serve as a reminder for staff and students of the basics when someone is in a health emergency and even remind staff of upcoming CPR training and other health-related meetings to keep staff up-to-date on the efficient ways to keep everyone safe on campus.
Evacuation Guide in Real-Time
Keeping students and staff safe on campus is crucial and depending on different circumstances and regions of the country that you can live in, evacuations can be necessary for a number of reasons. Whether it’s due to extreme weather conditions or other severe reasons, students and staff may need to be evacuated from the building. Digital signage can be an essential way for many students and staff to stay safe on campus by posting real-time evacuation procedures and wayfinding on the quickest way to exit the building. It can even include visual aids and multi-lingual options that can be great for students that are studying abroad if they have trouble speaking English.
Report Suspicious Activity
One of the most important ways to keep students and staff safe is to constantly remind them: if you need something, say something. This could go for someone doing something that they shouldn’t–such as bullying–someone suspicious on campus, or even a medical emergency. Whatever the case is, digital signage can broadcast different phone numbers that alert staff of issues that students may be having on campus and work to keep students safe by promoting a safe culture and environment and encouraging them to report suspicious activity.
Use For Simulated Drills and Preparedness
Instead of static signs that can float around on campus with updates on upcoming drills that will be taking place on campus, digital signage can instead provide realistic instructions, quick videos, and guide students and staff using interactive visuals. Digital signage can be implemented in the hallways and classrooms to allow students and staff to watch instructional videos that can be broadcasted by administration in real-time to get everyone familiar with the proper safety precautions to take in different scenarios.
Announce Necessary Health Advisories
When getting a large group of students and staff together in the same place and time everyday, germs can easily spread around and cases of the cold, flu, or even COVID-19 can spread. When there are different health advisories and a pattern of many students and staff getting sick, it’s important to keep everyone updated on these cases and how to prevent catching it. With the use of digital signage, it can be updated to reflect the cases that are popping up on campus and the common symptoms that one can have and can be a sure sign that they might be getting sick. Digital signage can also display common safety and health precautions to keep everyone safe on campus and prevent a large breakout.
Spread Health Awareness
There is nothing more crucial than staying safe and healthy. Health awareness is important for everyone to live a happy and healthy life, and many students may not be getting the essential information that they need at home. While health classes are implemented in the classroom to provide an insight into calorie counting, the basic necessities we need everyday in the crucial food groups, and how important exercise is—sometimes little reminders can help inspire students and staff to make the necessary changes that they need in their life. Digital signage can help to promote health awareness in students and staff where little messages can help them to make a decision that is good for their physical, emotional, and mental health–plus it can also promote getting vaccinated and donating blood to help others too.
Why Shift Should Be Your Number One Choice
Shift is a unique employee engagement system that can help boost company productivity and recognition—perfect for schools!
Shift can help keep managers organized and improve communication with their employees. Image courtesy of Shift.
While trying to think of ways to keep your employees engaged while in the workplace, people often think of company parties, employee club perks, and even a shoutout for a work anniversary. There are all great ideas, but a content management system that can boost employee satisfaction and morale, such as Shift is a great option!
What is Shift?
Have you ever wanted to build deeper connections with your employees or come up with ways to recognize their hard work? A content management system is the perfect solution that includes digital signage to display company and employee achievements, recognition, improve productivity, and boost retention.
Shift’s main goal is to work with employers to keep employees feeling appreciated and recognized and develop deeper connections with staff. Digital signage can be updated in real time using Shift to boast about company achievements, send out emergency alerts, give shout outs for work anniversaries, along with other useful tools that work exceptionally well in a school setting.
Features of Shift
Schools can greatly benefit from Shift and their content management system with useful features to keep their staff trained, recognized, and in the loop about company events. Some of Shift’s best features that schools can take advantage of include the following:
- Boost employee engagement through recognition and appreciation
- Celebrate staff birthdays, work anniversaries, and other achievements
- Show training videos
- Keep track of employee training
- Employee spotlights
- Interactive polls for staff to anonymously complete
- Expands internal communications
- Shows company logistics
- Improves and expands new hire training
- Allows staff to retrain and re-skill in key trainings
- Helps managers learn more about staff
- Encourages employees to do work harder
- Increases productivity
Update Your School System Using Digital Signage to Keep Staff and Students Safe
For any parent sending their child off to school, they want their child to be and feel safe throughout the day. For school boards, keeping both students and staff safe is crucial and digital signage can be the best way to keep both in the loop about announcements, emergency alerts, and even be a reliable source for new arrivals looking to find their way around on campus.
Consider adding Shift and a LED/LCD screen for digital signage and up the technology in your school district to promote better safety measures!
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