MkII Posted July 20, 2007 Posted July 20, 2007 For the past year we've been using email for staff to request senior managers attend their classrooms in an emergency. All emails are picked up by our receptionist and actioned. Once a month at least, or more, emails are missed, either because outlook is in the background and prompting for some action before retrieving emails, or other such system lockups occur. This is unacceptable of course, staff and pupils safety is put at risk. What do you do? Can you suggest a better method? Ta!
mtdmitchell Posted July 20, 2007 Posted July 20, 2007 we use a IM system called Spark and openfire http://www.igniterealtime.org/projects/index.jsp opensource as well works a treat and staff love it! AD authentication as well
contink Posted July 20, 2007 Posted July 20, 2007 Erm... So lemme see if I've got this right... In order to get the standby staff member down to a class the teacher has to turn on a PC, type an email and then wait.. ?? I'm sure there's probably more to it than that but I'd have thought picking up an internal phone, mobile call to the secretarys number, or some such would be a lot quicker. Checked with my other half as well and she said her schools system is to send a runner with a note.
webman Posted July 20, 2007 Posted July 20, 2007 Our teachers find the nearest phone or send a kid. Email could also work as computers are always on.
localzuk Posted July 20, 2007 Posted July 20, 2007 We don't have phones in such common places - mostly in admin offices and one in each teaching building. The SEN staff have radio's (as do the key SMT staff, myself, the site manager and office staff). So staff have a variety of options - but most just send a runner like I said.
bishopsgarthstockton Posted July 20, 2007 Posted July 20, 2007 We have a duty tutor, if a pupil has got to the stage where a duty tutor is called then a teacher will phone the admin office to tell them they need the duty teacher to so.. soo lesson in what ever department. the duty tutor has a mobile phone on them and is called from the admin office to pick up twit and/or twat. t and/or t are then marched to remove. works very well here.
MkII Posted July 20, 2007 Author Posted July 20, 2007 Thanks for the info guys. We used to use phones, but only one per block which means staff have to leave classroom unnatended. We do do runners too. At the moment when there's no response from email a teacher will send a runner too - usually from classrooms not so far away - we do have a big spread out site. PCs are on all day for registration here, with email logged in usually. We had a period where kids would pull out the network lead for a laugh - or be more subtle and pull it slightly out.
john Posted July 20, 2007 Posted July 20, 2007 Have a look at the Microsoft Office Communicator or what ever its called now (its been renamed again), but its basicaly an internal MSN system that integrates, as you would guess, with Microsoft System.
ConTheITGuy Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 We have phones in every room! Nice and easy. Although getting the teacher who is "on-call" to come to the classroom isn't all that easy I gather! Andy
Joedetic Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 Is there not some way you can e-mail the PBX and get it to automatically call a number? There could be some web based system where staff have to authenticate and press a button and then a message pops up on the admin staff PCs stealing focus and flashing or something? Just ideas and i have no idea how to implement them.
localzuk Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 Still too long winded. The traditional runner is best, or radio's and phones. Emails and IM is too complex - requires too much to do it.
Geoff Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 What about a VoIP server to supplement your existing phone system?
MkII Posted July 24, 2007 Author Posted July 24, 2007 @Joedetic - top post - if only someone would make those happen! @Geoff - yeah I priced that up - seemed a good (& cheap) option to me but the school just weren't interested. I went to install the email account onto a second admin machine and almost had a mutiny on my hands! Admin staff don't want it. I left it still just installed on one PC. The new favourite idea is to have a laptop dedicated to email sat on the receptionists desk.
Joedetic Posted July 24, 2007 Posted July 24, 2007 That's just greedy. Give them a nasty old yellowing RM entry level machine and a CRT.
MkII Posted July 24, 2007 Author Posted July 24, 2007 hehe - sounds like another top idea - and amazingly we just happen to have a few knocking about!
Gatt Posted July 25, 2007 Posted July 25, 2007 We have a "Bat Phone" that is used to call the Duty "Manager" for stuff like this And no, the Bat Phone is not the Bright Red Bakelite version its just a dedicated school mobile
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