Page 14 - Campus Security & Life Safety, September/October 2022

"While these solutions can help enhance safety on campus, when combined with a mass notification system, wearable devices and mobile apps can become even more powerful. Mass notification systems can tie into many devices already in place on a campus ... to deliver text and audio messages. This creates greater flexibility for safety team members who do not need to be in their office or in front of a computer to receive a message."
In an ideal world, one touch would be all it takes for a teacher to alert school safety teams that they are in danger. However, the reality is that teachers often must be in a specific place to press a button or must remember a series of steps to activate an alert. This can mean precious seconds are wasted when time is of the essence, which can ultimately impact teacher and student safety.
With legislation like Alyssa’s Law gaining steam across the country, and more states making funds available to acquire safety solutions following tragedies like the shooting in Uvalde, campuses are looking for tools that provide quicker, more personalized methods for alerting people about emergencies. The more quickly an alert goes out, the sooner the right people can be made aware of a dangerous situation and begin sending assistance. Solutions that offer more immediate alert capabilities create safer campus environments and emphasize the priority a campus puts on safety. Teachers and staff that recognize this effort are often easier to retain, and students and parents have confidence that the campus is creating an atmosphere centered around protection. A wide array of safety technologies currently exists, but many campuses are starting to turn to wearable devices and mobile apps to solve this challenge.
Wearable devices offer several advantages for teachers trying to request assistance. These tools often take the form of an ID badge that can be worn with a lanyard. This makes them easily accessible and mobile. Whether a teacher is in their classroom, the hallway, or out on school grounds, they can send a request the moment they see an incident occur. Requests are activated by pressing discreet buttons on the badge that send preconfigured messages to school safety teams. The content of these messages is determined ahead of time to provide safety team members with the context and information they need to understand what kind of situation is taking place. Messages will also include the name of the teacher who activated the alert and their location, so team members know exactly who needs help and where they should go to assist them.
Mobile apps can offer similar functionality. By downloading an app with a preconfigured panic button to their phone, teachers can use a device they likely have with them to quickly request help. One
By Paul Shain
Mass Notification
14 campuslifesecurity.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022
Providing Personal
Protection for
Teachers with
Wearable Devices
of the advantages of using a panic button app is that it can provide additional information for the teacher pressing the button. Once the teacher has sent the request, the app can surface instructions for what they can do to stay safe—and even provide a phone number to connect directly with safety teams. Since the app is tied to the teacher’s phone, safety team members can actively track their location should the teacher need to move to a safer location due to the emergency they are encountering.
While these solutions can help enhance safety on campus, when combined with a mass notification system, wearable devices and mobile apps can become even more powerful. Mass notification systems can tie into many devices already in place on a campus— including desk phones, desktop computers, digital signage, overhead speakers, and mobile devices—to deliver text and audio messages. This creates greater flexibility for safety team members who do not need to be in their office or in front of a computer to receive a message. When a teacher triggers the panic button, it can hit multiple devices in multiple formats. That way, no matter where a safety team member is, they get the message and can begin responding. Campuses can also take advantage of a diverse number of ways to trigger alerts beyond the wearable device or mobile app. Speed dials on desk phones, physical panic buttons under a reception desk, keyboard shortcuts, and automated triggers via contact closure or monitored services like email and CAP feeds can all make it easy to send pre- configured alerts with the information people need to understand what’s happening and who needs help.
Some solutions extend the reach of those panic button requests beyond the campus to also alert 9-1-1 dispatch centers. Campuses may wish to take advantage of this for particularly serious situations, like active shooters, that require outside assistance. When a teacher triggers a panic button from their wearable device or mobile app, the alert will go to both their internal team as well as local first responders, who will receive the same information. This helps coordinate responses between campus safety teams and local law enforcement and cuts down on the time it takes for campuses to get the help they need during a crisis. This functionality also helps build relationships