By Bobbi Pippin
The Fannin County School System has taken another step toward student education and safety with the addition of new technology within the classrooms.
Director of Technology & Cybersecurity Scott Mathis and Chief Operations Officer Darren Danner presented information about a new system at the April meeting of the School Board.
For the educational technology, there is a new audio and camera system for teachers to utilize to help with their lessons. If a student is sick, the teacher can record the lesson on the classroom camera and have it available for that student.
There’s also a new audio system for the teachers in the classroom. They can utilize a microphone that is worn around their neck to ensure that everyone in the class can hear them speaking without having to raise their voice.
This camera and microphone system is only accessible by the teacher of that classroom, unless the teacher activates a safety alert.
When the teacher activates the safety alert by either pressing a button on the microphone or a button on the wall, it activates a silent alarm and sends an alert to the administrator, making audio and video footage available. This way, if there is a safety issue, administrators can act accordingly.
There is a device on the wall with lights to let teachers know when an alert has been activated. The lights change again when administration is responding.
Administrators also have a device around their neck that does not have a microphone but has an alert button.
The online system can be accessed by any administrator on the school systems Internet system. For example, if a school official is in their office at the board of education, they can access the safety features for all the schools.
There is a map with a pinpoint for each school and if a schools pinpoint turns red, the school official will know that there has been an alert activated at that school and they can check in remotely.
This system will keep Fannin students, teachers, and administrators safe during an emergency.
Some states have passed a legislation called the Alyssa Law and it is currently in progress in Georgia. This law requires schools to have silent alarms, such as the one Fannin has already installed, so that law enforcement can respond as quickly as possible.
When this law is passed in Georgia, Fannin will already be prepared with the new system in place.