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June 11, 2008, 12:45 PM ET
University Used Instant Messages to Communicate After Fire
In the wake of a devastating fire at Our Lady of the Lake University last month, university officials didn’t rely on phone calls or e-mail to keep the university community connected. They couldn’t. The fire was in the campus’s main building and had knocked the entire e-mail and phone networks out for about three days. Instead, the community relied on an instant-messaging service.
Shortly before the fire, the university had integrated an IM platform into their campus IT structure. The university had not invited students and faculty to use the service yet. When a massive fire blazed through the main campus building on May 6, though, the institution’s IT administrators began updating the community through Blackboard and urging students and instructors to download the IM client (Pronto, a platform from Wimba).
Students and faculty IMed to schedule classes and review sessions—it was the week before exams—and many held classes online instead of in their usual classrooms. Some staff members were also given cell phones while the campus phone system was out.
“We just had the right tools, and we knew how to use them and put them to good use,” said Raquel Moncado, an instructional technology specialist at Our Lady of the Lake. “We’re a small private Catholic institution, and if we’re going to spend money, we’re going to use it carefully.” Ms. Moncado said she’s noticed that faculty members and students are continuing to use the school’s instant message system and online class software during the summer term.
Some universities have turned to other technologies such as text message alerts or sirens in the face of campus crises. At a University of Richmond conference also held May 6, some people hopped on Twitter when a gunman was reported on campus.—Catherine Rampell
Categories: Security, Leadership
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