Chicomm Blog

Kristina Anderson, co-founder of the mobile school safety app LiveSafe, has said that if her company had existed in 2007, it probably would have changed the course of her life. coll

Anderson was a 19-year-old sophomore when a gunman opened fire at Virginia Tech. She had no idea that shots had been fired at another building on campus, and she was struck three times while entering a French class. She has since become a vocal advocate for campus safety and violence prevention, and her innovative company “was born from a spirit of triumph over tragedy and the desire to make the world a safer place.”

LiveSafe and other apps like it are providing a boost to school safety efforts nationwide by leveraging the power of everyday mobile devices. Students, parents, staff and campus safety officials can communicate instantly and anonymously with the touch of a button or transmission of a text.

Here are 4 of the mobile apps that are changing the school safety landscape:

In the world of public safety answering points (PSAPs), 911 communications professionals are considered the “first first responders.” They’re the first point of contact for 911 callers, they provide police, fire and other authorities with the information they need to help – and they do so while operating complex 911 telecommunications systems. So the qualifications for working in 911 communications cross over a number of different skill areas.

Having well-trained 911 staff with the right qualifications can literally mean the difference between life and death, and organizations around the country are working with the federal government to develop national training standards for dispatchers and supervisors.

While the specific requirements currently differ across states, municipalities and job functions, there are some universal job duties for working in 911 communications that all applicants should be able to perform.

Here, we’ll take a look at 3 of the top qualifications for working in 911 communications:

During an emergency, seconds can feel like hours, especially when it comes to locating workers to make sure they’re safe or dispatching help when they need it. Eliminating any blind spots in your ability to track employees cuts both your response time and precious time spent looking for workers who don’t need assistance but can’t immediately be found during an accident or emergency.

The new Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Indoor & Outdoor Positioning System from Teldio for Motorola MOTOTRBO radios blends Bluetooth technology and GPS to give up-to-the-minute information on workers’ locations via a web browser that can be accessed on a computer or mobile phone.

"I do not think that the wireless waves I have discovered will have any practical application." —German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, the first person to broadcast and receive radio waves.

It’s fair to say that Heinrich Rudolf Hertz didn’t quite know what he had on his hands when he discovered the radio wave in 1886, but in his defense, the rest of the world didn’t either. While Hertz’s experiments paved the way for technology including the radio, television and mobile phones, it would be years before scientists fully understood the implications of what he’d uncovered.

Let’s take a quick look at how wireless communications have evolved from Hertz’s “impractical” radio waves to some of the indispensable technology we use today.

When it comes to school safety grants, funders are looking for well-defined plans with best-practice-based solutions. While each school and district is unique, there are some universal tools and technologies that can benefit most situations and set your grant application apart.

Asking for the right technology demonstrates both that you’ve done your homework and that you’re committed to finding innovative ways to use your funding efficiently.

Here are 5 proven technologies sure to bolster your school safety grant application:

Digital communication decisions often seem complicated. Technology is always changing, from hardware improvements to software updates to larger system overhauls. These changes often lead to misconceptions about digital communications technology - which can get in the way of your business or agency making the right decision about acquiring new technology or updating what you’ve got.

Being aware of these misconceptions can simplify your digital communications decisions and help you break down barriers to getting the technology your business or agency needs.

Here are 5 common misconceptions about digital communications technology:

School and student safety has perhaps never been under more public scrutiny. School administrators and parents want to do everything in their power to ensure safety in the face of tragic events like school shootings and natural disasters.

Fortunately, technology exists to help protect schools and their students, faculty, and staff. But school districts have limited budgets and are often at a loss when it come to accessing that technology. The good news is that there are options and resources in place to help schools get the equipment and services that they need. One of the most common ways to do so is through school safety grants.

School safety grants are awarded to schools (or school districts) to help offset, or even cover, the cost of purchasing emergency communications equipment. Devices like digital two-way radios are valuable pieces to the school safety puzzle, and grants like these help put them in the hands of those who need them most.

Whether you're applying for your first school safety grant, have received one in the past, or have been denied a grant and want to increase your chances of success this time, here are three things to consider when applying:

School administrators bear responsibility for so many things: compliance with regulations, relationships with parents and the community, and, of course, delivering the best education for their students. But possibly the most sensitive area of responsibility is student safety. Tragically, school shootings are in the news with increasing frequency. And while most principals and administrators are pouring a great deal of effort into ensuring safety in schools against that backdrop, for many administrators, it's difficult to know where to start.

One place to start is ensuring that school faculty are ready to deal with emergencies. Faculty are really the “first responders” in the event of an emergency, and they are often tasked with communicating with the public safety first responders to ensure proper actions can be taken. Administrators can ensure that faculty are ready to serve in this critical capacity by:

Schools are changing. No, not just the curriculums they offer or the lessons they teach (though those are quite different today than they were even just ten years ago), but the ways in which they use technology to keep students safe, informed, and connected.

Today, many schools have adopted location services, a technology that operates off of a GPS-style system. Location services can be used for just about anything, from sending emergency updates and obtaining student locations to offering interactive campus tours and even notes and content. The benefits are clear, and with today’s students being supremely comfortable with all things technological, the rollout is widely appreciated and is something that students, staff, and parents can get excited about.

Here are five ways your school can use location services:

When you identify the biggest challenges your organization faces, one of the most common solutions to those issues it better communication. When you are effectively communicating with your staff, you minimize risks for downtime, safety issues, or even customer satisfaction.

What commonly happens in this scenario is that a business identifies this challenge and knows that better communication will help, but is unsure of the next steps to take, in terms of actual technologies and solutions. There are a lot of options to consider, and not every solution is right for every business or industry. Here are three communication solutions that can help out just about any company: