Posts Tagged ‘Emergency Notification’

Ouachita Baptist Alerts Students and Staff About an Emergency Situation Involving an Armed Robbery with InformaCast

Excerpt from the Ouachita Baptist Website

“The alert system operated effectively and we were able to clear the outside areas of campus very quickly.” – Dr. Keldon Henley, vice president for student services at Ouachita Baptist University

August 24, 2010

Ouachita Baptist University officials activated the university’s emergency notification system in response to a police search for a possible armed robbery suspect near campus.

An initial alert was issued at 10:29 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 24, with an all-clear message issued at 12:18 p.m.

The initial alert notified students, faculty and staff that “police are searching for a possible armed robbery suspect in the area behind OC Bailey and Anthony Halls” and instructed individuals to “go inside until further notice.” Follow-up alerts instructed recipients to “please go inside the nearest building until further notice.”

Following notification by Arkadelphia police that the suspect had been apprehended, university officials issued a message noting that “the emergency situation has now ended. You may continue normal activities.”

Ouachita’s extensive campus emergency notification system, launched in 2007, includes e-mail, text messages, outdoor loudspeakers, campus phone messages and computer pop-up alerts.

According to Ouachita President Rex Horne, “An emergency situation in Arkadelphia this morning resulted in our securing the campus and bringing all students and employees indoors.  A bank robbery was reported and Arkadelphia police advised us to issue an alert. We did so promptly.” He added that everyone on campus was safe and “taking every precaution” throughout the emergency alert.

Dr. Keldon Henley, vice president for student services, noted, “We were tremendously pleased by the response of our students and others on campus when the alert was announced. The alert system operated effectively and we were able to clear the outside areas of campus very quickly.”

Read More – Excerpt from the Ouachita Baptist Website

Colgate University uses Singlewire InformaCast to alert faculty, staff and students about an incident on campus.

Excerpt from the Colgate University News Blog – Click to Read Full Story

We would like to provide you with more information about the emergency situation that occurred on campus earlier today. An individual inside a car near the Oak Drive entrance to campus attempted to harm himself, which made it necessary for local law enforcement officials to surround the car in order to contain the situation. The individual was not a member of the Colgate community, and the situation was resolved peacefully.

Though law enforcement officials expected the emergency to be contained to Oak Drive, as a precaution we advised faculty, staff, and students to remain in their buildings until the situation was resolved. In addition, all entrances to campus were closed.

The university’s emergency response plan includes a number of communications tools to inform the campus community quickly and effectively prior to, during, and following an emergency. Today, we utilized the Campus Alert email system, as well as the Informacast recorded message system over campus telephones.

Click to read full article

Appearing in the Colgate University Blog

Colgate has installed a new campus emergency public address system, which is part of the university’s comprehensive emergency notification plan. The new public address system is intended to provide timely warnings to the campus community in the event of a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate and widespread notification. It is important to note that it is highly unlikely the public address system will ever have to be used.

INFORMACAST is a component of the campus VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) telephone system installed in 2009. INFORMACAST allows prerecorded and live voice messages to be distributed to campus VOIP telephones, which include those in staff and faculty offices. While Colgate Alert is the primary tool for notifying the campus community in the event of a major emergency, INFORMACAST provides an additional layer of communication.

Read the full story on the Colgate University Blog at – http://blogs.colgate.edu/2010/08/colgate-installs-new-outdoor-e.html

New features in InformaCast are designed to further enhance the capabilities of mass notification, paging, and physical security for the Cisco Unified Communications Platform.

New features in this release include:

The following features have been added to InformaCast v7.1 to enhance functionality and improve user experience:

• Phone Updates for CallManager Express. You can now rebuild the phone cache (on the Phone Updates page) as frequently as once per minute. Previously, you could only rebuild the phone cache every hour when using CallManager Express.

• InformaCast Session Timeouts. It is now possible to control InformaCast’s session timeouts from its user interface instead of modifying the web.xml file. The Session Timeouts link in the Edit Configuration menu allows you to control not only the length of active sessions between InformaCast and your web browser, but also the length of active sessions between InformaCast and your phones, which was not possible before InformaCast v7.1.

• Skip Broadcast Initiator Logic Reworked. InformaCast v7.1’s logic has been modified so that if the audio source of a live message (which is either a phone, speaker, or Desktop Notification System machine) is initially contained in the list of recipient devices, it will be removed. For example, if a live broadcast is sourced from a phone and sent to the All Devices recipient group, that phone will not receive the message, even though it is a member of the All Devices recipient group.

• SLP Parameters. It is now possible to control InformaCast’s SLP parameters from its user interface instead of modifying the web.xml file. The SLP Parameters link in the Edit Configuration menu allows you to control how InformaCast responds when a speaker requests the location of a configuration file server during its boot process, how InformaCast responds to a device or application’s request for the location of an InformaCast SOAP service, and the location of your Configuration File Server.2

• LDAP Improvements. Several improvements have been made to the LDAP environment in InformaCast v7.1:

Different Kinds of LDAP Directories Are Now Supported—Previously, only Microsoft Active Directory and OpenDS could be integrated with InformaCast. Now, user authentication in InformaCast can be done via OpenLDAP, Sun Java System Directory Server, Apache Directory Server, and any other kind of LDAP v3-compliant server. To allow this change, a number of new fields were added to the LDAP Integration page of InformaCast.
An Additional Authentication Method is Now Supported—Earlier versions of InformaCast only allowed using simple LDAP authentication. This authentication method might pose a security risk if used over an unencrypted communication channel. InformaCast v7.1 now also supports user authentication via Kerberos v5, which is more secure, and can be used with SSL for better protection. Another advantage of Kerberos is that the configuration of LDAP integration in InformaCast can be done using the LDAP administrator’s regular login name instead of the distinguished name that consists of a number of components. With the addition of Kerberos authentication, several new fields were added to the LDAP Integration page.
• New User Role. There is a new role called messageSenderDNsRestricted. This role is very similar to the messageSender role, except that when a user specifies directory numbers (DNs) in the IP Phone Extension (DN) field on the Send Message page, those DNs are analyzed. If a given DN is not contained in a recipient group to which the user has been granted access (through the use of user or group filters), that DN will be removed from the list of recipients.

• SOAP Interface Changes. The SOAP interface has been rewritten, using Apache CXF as the new underlying infrastructure. This change allows developers to initiate live and ad-hoc messages programatically and provide dynamic audio within the SOAP request (u-law or HQ format is required for audio). Backward compatibility in the SOAP interface has been preserved, meaning that applications using the old interface, such as DORA, don’t need any updates. To deal with the changes made to the SOAP interface, a Programmer’s SOAP Guide is being developed.

• Section 508 Compliance. Section 508, an amendment to the United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973, is a federal law mandating that all electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government be accessible to people with disabilities. In compliance with Section 508, InformaCast v7.1 has a number of improvements:

Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables—Data tables have the column and row headers appropriately identified (using the tag). Tables used strictly for layout purposes do not have header rows or columns.
Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers—Table cells are associated with the appropriate headers (e.g. with the ID, headers, scope, and/or axis HTML attributes).
Electronic forms comply with assistive technology—When electronic forms are designed to be completed online, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues. All form controls should have text labels adjacent to them. Form elements should have labels associated with them in the markup. Dynamic HTML scripting of the form should not interfere with assistive technologies.
A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links—Skip navigation allows assistive technology to jump over repetitive information on a page. The value of this can be understood by noting how many times a webpage refreshes when simple actions are taken. This ability allows the user to save a lot of time.
• Cisco Communications Manager v8. Support has been added for Cisco Communications Manager v8. Please Note: InformaCast v7.1 has been fully tested as integrating with Cisco’s most recent release of CUCM v8.0. However, please note that Cisco Unified CallManager 4.x is not a supported environment for InformaCast v7.1. Prior versions of InformaCast will continue to be supported with 4.x. Click to view the Dates of Service

• Intercom Functionality. Intercom functionality between two phones, or a phone and a speaker now provided through PushToTalk v2.3, a separate application offering from Singlewire.

• Newly Supported Phones. InformaCast now supports new Cisco IP phones: 6921, 6941, 6961, 7937, 7971, 8961, 9951, and 9971.

• Key Pair Regeneration. For any users experiencing browser problems with importing InformaCast SSL certificates, there is a new section in the Troubleshooting chapter dealing with regenerating a key pair.

To learn more and download a 30-day free trial of InformaCast, visit us at www.singlewire.com/talkwithus.

SNAP System Combines SchoolMessenger and Singlewire InformaCast to Deliver Mass Notifications Across 68 Campus Locations, Reaching 100,000 Students and 10,000 Employees With the Push of a Button

Santa Cruz, CA and Madison, WI – April 16, 2010 – The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), the largest provider of postsecondary education and workforce training in Kentucky, was recognized as a Laureate by the Computerworld Honors Program for creating a statewide emergency notification system. Known as SNAP, or Safety Notification Alert Process, the system combines technology from SchoolMessenger and Singlewire Software, LLC that reaches across its 16 technical colleges and 68 campus locations to alert more than 100,000 students and employees to emergency conditions with the push of a button.

Each year the Computerworld Honors Program recognizes the most outstanding user achievements in technology. Honorees from around the globe are nominated for visionary applications of information technology that promote positive social and economic progress. This year’s honorees will be commemorated during an Awards Evening in Washington DC in June.

“Each Laureate selected for this honor understands the importance of using one’s resources and technical prowess to benefit one’s fellow man,” said Bob Carrigan, Chairman of the Computerworld Honors Program Chairmen’s Committee and CEO of IDG Communications Worldwide.

The KCTCS system consists of two parts. Singlewire InformaCast provides on-campus and intra-campus messaging that allows administrators to direct notifications to a specific college, campus, or building. If needed, audio and text messages can be sent, interrupting calls and turning IP phones into loudspeakers to broadcast critical news and updates. At the same time, bright-colored bars can be run across color computer terminals to deliver a clear message with detailed directions.

With no dorms on campus, communicating directly to students who commute up to an hour daily is equally important. SchoolMessenger’s massive communications capabilities enable thousands of personalized and timely voice calls, text messages, and emails to be sent instantly in any language.

“We applaud KCTCS for the honor that has been bestowed on it and the vision it has shown in creating a statewide crisis communications system that is unmatched,” said Sanford Kenyon, president of SchoolMessenger. “With just a push of the button students, parents, faculty, and staff anywhere in the state can be alerted to threatening conditions, and then kept up-to-date as the situation unfolds.”

“KCTCS has done something truly extraordinary with their emergency notification system in Kentucky and deserve the notoriety and accolades it has received,” said Brad Parkel, director of marketing at Singlewire Software. “They have created a powerfully informed system of campuses that can communicate directly with each other, through a variety of devices, to ensure that safety remains the number one priority at all times.”

A congratulatory video produced by SchoolMessenger and Singlewire.

About KCTCS
Since its formation in 1998, KCTCS has become the largest provider of postsecondary education and workforce training in Kentucky serving more than 500,000 citizens. The statewide system of 16 colleges and 68 campuses has a current enrollment of more than 100,000 students, with more than 10,000 faculty and staff. KCTCS also houses the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services and the Kentucky Fire Commission. kctcs.edu

About Singlewire
Singlewire Software LLC, based in Madison, WI, develops and supports innovative voice applications centered around secure, fast, and reliable mass notification capabilities. Main offerings include: InformaCast, InformaCast CK, PushToTalk, and DORA, and allow customers unprecedented control in designing mass notifications, assigning them to specific recipients, and determining the medium for dissemination—IP phones, IP speakers, email, etc.—all with the peerless capacity for customization to our customers’ specific environments. To learn more, please visit www.singlewire.com.

About SchoolMessenger
SchoolMessenger is a leading provider of notification solutions for education. Thousands of school districts, public schools, colleges, universities, private schools and other educational facilities in all 50 states depend on the company’s innovative solutions to connect and effectively communicate with millions of parents, students and staff every day. Founded in 1999, the company is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California. For information, visit http://www.schoolmessenger.com or call 888.527.5225.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Brad Parkel 
Director of Marketing
Singlewire Software, LLC
608.661.1154
media@singlewire.com

School districts deploy IP-based products that support everything from voice to texting and even social media.

Excerpt from Ed Tech Magazine E-Newsletter by Dan Tynan

There’s a security threat at an elementary school. A water main has broken, flooding the high school’s basement. A tornado is speeding toward the main administration building. A suspicious package just arrived in the mail room of a middle school. The police have cordoned off the vocational school’s neighborhood, and traffic is backed up for miles.

No matter what the emergency, you need to notify a lot of people in a hurry. How do you do it?

As the April 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech tragically proved, yesterday’s technologies — sirens, calling trees and the emergency broadcast network — are no longer sufficient.

That’s why school districts large and small are adopting IP-based systems that integrate a wide range of communications technologies, from voice to texting to Twitter.

When San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) began modernizing its facilities a few years ago, it cast aside its aging phone and retooled its public address system and its outdated Emergency Notification System (ENS) and tied nine of its 31 schools together with a single IP-based system.

Using Singlewire Software’s InformaCast, the Northern California district connected its loudspeakers, bells and ENS to an IP-based phone system from Cisco. The reason? More bang for the buck, says Jon Threshie, former director of technology for SRVUSD.

“We captured substantial construction cost savings by going with a single solution,” Threshie says. “By eliminating conduit and cable infrastructure, for the same money we could end up not only with a significantly superior telephone system for the school, but also a districtwide system as well.”

Because the public address speakers can be accessed individually, administrators can make specific announcements to, say, all first-grade classrooms or students on the playground, as well as issue campuswide alerts, by choosing from prefab templates.

Click to read full story

Emergency Notification Systems Get the Word Out

Federal agencies deploy IP-based products that support everything from voice to texting and even social media.

Excerpt from Ed Tech Magazine E-Newsletter by Dan Tynan

After a hostage crisis at Johnson Space Center in April 2007, NASA knew it needed a better way to inform its people during an emergency.

This fall the space agency implemented Singlewire Software’s InformaCast at its Washington, D.C., headquarters, integrating the ENS with the agency’s Cisco IP phone and data networks.

“If we’re in a hostage situation, we don’t want the floor where the hostage taker is to know what’s going on, but we still need to inform the rest of the building,” says Mike Barrett, telecommunications manager at NASA headquarters.

“With InformaCast, we can selectively send messages to all floors, specific floors or all floors but one. We can also send on-screen pop ups to specific PCs and Macs.”

InformaCast’s versatility is what sold them on the system, adds Danny Gear, IT support contract telecommunications supervisor. It lets them send text or audio to random individuals scattered throughout a building.

Click to read full story

In January 2009, Kentucky was hit with a severe ice storm that affected large areas of the state. The storm caused damage to systems and infrastructure that was so dramatic that it was comparable to damage sustained in an earthquake of 6.2 in magnitude.

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System, which has 16 campus locations located throughout Kentucky, had several schools that were severely impacted by the storm. Through the KCTCS “SNAP” emergency notification system, which includes Singlewire InformaCast and SchoolMessenger, officials were able to send notification to students and staff alerting them that school locations were closed and the dangers associated with the storm.

Click to Learn More

Watch this short video to learn more about how this event unfolded at KCTCS and how they used their emergency campus notification system to send the alert. Visit http://www.singlewire.com/kctcs.

Cisco Case Study – Elon University uses mass notification and ip paging functionality of InformaCast as part of their campus security strategy.

Located in North Carolina, Elon University is a private university with 5400 students and 1150 faculty and staff. The university’s 100 buildings are situated on a beautiful and historic 575-acre campus, away from urban centers. “Students feel very safe here, and that’s part of the university’s appeal,” says Christopher Waters, the university’s assistant chief information officer and director of information systems. “At the parent orientation in 2008, one of the most popular question from parents was whether the campus had video surveillance.”

Elon’s campus security department can now view real-time and archived video surveillance footage on demand, thanks to the Cisco® Video Surveillance Operations Manager. The system operates over Elon University’s existing Cisco network, which is also used for Cisco Unified Communications; a Cisco digital signage solution; and for intercom, using Singlewire Informacast software and the built-in speakers of Cisco Unified IP Phones.

Click to read full case study featured on www.cisco.com – PDF

Cleveland County Public Schools adds AP instruction to another school without hiring a new teacher, with Unified Videoconferencing.

Formed when three school districts merged, North Carolina’s Cleveland County Public Schools has 29 elementary, junior, and high schools spread out over 40 miles. “Our biggest challenge is providing an excellent educational experience with limited budget and personnel,” says Rob McDaniel, network engineer for the district.

The district uses the built-in speakers of its Cisco Unified IP phones for intercom and bells, using InformaCast software from Singlewire, a Cisco partner. “Cisco Unified Communications cost approximately the same as a new PBX and intercom system,” says McDaniel. “The return on investment includes lower monthly recurring costs, the safety of having a phone in every classroom, and the ability to send text alerts to classroom phones in the event of weather-related or campus safety emergencies.”

Click to read full case study

Additional information on this solution – http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns151/networking_solutions_unified_communications_home.html