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For as long as schools have existed, there has been a requirement for a trouble-free yet effective way to inform students and educators of class-change times, beginning of lessons and end of lessons. Over the ages, many methods have been employed for this function. Early methods included the hand ringing of bells - some of which are still used today. Progressively technology has seen the beginning of more trustworthy and increasingly accurate systems, to the position where today?s schools can have fully planned timetables that automatically make adjustments for exams, holidays and one-off events such as parent-teacher interviews. Why did they change? The old hand-held bells were especially helpful in making teachers and students in small-to-mid sized schools aware of period times but like nearly all fully-manual systems, they did have a few drawbacks: 1. Inaccuracy. Ringing times were only as accurate as the timepiece used to determine class times. Any timepiece that had not recently been wound might produce disruptions to the routine, which would have a flow-on effect for lessons. 2. Human error and reliability. A manual system constantly contains the unpredictable human ingredient. If the bell ringer was affected by illness or had some other personal crisis, someone else would be vital to assume the bell ringing duties, resulting in more disruptions. Of course, one added disadvantage of the manual bell ringing method is the question of hearing loss caused by nearby proximity to the deafening bells. This hazard was either unknown in the past or at least it was by no means considered a significant enough matter to warrant changes to the practice. These days it is inconceivable that educational facilities put a student?s hearing or any other of their senses at chance of permanent damage. In recent decades, various other bell systems have been tested, several proving more functional than others. Several schools have tried using sirens and klaxons to alert students and teachers of period times, nevertheless these were usually found to be stressful, and had an undesirable outcome on the focus ability of students. Various attempts at automation included the integration of 24-hour timers, which needed resetting at weekends and the beginning of new school weeks. 7-day timers were an improvement but still required regular attention at holiday times and making changes for daylight saving changeovers and long weekends proved to be difficult and cumbersome. Public-Address (PA) systems have been used in several schools as a means of integrating the school bell with an intercom, but these had many flaws regarding volumes, loudspeaker malfunction and the amount of cabling necessary. Time and again schools have been let down by these types of systems and they have gradually been phased out, with schools opting for distinct bell ringing and intercom setups. More recently, separate pc-based programs have been implemented in several schools, with the promise of set-and-forget capabilities, but by and large these too have been doomed to failure. PC reliability and a lack of specialized computing skills amongst school administration staff have meant that these setups have regularly become riddled with problems and finally the schools have ditched them and returned to more primitive methods. So we come to the present day, and the introduction of a new generation of school bell systems. These systems merge cutting edge dedicated hardware with internet based atomic clock timing, giving total reliability and tremendous precision. The human variable has been taken out of the equation, making new systems straightforward to install and manage. Schedules can now be planned in up to a year ahead, with modifications for holidays and parent-teacher interviews easily integrated. Modern school bell systems are indeed set-and-forget, low maintenance and give outstanding return on investment when compared to outdated systems. Many schools and certainly state-run education departments are making the change to modern school bell systems to modernize and synchronize all their schools? activities and lessons, leaving others further behind and giving them the opportunity to offer enhanced facilities to potential students and teachers alike.
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Keith Crow is an authority on the School Bell System topic and has over 3 decades of Computer IT expertise to back it up. For more information, here is a more detailed School Bell Systems Report.
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