Leon County Public Schools Deploys viaRadio Warning System

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 12/08/08
##AUTHORSPLIT##<--->

Florida's Leon County Public Schools has activated an emergency warning system from viaRadio Corp. The viaRadio receivers, known as HEARO, are now in the county's 24 elementary schools, nine middle schools, six high schools, six special/alternative schools, five charter schools, and various administrative offices. The school district plans to use the warning system to inform the schools' administration of lock downs, weather emergencies, and other pertinent information. It can also be used for internal communication among employees.

"Our decision to incorporate viaRadio's HEARO alert system was based on our ability to control the outgoing messages themselves through viaRadio's Web interface," says Robert Tricquet, coordinator for the department of safety, security, and emergency management.

viaRadio's local alert system consists of a network of radio receivers, which display informational text messages in English and Spanish. It carries National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather warnings and other public safety text alerts and works even when power, phone and Internet are out through the FM radio infrastructure. The radios have a 60-hour battery life in case of power outages.

Florida's Brevard County Public Schools has been using the system for about a year.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • digital illustration of Estonia with glowing neural network-like connections spreading across the map

    Estonia to Roll Out ChatGPT Edu for all Secondary Schools

    In a nationwide artificial intelligence program dubbed "AI Leap 2025," the country of Estonia plans to provide free access to leading AI applications for all secondary school students and teachers. The initiative will launch with a rollout of ChatGPT Edu to 20,000 high school students in grades 10-11 and their 3,000 teachers, beginning Sept. 1.

  • A child surrounded by glowing, fluid virtual patterns and holographic shapes, illuminated in a dark gradient environment of blue, purple, and pink.

    ClassVR Gets Expanded VR/AR Content Library

    Avantis Education has announced a new content library for its ClassVR virtual and augmented reality platform. Dubbed Eduverse+, the library features four content suites — EduverseAI, WildWorld, STEAM3D, and CareerHub — that can be tailored to suit a variety of educational levels.

  • elementary school teacher with students

    Traditional Procurement Processes Stand in the Way of Progress

    K–12 schools and districts can streamline procurement and gain agility without having the rewrite purchasing requirements.

  • school building split in half, with one side collapsing into a dark hole

    Office of Educational Technology, National Center for Education Statistics Fall Victim to ED Cuts

    The U.S. Department of Education has announced cuts of nearly half of its staff, numbering more than 1,300 workers, according to AP reporting. While official details on the cuts are not available, early commentary on LinkedIn has revealed drastic cuts in the areas of educational technology and data.