CountLink
Timer / Classroom Timer
Classroom Timer — For Group Work & Transitions
Group work, quiz rounds, silent reading, transition time between activities: a visible shared countdown ends the “how much longer” questions on its own. Project it fullscreen or share the link to student devices.
Change the countdown
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Tip on Ko-fiWhat to time, by age
The right countdown length changes a lot by age. A timer that's motivating for a six-year-old reads as either patronizing or impossibly long for a seventeen-year-old.
| Age | Transition | Task or group work |
|---|---|---|
| Younger (roughly 5–10) | 60s | 2–5 min |
| Early teens (roughly 11–13) | 2–3 min | 10–15 min |
| Older teens (roughly 14–18) | 3–5 min | 20–50 min |
Whatever the length, the mechanism is the same: project the board at the front, and if students have devices, share the same link. Everyone counts down to the identical second, so "how much time is left" stops being a question anyone needs to ask you.
How to use the Classroom Timer
- Set the length on the board itself. Click a pair of digits and roll them with the arrows, or type the time in. Quick timer presets are there too if one of them already fits.
- Type the activity under "What's it for?" so the screen answers "what are we doing?" as well as "how long left?".
- Press Fullscreen to project it, or Show QR code so students can pull the same countdown up on their own devices.
- Press Start countdown, and set a fresh timer for each activity so every one gets its own clean clock.
Common questions
Is this better than just projecting a phone timer app?
The advantage is sharing: instead of only the front-screen clock, students can pull up the identical countdown on their own device too, so a quick glance answers "how much longer" without asking.
Can I reuse the same setup for different activities during one lesson?
Yes, set a new quick-timer duration for each activity and share the fresh link; each activity gets its own clean countdown.
Can I post the timer to Google Classroom or Teams?
Yes, once the countdown is running, press Post to Google Classroom or Share in Teams under the board and the link goes straight into a post or message. Students open it on their Chromebooks and see the same countdown as the projector.
Does this need a school Wi-Fi login or account?
No signup for you or your students. The page itself needs to load once (standard classroom Wi-Fi/projector network is enough), and after that each device counts down locally.