<ll there will be a noticeable difference in many prominent locations on campus, as the college will be installing a new digital signage system. Flat screen LCD monitors will be placed around campus and be connected to a central server that will update the screens with ads from campus organizations as well as information about other events on campus.
The purpose of the new system is to hopefully improve communication around campus and provide another means to advertise events and activities. Currently approximately 10 new screens are planning on being installed to be located in Sayles, Great Space, Burton, LDC, Library, Weitz Center, and Admissions. The two monitors currently installed in the Rec Center will also be hooked up to the system.
Although the complete design of the advertisements have yet to be finalized, the web services group, whose task it is to finalize the layout, anticipates that the screens will scan through all of the advertisements every ten minutes or faster. They also anticipate having multiple blocks on the screen at a given time with one portion for advertisements and the other block for the daily calendar.
The committee in charge of investigating the potential of installing the monitors has been meeting for the past year. They began the process by surveying other similar colleges to see what if any signage programs other colleges used, as well as what type of systems they used. After consulting with other colleges and reviewing products from seven different companies, the committee decided on Four Winds Interactive.
Reasons for choosing Four Winds Interactive was their easy to use software, as well as the ease to expand the system over time. The hope is that if the system is a success then more monitors will be placed around campus.
The total initial capital costs of the system were $60,000, which includes initial set up fees to Four Winds Interactive as well as the hardware and instillation costs. Funding for the project was shared by various Divisions of the college as well as a $10,000 contribution from CSA.
For maintaining the system there will be an annual software support of $2,800, which will be incorporated into ITS’s budget. The system will also be linked to the e2Campus alert system, which is used to broadcast emergency notifications across campus. There will be a committee created next year to help decide what changes should be made to the system in the future. The hope is that students and community members will give feedback so that the system will be able to evolve to meet students needs.