Within the evolving trend of digital advertisement, there are various purposes for LED signage, especially when it comes to schools and universities. In the world of education, communication is critical. Digital signage is replacing old-school academic signs in school systems’ overall communications platforms. However, LED school signs do more than just display mere text and video. Digital school signage ultimately creates an active network of parents, students, teachers, staff, and the general public within the community. Schools serve as beacons of their communities while being a community within itself, where various activities take place and loads of announcements occur at any given time. The content can be a mixture of entertainment, school news and events, local information and more.

How LED Signs Connect with the Community

Schedule Reminders

LED school signs can be a friendly, yet convenient manner other than constantly providing calendars to parents and students that can be easily discarded or forgotten. This can include displaying reminders of school hours, office hours, and the first day of school, parent-teacher conferences, upcoming half-days, winter/spring/summer break, summer school, and much more.

Campus Navigation and Tours

Carefully placed signs that highlight the campus’s directory can be quite helpful during the first week of school as new students learn their way around. Classes can move to different locations, events and venues keep changing. Tracking it all can be very time consuming and often the information doesn’t get updated. This is where LED school signs come into play. The information shown on these displays can be updated in an instant so students and visitors know where to go, eliminating the need to produce and distribute printed material. For instance, if you have a new set of buildings, recent remodels, or have kids in for the day touring a series of images that act as virtual tour can be shared. You could even take a step further and upload an image of campus and a “You Are Here” sign for different locations so students can easily navigate.

Upcoming Events

LED school signs help build excitement as well as anticipation and participation within the school’s upcoming special events. From events like school spirit week to the Friday night basketball game, proms (and other dances), upcoming plays/talent shows, guest speakers, bake sales, fundraising events and more. Programmable digital signs can include all relevant information related to the special event such as the when and where, and the prices of tickets (if tickets are required). Announcements can be spiced up by creating a fun countdown, or maybe even share a few photos from a previous event.

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Helpful Tips for LED Displays

Thinking outside the box for messages can engage students in a meaningful way. For example, before or during the week of finals, study tips could be posted. Or during the cold and flu seasons, tips could be shared on how to boost immunity and prevent the spread of germs. During the summer on humid days, tips to stay cool and properly hydrated could also be displayed. Fun facts about the local area, school, and trending topics could be displayed besides helpful tips.

Create Celebratory Messages

You can use LED school signs to celebrate students and their accomplishments. Post a photo of the science fair winners, the winning team in last night’s game, students who are most improved, students who made the honor roll, and celebrate students who are active in their community.

While digital signs are primarily for students and parents, they could engage the staff as well. Teachers or staff members’ birthdays or anniversaries could be celebrated. If a teacher or staff member receives a nomination or award outside of school, or if their work is published, that could also be announced.

Promote Sports Events

LED school signs also help students stay informed by announcing sports news. This could be to encourage the student body to come out in support of an upcoming game. You could let everyone know of an upcoming team or activity fundraiser. Remind students of upcoming tryouts. Announce those who made the cut. Announce a game or activity that is canceled for the day. Congratulate a team or club for winning their last game or competition.

Use as a Mass Notification System

Communication during a crisis needs to be fast and accurate so that people can react quickly and appropriately. Unlike text messages and emails that can take several minutes to show up on a device, emergency alerts on digital signage can appear within seconds. Any kind of emergencies to announce can be shared on one or more of LED school signs in the school. This includes weather warnings, weather delays, drills, school cancellations, amber alerts and any immediate message that needs to be shared with the students, staff, and community. Additionally, the brain process graphics faster than text, and motion catches the eye. Since the content of all digital displays across campus can be controlled remotely on a separate device, emergency evacuations can be handled in a swift and tactical manner.

Digital signage alert systems allow institutions of higher education to maintain regulatory compliance with the Clery Act, a law that requires colleges to provide students and employees with a notification upon confirmation of an emergency, incident or crime impacting the campus community and/or surrounding area. The Federation for Internet Alerts data also can be installed into signage systems, which gives schools and universities real-time data immediately.

Featured Resource:Improve Your School’s Communication With Eye-Catching Digital Signs & Technology

Download the School Administrator's Guide to Digital Signage, Classroom Technology, and LED Lighting

Campus officials are also able to inform those who opt-out of any direct-to-individual messages (like texts and emails). The visuals also allow hearing-impaired individuals to receive information at the moment. Most modern LED school signs also have the ability to add on additional computing power to support more visual, attention-grasping messages.

Using digital signage to combat COVID-19 in schools and universities

Use the content in your LED sign to help reinforce the urgency of COVID protocol compliance and drive down the risks of infection for everyone in the community. Repeating messages helps reinforce and normalize them — and not everyone has heard or assimilated the most recent or accurate guidance.

Social distancing

Social distancing is a crucial part of defense against the coronavirus. Signage has a part to play in encouraging social distancing, whether it’s reminding people of the necessity or reinforcing the right methods. The key to driving higher compliance is normalizing distancing via repeated consistent messaging.

The benefits of using modern display technology for emergencies are that administrators are no longer restricted to sending one text-based message to an entire campus.

Featured Resource:Improve Your School’s Communication With Eye-Catching Digital Signs & Technology

Download the School Administrator's Guide to Digital Signage, Classroom Technology, and LED Lighting