Digital Yearbook Signing Provides Some Fun during the Pandemic

The last day of school brings good feelings. There’s no school work on the mind ….. it’s all about yearbooks and hanging out with friends and signing each others’ books. This year students will not be writing, “HAGS” with a marker, but typing it on a keyboard.

At a time of social distancing students have all come to rely on technology. Jostens, the largest yearbook company in the country, and even the world, knows that signing books is a huge part of the yearbook experience. They have created a digital yearbook signing experience, so students can still get those important signatures and keep the yearbook traditions alive. Digital yearbook signing doesn’t replace the feeling of being with friends, but it does let students connect with one another. It gives students something to look forward to.

One simply has to create an account, design a booklet, send a custom link to anyone one wants, and watch signatures fill the pages. At the end of the signing period, students can print their books and attach them or keep them inside their yearbooks.

Once the site goes live next week, students will receive information to create their signing pages. The site is yearbooksigning.jostens.com; Check Monday May 18th and create your booklet.

Jostens is Alta’s yearbook publisher and Jason Castleton, Alta’s Jostens yearbook representative says he knows just how important signing books is to the overall yearbook experience. To him yearbook is all about making connections and sharing memories, especially with friends. “I especially like the feature that students can solicit signatures from people they want to sign their books,” he said. “They won’t have to stand in line or pass books. They can type messages right from their phones, laptops, and home computers.”

Since students are experts on all things related to phones, it will be an easy and fun way to connect.

There is no doubt all students love the last day of school. Whether it’s because teachers can’t give any daunting tests or because they can finally go hang out with friends whenever they please. Students are not the only people that love yearbook day.

“For me, yearbook day is the happiest day of the year. Forget going to Disneyland, it’s yearbook day,” said Alta advisor Denise Ferguson. “Students are happy and teachers are happy because the school year is over. To have a digital signing book allows students to connect with friends and share lasting messages about the school year.

Mrs Ferguson acknowledges that digital signing is probably not ideal. “Who knows, however, it might just be the new way of gathering signatures,” she said. “I think students will have fun with this technology.”

Mrs. Ferguson said students can select a page in someone’s signing book, select the font, the color, the font size and everything about how their message looks. In a way, students get to be yearbook mini-staffers creating a part of someone else’s book. “Just remember to be appropriate in your comments,” she added. “You don’t want to type something that could haunt you someday.”

There is a sadness to not being able to write in someone’s yearbook, but Jostens makes it possible to share memories of high school years in spite of the pandemic. It will be easy to record fun memories and inside jokes with a friends.