Mark,

I agree the fobs with local receivers or repeators are a good bet. Range is about 50ft, so you probably want a receiver outside each room or pair of rooms. The wiring could be a bit tricky, depending on code. In the US, we have all sorts of regulations governing voltage and whether the space above a ceiling is considered a plenum. Those issues may be simplified by using low voltage (e.g., 24V).

One additional suggestion: if you use fobs with multiple buttons, each button on each fob can have a unique code. The buttons could distinguish the type of risk, e.g., fire, unruley student, medical emergency, intruder, etc. Thus, the response can be tailored to the type of threat.

At some point, the codes will need to be decoded. For that , I refer you to Nigel's tutorials on this site. John

 

Hello all,
Does the school have a PA system?? If so, then when the Key-Fob is activated, you could make it so that all the audio from the room is simultaniously(SP?) recorded and played in the main office/security area. The teachers can use pre-determined voice signals to indicate the problem, or the audio may even be self-explanatory. This route offers many possibilities, and may be simple to intigrate into an existing PA system.

 

What is the basic problem that is trying to be solved? Why is there a need for an additional technical solution when there should already be a useable process in place already.

If purpose is to have a procedure or process to get all the children to a safe place and then go from there, what is wrong with the normal 'fire drill' procedure we always had when I went to school? This could be initiated by staff or any teacher that thought they had a valid reason. The kids should have gone through enough of these in the past so as not to panic (heck we use to think of them as an extra break!).

Keep it simple

Lefty

 

The only thing there is...it might be safer for the students to remain in the classroom...if they leave the building like in a fire drill they may be walking into a bad situation...making it even worse with more students in the hallways... don't you think??

 

Hello all

Don't forget that the school requested a silent alarm/alert so prearranged procedures can be put into place.This is firstly not to frighten the Five year olds and also lets teachers decide if to evacuate or stay inside.
Eric did come up with a very good solution that is shown in the link-
http://www.xtra-sense.co.uk/signalling_products.html

So I would like to work along these lines.What I would requet is guidance of where to start to build a similer setup for myself.I think maybe even simpler than the one shown in the link,perhaps more like the simple drawing I attach.

Regards Mark

Attached Images

SCHOOL PROJECT.jpg (251.3 KB, 7 views)

 

I like Sig239's idea and I'd like to expand on it maybe. In the classrooms there could be a module mounted where the reciever for the rf is kept, also along with this just have a small simple display where it can be easily seen by the teacher but not necissarily visible to the students, such as on the teachers desk. This way with a multi button rf transmitter (each button being something different like fire, medical, terrorist, blah) the office and all the other teachers can see the type of emergency and where the alert came from.

 

hi mark,
Some good suggestions have been posted, but my concern is that this type of project will be 'dogged' by insurance/compensation complications.

I think that any system that cant prevent harm to even a single child is a worthwhile project.

As a side issue, while trawling the web, as a result of your OP, I came across a report that a school in the USA decided to carry out a false/fake alert to a terrorist attack.
To make it realistic it was on a 'need to know' basis, apparently the kids were terrified and the parents went ballistic.

The school adminstration were severely criticised for such a stupid act.

Good luck with your project.

__________________
Eric
"Good enough is Perfect"

PIC tutorials:
Gramo's: www.digital-diy.net/
Bill's: www.blueroomelectronics.com/

 

Eric,
If you don't mind....where did you find that story?? There are several ways to test a system like this once it is in place, and just to, right off the bat, test it with a semi live scenario might not be the best idea.... I think if they went through a couple of dry runs that were advertiseed probably would have been better.... and then do a surprise, unadvertised one, then everyone would have been more prepared for a mock incident...or a real one for that matter.... Just a thought...

Thx, Jeff

 

hi Jeff,
I googled for 'school gun attacks' and 'school terrorist attacks'

this article:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=55691

extract from web:
The newspaper report said the faculty members staged the phony gun attack – repeatedly telling the children it was not a drill – while the kids cried and took shelter under tables.

"A teacher wearing a hooded sweatshirt pulled on a locked door, pretending to be a suspicious subject in the area," the report said. "The students were told to lie on the floor or crawl underneath tables and keep quiet."

"What type of response would the Boy Scouts of America or a church youth group have gotten if their leadership had embarked on such a 'prank?'" said the writer. "I wonder how the parents of those children involved can consider leaving these teachers and administrators in charge of any decision making matters in the future?"

The newspaper quoted 11-year-old Shay Naylor, who told of the children crying as the lights went out, and some were holding hands and shaking.
Regards

__________________
Eric
"Good enough is Perfect"

PIC tutorials:
Gramo's: www.digital-diy.net/
Bill's: www.blueroomelectronics.com/

 

Emergency training is a complicated subject and needs to balance risk and benefit. That's where the idiots at the school in question went way wrong.

There are clear examples in which the risks during training clearly outweighed the risks of the event, such as spin recovery in aircraft. More people died or were hurt in training than in actual aircraft spins. Thus, the practice in the US was discontinued.

I believe that rehearsal and repetition of intended responses to emergency situations is a better course of action than to try to realistically simulate such events.

On the specific subject of simulated terrorism, one never knows who might be armed or do something like jump through a window when facing a realistic event like Eric references. NB: In the USA, guns are allowed in some schools ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18355953/ ). I would not volunteer to be the actor portraying a terrorist in those schools. Like Archie Bunker said in a popular American sitcom. All you have to do to prevent airline hijacking is to give every passenger a rod (gun) when they get onboard. John

 

You can save a lot of lives by making certain that televisions are properly secured from falling onto children.