Program Trains Teachers, Students to Deal with School Shootings

 

Gun violence is a reality of American life. Across the country, at least 12 people were shot to death on the first day of 2018.

A shooting can happen anywhere: in homes, businesses, on the street, and in schools.

There were nine school shootings in the United States in 2017. They left 15 people dead and 18 others wounded.

Now, a new simulation program is designed to help keep teachers and students safe from a shooter.

The program is like a million other video games available. But this one is not really a game. It is meant to let the user experience what happens when a gunman enters a school. This simulation is difficult to watch, but the programmers say it can save lives.

The simulator is a project of the United States Army and Department of Homeland Security. The program is available through an online training program called EDGE. That is short for the Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment.

Bob Walker works as EDGE project manager. He says the simulation lets teachers choose and test several plans of action for dealing¹ with a gunman.

Walker provided an example: the mass shooting at the Virginia Polytechnic² Institute and State University in 2007. Thirty-two students and teachers died in the attack. Some Virginia Tech teachers found setting up barriers behind doors worked very well.

"So this gives school districts the ability to try out different things, see what works for their given environment."

The goal is to give teachers, administrators⁴, and even police a chance to virtually walk through an active shooter event at a school.

Tamara Griffith works at the Army Research Laboratory.

"So, experience builds survivability. The more experience you have, the better your chances of survival are.

Griffith adds that the simulation helps users prepare for an attack. She says they can have different experiences, and see what works and what doesn’t work.”

Griffith helped to develop the simulator. She says creating the program was difficult for everyone involved. She says the group sat down and listened to police dispatch tapes from earlier shootings. She says they were frightened when they thought about what was happening during those attacks. But their goal was to better prepare law enforcement officers and others who have to deal with shootings.

The shooters, children and administrator³ in the game operate using artificial intelligence. This enables the programmers to test different safety methods to see how they work.

The simulation is shocking and unpleasant. But the programmers say they are doing their best to prepare teachers for the worst that might happen.

Tamara Griffith agrees.

"We can prevent a lot of these deaths. We can prepare people better. We can make this a safer environment if we can get this into the hands of the right people."

The program is already being used to train some emergency crews in the United States. The Army Research Lab plans to make a school version available soon, without cost to users.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

simulation – n. something that is made to look or behave like something else

virtually – adj. involving an experience provided by a computer program; a world of images and sounds made by a computer

artificial intelligence – n. the ability of computers to copy human behavior, such as making decisions or offering suggestions

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 polytechnic   

adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校

参考例句：

• She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。
• When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

3 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

4 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城