With the BETT Education Show fast approaching it reminds me TrilbyTV will soon be blowing the candles out on its 2nd Birthday. Launched at BETT 2016 we’ve been working hard over the last 20 months changing the mindset and switching digital signage in schools back on.
And what a twenty months it has been since our launch. TrilbyTV now has over eleven hundred users uploading four thousand pieces of content to their school’s digital signage equating to three and a half days of on-screen content.
So the changing mindset and working hard at the coal face every day is working and more than ever our schools are seeing the benefit of sharing and showcasing their success. If screens are full of content on a regular basis then this absolutely helps to evidence student progress and measure the impact of technology. I can’t think of any better way to celebrate success than having your digital signage full of student-authored content. And what a pleasure it is as director of TrilbyTV to look in and see what our schools are uploading.
Some of the simplest ideas can be the most powerful. Take this Riddle of the Week example from Cym Glas Primary School in Swansea. A simple text slide is added to promote the riddle and then the winning pupil is rewarded each week in assembly! This idea creates great interest around the school and an added dimension of thinking and learning for the pupils.
Apple Distinguished School Layton Primary in Blackpool create a weekly green screen vlog promoting news and success. Each week, different Year 5 and Year 6 students take turns to cover topics such as Class Dojo results and Sports News. Finished vlogs are shared on the school’s digital signage and out to the wider community using weblinks and QR codes automatically generated within TrilbyTV. I can’t think of a better way to create confidence and real-world skills and how powerful at the age of 10 and 11 to have “I present my school’s weekly news show’ already on my CV!
These simple content ideas and ownership and voice from the students create interesting pockets and communities around schools. Because of this, we’ve seen our lonely screens in reception grow to multiple screen estates. Take St Anthonys Catholic Primary School in Solihull for example who started with a single screen in reception. Now they have five screens showcasing in the staff room, key stage 1, 2 and the library. Each screen creating its own little community and creating aspiration for the students to see their work showcased.
As educationalists, we knew the power of showcasing students work and how proud this can make them feel. We also knew that unless there was a platform that made this instantly and easily achievable, schools with digital signage would continue to huff and puff before eventually losing interest and turning it off.
It has been a fantastic 2017 and we are winning the battle. We have a lot more work to do, which I say while on an early train to London to install into two schools. But the pride I feel each time I turn a screen back on and as I hear schools talk about the possibilities is simply inspiring.
So thank you everyone for a fantastic year. Thank you to my fellow directors Ben and Raj, thank you to the TrilbyTV team Charlie, Dom and Gavin. Thank you to our distributor Exertis and our reseller partners who have also had to learn this change of mindset. Finally, thank you to all our wonderful school customers, your students, teachers and communities who inspire us every day to make TrilbyTV the #1 Digital Signage Platform made for Education.
See you in 2018 – it’s going to be an awesome year 🙂