Classroom Visual Timer

A visual timer made for the classroom

On a whiteboard, numbers are hard to read from the back row. A big coloured disc is not. Press the fullscreen button (or F) and the timer fills the projector or smartboard with a clean black screen, a large disc and the remaining time. The controls fade away after a few seconds so nothing distracts the class, and the screen wake lock stops the laptop from going to sleep during a long activity.

How to use the visual timer

1. 1

   Set the time

   Drag the coloured disc out from 12 o’clock (anticlockwise, like the classic red-disc clock), tap a preset, or open Custom for hours, minutes and seconds.

2. 2

   Press Start

   Or the Space bar. The coloured area shrinks back towards 12 o’clock as time runs out.

3. 3

   Listen for the alarm

   When the disc is empty you hear your chosen sound and see “Time’s up!”.

4. 4

   Reset

   With the reset button or the R key to run the same time again.

Set the time before the lesson, open fullscreen, and start the timer with the Space bar from anywhere in the room with a wireless keyboard or clicker.

Classroom routines that work with a timer

• Transitions

  2 minutes to pack away and line up. The class can see the time running out without you repeating it.

• Think-pair-share

  1 minute to think, 2 minutes to talk.

• Independent work

  15 or 20 minutes of focused writing or maths.

• Group rotations

  10 minutes per station, with the same chime each time so students learn the signal.

• Tests and quizzes

  A 45-minute or longer countdown using Custom and Fit to time.

• Brain breaks

  3 minutes of movement before getting back to work.

Tips for teachers

Use the same colour for the same kind of activity (for example blue for work and green for breaks) so students learn the routine. Choose the soft gong or gentle chime for a calm end signal, or the bell if the class is noisy. Hide the numbers for younger classes and show them for older ones. Because there is no login and nothing to install, the timer works on any school computer.