New classroom announcement system to be tested Nov. 12-13
As part of the university's ongoing emergency preparedness efforts, Library and Technology Services (LTS) will be conducting a test of the new classroom announcement system on Wednesday, November 12 and Thursday, November 13. The test will occur between 11 a.m. and noon and should last approximately five minutes.
Over the summer, LTS installed wall-mounted digital speakerphones near the instructor's station in all 160 Registrar classrooms on campus. The classroom announcement system represents a new tool in the University’s multi-tiered approach to emergency communications which also includes the LU-Alert text messaging system (to sign up, go to www.lehigh.edu/lu-alert), e-mail, Lehigh’s Emergency Website and more.
“The new system complements the existing emergency communications tools the university has put in place, and allows us to make time-critical announcements to places where large concentrations of faculty and students spend a lot of time and where they may not have access to their cell phone or the web,” said Bruce Taggart, vice provost of LTS.
For the upcoming test, faculty and students should expect to hear an “alert tone” followed by a brief test announcement—this will be repeated three times.
“In advance of the test, we encourage faculty to familiarize themselves with the location of these speakerphones in their classrooms,” said Lizanne Hurst, team leader, LTS. “Please note that the speaker volume control is preset to its highest level and cannot be changed. The new system has been designed specifically to communicate with the class instructor and is not intended to serve as a public address system capable of reaching all room occupants.”
Once the faculty member hears the message, the university is asking that the instructor shares the information with members of the class. Faculty members are also encouraged to please notify LTS immediately, if the speakerphone in their classroom is out of order by calling T-LINE (8-5463).
“As with any emergency system, testing of the tools is critical,” said Taggart. “We thank you for your cooperation during this important initiative.”
Those with questions, should feel free to contact Lizanne Hurst at lh00@lehigh.edu.
--Dina Silver Pokedoff
Over the summer, LTS installed wall-mounted digital speakerphones near the instructor's station in all 160 Registrar classrooms on campus. The classroom announcement system represents a new tool in the University’s multi-tiered approach to emergency communications which also includes the LU-Alert text messaging system (to sign up, go to www.lehigh.edu/lu-alert), e-mail, Lehigh’s Emergency Website and more.
“The new system complements the existing emergency communications tools the university has put in place, and allows us to make time-critical announcements to places where large concentrations of faculty and students spend a lot of time and where they may not have access to their cell phone or the web,” said Bruce Taggart, vice provost of LTS.
For the upcoming test, faculty and students should expect to hear an “alert tone” followed by a brief test announcement—this will be repeated three times.
“In advance of the test, we encourage faculty to familiarize themselves with the location of these speakerphones in their classrooms,” said Lizanne Hurst, team leader, LTS. “Please note that the speaker volume control is preset to its highest level and cannot be changed. The new system has been designed specifically to communicate with the class instructor and is not intended to serve as a public address system capable of reaching all room occupants.”
Once the faculty member hears the message, the university is asking that the instructor shares the information with members of the class. Faculty members are also encouraged to please notify LTS immediately, if the speakerphone in their classroom is out of order by calling T-LINE (8-5463).
“As with any emergency system, testing of the tools is critical,” said Taggart. “We thank you for your cooperation during this important initiative.”
Those with questions, should feel free to contact Lizanne Hurst at lh00@lehigh.edu.
--Dina Silver Pokedoff
Posted on:
Sunday, November 09, 2008
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