3 Keys to Successful DIY Digital Signage in Higher Education

When you break down what data needs to be displayed at each classroom, text is really all you need. You can add a few basic images as needed, but since the signs are not interactive other forms of multimedia are limited.

Most higher education IT teams have someone already responsible for web design and development, so why not standardize on a web-based solution using the servers and infrastructure that is already being maintained?

Our raspberry Pi’s are configured to display a simple custom webpage designed and developed to provide all the data we need from our SIS, as well as a few other tweaks to integrate the system into our academic data sources.

Content

We’ve all heard the Bill Gates quote “Content is King,” but that saying is even more appropriate when you think about the needs related to digital signage, especially in an academic setting.

If you are not thinking about the business processes and procedures for identifying and managing content for your signage solution, you will not have a successful implementation long-term. Both classroom and lobby display systems need to provide relevant and updated content to students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the campus.

There are a number of challenges unique to higher education when creating and managing this content, as well as being able to keep it fresh and relevant. Classroom signage requires accurate room reservation data, recognizing both academic and non-academic room use. This will likely require the integration of data from multiple sources.

Lobby displays also need to pull official academic data, but are mainly used for advertising officially sanctioned new and events postings.

It is also important to remember how signage solutions can increase campus awareness in the event of an emergency. Some digital signage packages are already Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) compliant, but many of the notification solutions in use in higher education across the country are not. Integrating this time-sensitive content is another important part of a successful content strategy.

Despite the many challenges to digital signage for Higher Education, IT departments across the country have many ‘do-it-yourself’ solutions available. Our teams are already supporting technologies in use that could be modified to provide signage solutions that are more flexible than commercial solutions, and provide a richer content experience for our students, faculty and staff.

Author Timothy DiVito will co-present “DIY Digital Signage for Higher Ed,” at DSE 2016 on Thursday, March 17 from 8:00-9:00am at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information on this or any educational program offered at DSE 2016 or to learn more about digital signage, click here.

Timothy DiVito is the Associate Director of Information Technology for the Rutgers Camden Information Technology (RCIT) Department. This department provides IT support for all of the Camden Campus Administrative Departments, the Schools of Law and Nursing as well as the Rutgers Camden Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Prior to becoming the Associate Director of RCIT, Tim was the Assistant Director of IT for the Rutgers University School of Law – Camden. In addition to managing RCIT, Timothy is an active developer and proponent of education technologies and open source methodology.