Classroom noise meter
A traffic light that listens to the room. Green when it is quiet, yellow when it is getting loud, red when it is too loud, with the sound never recorded or sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Press Start the meter and allow the microphone when your browser asks. Put the computer where it can hear the whole room.
- Watch the light. Drag the two sliders to set the level where green turns yellow and yellow turns red for the activity you are doing.
- If a noisy room still shows green, turn the sensitivity up; if a quiet room shows red, turn it down. Your limits are remembered on this computer.
Ideas for class
- Set the green limit low for independent reading or a test, and higher for group work, so the same meter fits each part of the day.
- Let the class see the light and own the goal: “Can we stay green for the whole work time?”
- Use it during a transition, such as packing up, to show when the room is ready for the next instruction.
- Hand the meter to a student monitor who tells the class when it turns yellow, which moves reminders from you to the class.
- Run a short challenge with a reward the class chooses, such as five minutes of green, then move on without making it a daily contest.
- Open it beside the timer in two tabs on the projector for a quiet working time everyone can see.
Related
Questions
Is the sound recorded or sent anywhere?
No. The microphone is read inside your browser by a loudness meter. There is no recording, no saving and no upload, and the sound is not played back through the speakers. Only a number from 0 to 100 exists, for a moment at a time, then it is gone. You can stop it at any time with the button or by closing the page.
The microphone is blocked. What do I do?
Click the lock or settings icon at the left of the address bar, set Microphone to Allow for this site, then press Start again. On a school computer that is managed by your district, your tech team may need to allow it. The page tells you which problem it found.
Is it a decibel meter?
No. It gives a rough guide to how loud the room is compared with how loud you want it, using your computer's microphone. Laptops, webcams and headsets pick up sound very differently, so use the sensitivity slider to match the room, and do not use it where an accurate sound level is needed.
Does it work on a Chromebook, an iPad or a smart board?
On any recent browser that allows a web page to use the microphone. If the board's browser does not allow it, run the meter on your laptop and project that screen.
Why does the light stay on a color for a moment?
The meter rises quickly and falls slowly on purpose, so one dropped pencil does not flash the whole room red, while a rising noise shows up at once.
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