American Time School Blog

There is a certain elegance to the energy and efficiency of students moving throughout a school between classes. A bell sounds, doors open, and students and teachers move with purposeful pace. Moments later, the bell sounds, doors close, and lessons begin again. However, that familiar pace isn't possible without a system of clocks to keep everyone on time.

There are many benefits to having a fully functional network of clocks in a school, so pay attention, class: your lesson on everything you need to know about school clocks is about to begin.

There are many advantages to a wireless clock system. One of the most critical is the ability to operate a lot of different systems all from a central computer screen in synchronized harmony. How does the system make school bells (or anything else) ring on time? We can thank the magic of wireless relays, which can turn just about anything on and off when you need them.

With expansion in the works of its University Recreation (UREC) facility at James Madison University (JMU) located in Harrisonburg Virginia; the issue on how to keep time synchronized throughout the facility had to be planned, and it had to be planned correctly.

"In such a large facility, it's crucial that all classes start and end on time, and that even the students in the locker rooms know exactly how much time they have to get to class," said Bob Golson, associate director of facilities and operations at the UREC. "If people are constantly too late or too early, it impacts the experience and enjoyment of the facility."

How many times have you heard “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” The expression has been around since Ben Franklin wrote it in the 1730’s. I think about this when I visit schools, colleges and hospitals.

Time is everything in a school, and clocks that are synchronized to display the same, accurate time aren’t just a convenience. They ensure that students are where they are supposed to be, that teachers are covering the right subject matter for the right amount of time, and that everyone is moving through the building safely and efficiently.

A few months ago, American Time received an email from a Canadian school administrator looking to equip their facilities with Wi-Fi clocks. They wanted to find a way to synchronize time with a server and wanted to learn more about the Wi-Fi clock product line, so they asked us a couple of questions before getting started.

School Customer: Our Wi-Fi system uses a portal where users login using their own username and password. Is it possible to set this up with your clocks?
American Time: No, the American Time Wi-Fi clocks do not support portal login options.

How many times have you heard “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” The expression’s been around since Benjamin Franklin wrote it in the 1730s and I just heard it several times while visiting with a school customer about protective guards and tamper-resistant security brackets.

One of the best reasons to attend a tradeshow is the opportunity to visit with attendees, and naturally our talk usually revolves around timekeeping systems, opportunities, questions and problems.