A number of classrooms at UC San Diego have received a new addition -- just in time for the 2009-2010 academic year.

LED digital signs have been installed in five classrooms in UCSD's Center Hall, with 13 more expected to be installed throughout campus in the coming months. Initially, the signs will display the time and, at the top of the hour, information about the course itself, including the professor's name and the course title. ("That gets asked about a million times a day on the first day of class," says the project's lead, Calit2 Principal Development Engineer Doug Palmer.)

But eventually, the signs will be used to alert students during emergency situations, such as during a fire or in the event a shooter enters the building. The signs, which can be remotely updated in real-time, might flash a warning along the lines of "Shooter @ West end of building. Exit North end."

So why not just use mobile text messages to send word to students?

"Students are asked to turn off text messaging while in the classroom," Palmer notes. "And if you want to send a specific message to a specific classroom, you really can't tell from a student's phone ID who is in what classroom."

Although Calit2 assembled the circuit boards for the signs and installed them, UCSD Media Services will be responsible for maintaining the content. Funding for the signs was provided by the office of UCSD Vice Chancellor of External and Business Affairs, Steven Relyea.