Visual email/IM alert device?

[Larry Browning]

I know this is not woodworking related but this is the only forum I am a member of so I will ask this here.
My wife is an English teacher and the school is implementing a system to IM the teachers when they want to have Johnny come to the office or in some way communicate with the teacher. Her computer sits at the back of the classroom. She thinks it would be a great thing if there were some kind of a device that gave a visual signal when one of these IM's came in to her computer. Like maybe a light that flashed until she could get to the computer to turn it off. She could see it from the front of the room, but the kids couldn't. It would be silent so that it wouldn't disturb her lecture. I know this could be done technically but I just can't seem to find anything. I just don't know the right name for this device. Do you know where I might find such a device? I would envision it being connected to a USB port.

Thanks

[Andy Hoyt]

Why bother with another device?

The school's computer guy could probably arrange things so that the monitor would flash a special image or window of some sort when an IM thing comes in. This presumes that she could see the monitor's screen from the front of the classroom, though.

[Tim Morton]

I take it the bouncing icon in AOL would not be noticable? If she has a "mac" she could turn magnification on in the dock and then "hide" the dock...it would bounce and be visable only when an IM was waiting. It would easily be visable across most rooms.

[Larry Browning]

Why bother with another device?

The school's computer guy could probably arrange things so that the monitor would flash a special image or window of some sort when an IM thing comes in. This presumes that she could see the monitor's screen from the front of the classroom, though. Well, I think this is the whole point. Her computer sits on her desk and the monitor faces the back wall so the the kids can't see it at all. It is pretty much a requirement that the monitor faces away from the kids. It also needs to stay on until she notices it so she won't miss the message. She likes the idea of not have the intercom interrupt her teaching, but she is afraid she will miss these IM's.

[Larry Browning]

I take it the bouncing icon in AOL would not be noticable? If she has a "mac" she could turn magnification on in the dock and then "hide" the dock...it would bounce and be visable only when an IM was waiting. It would easily be visable across most rooms.
Actually this was my 1st thought as well, but she won't budge on facing the monitor to face the front of the room so she could see it.

[Andy Hoyt]

How about a carefully placed and oriented mirror on the wall?

[Larry Browning]

How about a carefully placed and oriented mirror on the wall? :D well that might work if she always stood in one spot.(Like that's gonna happen!) Maybe one of those fisheye mirrors, but then the kids could see the monitor too.

[Tim Morton]

Actually this was my 1st thought as well, but she won't budge on facing the monitor to face the front of the room so she could see it.


My second thought was those little triangles things they hand you are restaurants that start blinking when your table is ready.:D

[Larry Browning]

Ok, update on this project.
She has now agreed to position the monitor so the she can see it from the front of the room. (Will miracles never cease?) So I have been working at getting the monitor to flash when a new message comes in. I have changed the accessibility settings to flash the screen when a sound is played, but it seems to have no affect (even after a reboot). I have done this on her computer and on mine and nothing happens. I know I must be doing something wrong.
Any ideas about how to make this work?