Page 22 - THE Journal, April/May 2017

tele52; Golden Sikorka/Shutterstock/THE Journal staff
22
| APRIL/MAY 2017
OUTDOOR AV
Stephen Noonoo
Digital Signage
That Brings Schools
Together
Outside the classroom, AV technology can engage parents and the community without breaking the bank.
SK MOST EDUCATORS about their reasons for putting interactive
technology in the classroom and eventually you’re likely to brush up against one key word: engagement. But as some schools continue to add
AV technology to reach students inside the classroom, others are taking it outside its walls to reach the entire community — from parents to
students and even visitors.
Here, three Texas districts share how AV technology, such as virtual
displays and community kiosks, are helping them reach beyond the classroom without putting too much strain on existing resources or their IT departments.
Creating Something Positive
At Manor ISD, a district-wide digital signage rollout began almost by accident during a routine training for principals at the central administrative offices. “We have a lot of on-site professional development,” explained Wayne Fulton, the assistant director of technology for the Austin-adjacent district. “Our office staff had to tell district teachers where to go in the central office for each training course, so we wanted to come up with a way to just display that information on monitors.”
After campus principals saw how useful the displays were in directing traffic, they began requesting them for their own buildings. Now, every campus has at least one monitor outside its main office, with larger high schools getting extra screens for the hallways or to display lunch menus in the cafeteria.