A Degree In Digital Signage

The D.S. Lights, are big and bright...

The D.S. Lights, are big and bright...

Last week, Texas State Technical College made a minor splash in the industry by introducing a degree available for students interested in pursuing a career in the Digital Signage industry. The press release is woefully inadequate in providing detail on the courses available for a degree — three different certifications are available. Reading that the students “…will take courses in Adobe Photoshop, Flash and Premiere which will allow them to create graphic content for delivery through Digital Signage Systems,” I thought Sacre Bleu! Tools do not make the artiste! Knowing Adobe products will not make you good at Digital Signage.

I went to TSTC’s Digital Signage Degree site and perused the coursework to see if this degree has merit.

The first semester in the first year emphasizes an overview of multimedia. There is no mention of Digital Signage until the second semester with a course in “Digital Signage Systems: a compare and contrast of different digital signage systems and the selection as needed for environment, lighting, and purpose. Topics cover resolution and network considerations, as well as the computer system and digital storage media for digital signage systems.”

The third semester has a strong focus on digital signage content management including mobile devices. The lone semester in the second year has one course relating to Digital Signage, “Advanced Digital Signage Content Management.”

Out of 20 total courses, only five are focused on Digital Signage, and three of those in one semester. If you remove the third semester, this could very easily be degree coursework in digital imaging and graphics. TSTC knows marketing, mixing together a few courses and adding the moniker “digital signage” to make a new degree that would attract students. I have no doubt that every effort will be made to make sure this degree is worth the $5,000 the student will pay to get it (or $12,000 if you’re out-of-state).

But, I see potential issues. Training on Digital Signage must include education on viewer marketing, research, and measurement. It is a “Digital Signage Technology Associates Degree,” but knowledge of your audience is crucial education for anyone who wants to be a part of this industry. Why talk about advertising and sales promotions if you’re not going to understand who’s watching? This becomes even more important if the student learns about content playlist creation and scheduling (available in Year 2, Semester 1 – Advanced Digital Signage Content Management).

In the final semester, TSTC offers a course in job search skills, “to seek and obtain employment in business and industry.” Do the TSTC faculty members have connections in the industry that will allow the students to get a job quickly, or does graduation come with, “Here’s your degree. Don’t let the door hit ya…”

With all of this, three questions are stuck in my head:

1. Who will teach the Digital Signage courses? Industry veterans who can provide the real-world background that makes a technical college a valuable place to learn? Or an expert in technology with no real background in the industry? I would feel much more comfortable if I knew that the educators are (or were) in the trenches.

2. This industry, and the technology utilized, is evolving so fast that the degree will be like the computers in the classroom – obsolete the day the students start using it. Will the degree provide the students with the capability to adapt the day they leave the school?

3. Would you, Mr. or Mrs. Digital Signage Industry Company Executive, hire a student with this degree?

Reading through the course offering, this appears to be a good foundation of knowledge that a student could carry into the industry.

But, like all college degrees, students should be prepared to unlearn and relearn everything for this industry. We’re still writing the textbooks as we grow.

  • http://www.westtexas.tstc.edu/index.cfm Patricia Lister-Golin

    Hi Paul,

    Industry reaction to our new Digital Signage Technology (DST) degree has been fantastic. An overview of the degree was featured in a recent article on digitalsignagetoday.com and has been the topic of postings on several blogs. Some questions were raised about the program, so I want to give you as much information as possible.

    First, let me say that our team of educators is excited about developing this new curriculum. It is a 60-hour Associate’s Degree, completely online. It is a coordinated effort between Texas State Technical College (TSTC) and Western Texas College (WTC), funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This coordination allows us to create a team with a wide range of skills. The degree concentrates on digital content creation and scheduling, but the students will receive instruction covering all graphic design and hardware basics – displays, players, networking, connectors… Much of the delivery will be in the “virtual environment” Second Life, supplemented with standard online course delivery through the Moodle Course Management System. The WTC team members are providing the backbone in all required academic courses and TSTC will be providing the technical training.

    Texas State Technical College is a technical college – our mission is quite different from your average community college. We are charged by the State of Texas to train the workforce. This mission, coupled with our goal to see every graduate employed, means that our industry Advisory Committees play a large part in every program at TSTC. Industry input keeps our courses and degrees relevant to those we serve. We work closely with our advisors in each of our programs. We strive to create and maintain industry connections and relationships. Based on the response to our new degree, the future is bright for partnerships between TSTC/WTC and Digital Signage professionals.

    Our unique mission makes us nimble – we have local needs courses approved by the Higher Education Coordinating Board of Texas that allow us to adjust the content of our courses based upon changes in industry. In a growing and changing industry such as Digital Signage, this is vitally important… as the industry changes, so will we – based on our Advisory Committee’s recommendations.

    Our instructors have a dedication to the students and to education that is rarely seen in online curriculum. That dedication, along with industry credentials, is the basis for a curriculum that focuses on current workforce requirements. Our team includes educators from across TSTC’s four main campuses and WTC.

    We have certified instructors to facilitate every portion of the curriculum: Microsoft, Cisco, and Comptia networking instructors; Oracle Academy training to support the backend database; MBAs to handle the internet commerce and business courses; and CEA/DHTI+, ISF certified AV instructors for hardware. Our Digital Imaging and Design department teaches all of the Adobe graphics and multimedia products. Our team has years of experience marketing with new delivery methods. Of course, this marketing instruction encompasses audience demographics and measurement; knowing your target, when and how to reach them, and how they perceive the message. These concepts will be covered in-depth in our Internet Commerce, Advertising and Sales Promotion, and Project Analysis and Design courses.

    Each of these educators has professional experience in their field; in fact, it is a requirement for our instructors. This amazing team is excited to apply their skills in this new program to create an energized and engaging learning environment.

    It is our goal to take education to the student in new and innovative ways. To do so, TSTC has been a pioneer in the production of educational content in the Second Life (SL) virtual environment. This is a rapidly growing platform for coursework in education. Our work has been commended by many in higher education for its quality. Take a look at our vTSTC campus online (http://v.tstc.edu). We offer complete Associate’s Degrees via SL and use the platform to host multiple courses. We had our first Associate SL graduate this year. We have extremely talented SL developers who are adept at programming projects for our students who, in turn, become active participants in world. And our graphic designers are second to none!

    This enables us to give our students a broad view of their chosen field. In addition to joining industry organizations, reading magazines, blogging, and other methods of professional development, we will have virtual kiosks at the entrances to classrooms on the vTSTC campus displaying the RSS feed from Digital Signage Today magazine and other important industry publications. The students will master scenario-based, SL-simulation assignments – the student receives a project, talks to a client, surveys a building, negotiates a budget, and purchases equipment in our virtual store. The outcome is to design a Digital Signage system that meets the project needs and still stays within budget. Hardware considerations such as display locations, viewing angles and distances, location of players, existing network infrastructure, and media storage are just a few of the concepts the student must understand to complete the project. Audience demographics, the choice of online or in-house hosting, and other pertinent considerations will also be integral to these projects.

    The core concepts for the degree and the ideas that power these simulations are determined by our instructors, many of whom have pulled cable through dusty attics – there can be a simulation of that! and a video… and… The major skills necessary for success in Digital Signage will be incorporated into every course. For example, the Digital Video course designed for DST students will cover concepts and skills focused on video resolution, colors, motion, framing, etc. as it relates to the best practices for Digital Signage. The course will be quite different than that same course taken in another program. The projects for our courses will be focused on skills DST students need in industry. This is where you come in, Mr. or Mrs. Digital Signage Industry Company Executive (I love it!); we would love to brainstorm educational ideas with interested industry professionals.

    We know the Digital Signage community can contribute in many ways to make this program successful. Several industry leaders have already volunteered to act as advisors for the program! Wonderful! We can’t do it without you. What are some ways you, as an industry professional, can help TSTC/WTC produce technicians that are a benefit to their future employers and the industry?

    How about presenting a current Digital Signage topic to our students as a guest speaker in Second Life? No travel… you can do it from your desk. We can invite all interested industry professionals to attend the presentation and tour our virtual campus. It would be the event of the year!

    Or what about mentoring? You could ask your employees to volunteer as a mentor and give them an hour or two off a week to facilitate meeting with their protégé. They can be across the country, but as close as their internet connection. How fantastic it would be for our students to have that kind of one-on-one support from industry.

    There is always a need for actual, physical equipment – both hardware that the students can access from the internet and software. What if, for every piece of equipment donated, a virtual equivalent is created in Second Life? Our graphic designers can create a virtual duplicate of the equipment in 3D and our developers can program it to give information about the specific item as well as a link to the donator’s web site.

    One way industry can keep its finger on the pulse of our degree is to offer internships to students in their final semesters. Students would benefit from the actual industry experience and industry would have a vehicle to provide feedback to our educators on the quality of the skills acquired in our program. Or, you might want to act as a virtual client for one of our design projects.

    If the quality of graduate is what you hope for, would your company contribute to a scholarship fund? There may be a student in your local area, talented, but financially unable to attend college. Even over distance, we can reach students who could benefit from this fund. Being an online degree, we can serve any student in any area.

    These are just a few ways for industry to partner with Texas State Technical College and Western Texas College. This is an open invitation to any and all… join us in our mission to produce quality technicians for the Digital Signage industry. As we all know, time tells if any degree holds up to industry scrutiny, but I feel that Texas State Technical College and Western Texas College, along with support from the Digital Signage community, are up to the challenge.

    This is my vision for our new degree; please contact me with any questions or ideas.

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