School Clocks Are More Than You Think!

When I was time a child, I never thought much about the school clocks I saw up on the wall of my classrooms. All I ever desired to know was the time. Is it time for recess yet? I am hungry, how long until lunch? Then I got older & less interested in school but more interested in being a teenager (it happens to all of us, right?). Then I turned to those classroom clocks with thought. Is this class over yet? Is there still hours until the finish of the day? It is comic now that I look back, how all the clocks in my school were always placed right over the doorway you longed to make your exit from. Now that I am older, however, I do know that those school clocks could have done much over I ever thought. They appeared useless but school clocks can be state of the art if made from the right manufacturer. Here's why.

After some experience working for a clock company, I have learned a lot about school clocks & all kinds of clocks. It may not appear that fascinating but there is much more to clocks than you think. For example, school clocks can be independent, wired, wireless or even IP meaning all of them connect & interact with other clocks & devices differently. Classroom clocks that are independent or standalone do not connect to any other devices at all, while wired, wireless & IP clocks are thought about clocks systems & synchronize with other clocks & devices attached to their respective systems. Furthermore, such clock systems are often interactive & can be interfaced with other systems in a building. Understanding each type of school clock helps you better understand how important those classroom clocks can be in a school. Here's a brief snippet about each.

Independent

These are the clocks I suspect my high school had. While they weren't terribly inaccurate, they tended to be off by up to a couple of minutes or so from bell times & from classroom to classroom. Independent clocks are usually that. Their displayed times drift, do not correct automatically, or match any bell schedules.

Wired

Wired clock systems are installed & powered over new or existing wired infrastructure within a building. These school clocks correct often with a master clock that receives correct time from a GPS receiver or NTP server. Usually, wired systems will synchronize with other interfaced systems & infrequently drift when made by a reliable manufacturer.

Wireless

When a wireless school clock process is installed in a facility, all the same benefits of a master clock are at your disposal. This process, however, requires no wiring. The analog clocks are battery powered & get a wireless signal for correction from a transmitter within the master clock.

IP

A difference to the IP clock method is that these school clocks do not need the installation of a master clock. Because each clock is assigned its own IP address, they can be programmed individually, usually through a web interface of some kind. IP school clocks still get exact time, from an NTP server, & correct often through their connection to the network. These clocks may even be powered through their Ethernet connection, otherwise known as powered-over-Ethernet (PoE).

When it comes down to it, classroom clocks can do a whole lot more in a school than you think. Next time you, or your kid (in case you are wise beyond your years), complain about how long the school day is or how boring chemistry is, keep in mind that there could be more to those school clocks that you hopelessly stare at than you think.

Anthony Gaudio is a Promotion Intern for the Sapling Company, Inc. Sapling manufactures classroom clocks for schools K-12 & higher schooling.