Digital signage has significantly advanced in recent years, making it an even more powerful tool for STEM education. While teachers and school admins are crucial in updating digital signage, students should also play an active role. This fosters engagement and gives students a hands-on experience that aligns perfectly with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) principles. This article will show you how to use digital signage to create an engaging and educational STEM project.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to incorporate digital signage display into your curriculum. Instead, you can integrate it into your existing lesson plans.
For example, suppose you’re teaching history, such as World War II. In that case, students can create digital signage content highlighting key facts about the war. These lessons could culminate in displays showcased around significant events like Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Rise Vision offers a variety of templates that work well for fact-based content. With just a few adjustments to include your school’s branding and custom text, students can create eye-catching results that engage the audience.
Interactive Digital Signage: Today’s digital signage offers more interactive features than ever. Consider incorporating augmented reality (AR) or QR codes to allow students to provide real-time, interactive experiences. With advancements in touchscreen technology and IoT, students can create dynamic content that evolves based on the viewer’s interaction.
Rise Vision’s customizable templates make it easy for students to experiment and learn about the intersection of technology and design, a fundamental part of the STEM education experience.
Rise Vision also has a number of templates for quotes (see below); the same exercise for facts could also be applied to quotes.
When it comes to digital signage, understanding copyright is crucial. While many students assume that if an image is on the internet, it’s free to use, that’s not always the case, especially regarding educational use.
One important lesson digital signage provides is teaching students how to download and share images and content legally. Websites like Pexels offer a huge library of public domain images, ensuring that students use content that’s free of copyright violations. Additionally, the lesson on copyright can extend beyond digital signage to help students understand the legalities of media usage in all aspects of their academic and professional lives.
As you guide students through creating their digital signage projects, please encourage them to explore these platforms and discuss the importance of intellectual property. You can also see other places where you can get free images for digital signage here.
One of the core principles of STEM education is allowing students to solve problems independently. While explaining every step of the process is tempting, students learn best when they can experiment, fail, and solve challenges independently.
A successful STEM project aligns with core STEM principles and engages students through hands-on problem-solving. In digital signage, success means students use technology and integrate engineering, math, and science into their projects.
Rise Vision’s HTML widget is an excellent way for students to incorporate computer science into their projects. For example, students can create a countdown clock for digital signage using HTML, which helps integrate the technology and engineering principles of STEM. Projects like these allow students to see the direct application of coding in the real world.
If your school embraces STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), consider expanding the project scope to include graphic design in the content creation. This allows for a fuller integration of arts and technology, providing a more well-rounded educational experience.
Evaluation is key to any successful STEM project. Before students create their digital signage, they should present their ideas to the class, explaining their design goals, the challenges they overcame, and the learning process.
During the presentations, encourage students to share what worked well and what didn’t. Have classmates ask questions to dive deeper into the process. By encouraging peer feedback, you reinforce learning and help students refine their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
For digital signage, consider introducing peer evaluations or using interactive displays where students can rate and comment on each other's projects. This further incorporates real-time feedback into the evaluation process, making the experience more engaging and educational.
As the world of digital signage continues to evolve, so does its role in the classroom. Here are a few additional points to keep in mind:
Collaborative Tools: Integrating Google Drive, Trello, and other collaboration tools can help students work together on digital signage projects, especially in a remote or hybrid learning environment.
Emerging Technologies: Incorporate IoT devices and AI-powered tools into your signage projects. Students can learn to incorporate sensors and data visualization into their displays, making the learning process even more engaging.
Interactive Learning: Digital signage today is not just a display tool but an interactive one. Consider using QR codes, touchscreens, or augmented reality (AR) to enhance the learning experience.
For more STEM activities to incorporate with digital signage, check out some of the articles below: