One of the most exciting ways schools use digital signage is to celebrate student achievement, whether that’s cheering on a sports team, sharing outstanding exam results, or exhibiting creative art projects. In the past, many schools have achieved this with traditional display boards but they can be time-consuming to create and difficult to update, becoming static and overlooked after a while.
To solve this problem, schools like Stoke Damerel Community College, part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust, turned to TrilbyTV to keep content engaging and up-to-date. We caught up with Darren Towers, Head of Visual Arts at Stoke Damerel Community College, to find out how the school uses TrilbyTV’s simple solution to inspire students and build community engagement.
Showcasing student work
We started by talking about why digital signage is important at Stoke Damerel Community College and Scott Medical and Healthcare College, their specialist school next door. Darren said, “I wanted to see more ways for our students and staff to see the quality of work our students are producing, but also to take inspiration from what they see.” He explains, “some of our biggest selling points to inspire young people are the work of existing students, ex-students, and alumni, that can inspire others to think about what they can achieve themselves.”
Each school hosts an awards evening to recognise the inspiring work of their students. Darren said, “we’ll celebrate the achievements of our students. We’ll have a big event with awards given out, guest speakers, speeches but we’ll also celebrate via the screens as well. Signage helps to build excitement and extend the impact of the event, giving everyone the opportunity to recognise students’ hard work.”
Another benefit of TrilbyTV is that departments across the school can share their work. Darren told us, “it’s a way of marketing the rest of the school, what we do, that other staff perhaps don’t know on a daily basis.” For example, he said that he often finds out what’s going on at Scott Medical and Healthcare College from TrilbyTV, “I see what they’re doing over there via the screens and the opportunities for students and it’s just wonderful to see. You’re really proud of your institution for that.”
Sharing information with students
Darren goes on to explain that TrilbyTV has “proved absolutely valuable in terms of sharing information about events and competitions.” For example, they use their signage to help with “getting the students to events within the two break times during the day, giving basic information like room changes so students know where they’re going,” and other practical day-to-day messages.
One of Darren’s favourite things about TrilbyTV is the Announcements feature. He said, “I like the fact that we can put an alert out so it overrides things – if we have any urgent messages.” Although rarely used for emergencies, this feature is useful for when they need to let students know about a wet break, for example. The school’s main corridor, ‘The Street’, has six screens so a range of content can be displayed. Darren tells us that, “we can decide which screens [the announcement] goes to and then have other content showing on the other screens. So everyone could see the message but then also our captive audience had a chance to see what’s going on around both schools.”
He goes on to say the screens have been so popular with students that they’ve had to think carefully about where they’re located. The school had a screen in reception but they “took it off on the request of the reception staff because the kids loved it so much they would gather all around the desk and look at the content!”
Easy-to-use and cost-effective software
When it comes to planning what to show via TrilbyTV, the team makes use of the brilliant material they already have. Darren manages content along with Jessica Loomes, the schools’ Marketing Manager. Together, they look at what’s available in the school’s media library and use that content for their signage. For example, when they’re creating the online newsletter, they often repurpose it for the screens too. Darren told us, “It’s a way of showcasing those things that we’re doing anyway, so it’s not extra work, it’s just clever thinking, we’re doing that, let’s get it up on the screens, let’s let people know about it.”
Other members of staff are involved too: Computing Teacher, Dan Hatherley, helps to promote the house system, which is still relatively new to the school. Meanwhile, Media Technician, Chloe Sargent, produces videos including a campaign to encourage students to investigate careers in the NHS, which has been well received and entered into a national competition, as well as displayed via TrilbyTV.
Five considerations for digital signage
Download free PDFIt’s important to Darren that their system is easy to use and accessible for staff. Telling us, “this works really well, it’s really simple. And it allows multiple users which is also great as well, we’re not relying on one person.” Previously, they had looked at other systems but felt that they didn’t offer the same usability and accessibility as TrilbyTV. Darren felt that they relied too heavily on one member of staff managing the platform. He explains, “if you put a system that’s kind of been self-created, you run into problems if that member of staff leaves or if you haven’t got enough staff using it. With TrilbyTV, I’m very confident that if any of the team leave, it’ll still run successfully.”
In terms of getting started, Darren felt that the process was very easy, saying, “we had a month’s trial initially which I was sold within the first week or two.” Technical setup was simple too, “our IT Manager who set up the infrastructure in school – the TV screens and the devices connected to them – was very happy.” Darren finishes by saying, “It’s a bit of a no-brainer for us – It just works.”
It was great to catch up with Stoke Damerel Community College to hear about their exciting work with TrilbyTV. If you’d like to find out more about digital signage made for education, why not book a free demo with us. You can even try out TrilbyTV by signing up for a 30-day free trial complete with support and enough time to see how it works for your school or trust.