TheOwlBay
Classroom timer
5:00
This classroom timer is the projector tab next to the random student picker: huge digits, fullscreen, and presets for one, five, or ten minutes. Set minutes and seconds, press start, pause, or reset, and optionally turn on a chime that stays muted until you check the box. The last ten seconds also show 0:10 as text so the warning is not colour-only. Embed the page with ?embed=1 on a class site. There is no account. Settings can sit in localStorage on the teacher’s device.
Why teachers search for a classroom timer
A classroom timer is a daily search in term time: stations, silent reading, exam sections, and “you have five minutes to pack up.” Phone clocks are small on a board. Random tools on this site pick names; they do not count down. This page exists so the same TheOwlBay tab that holds the student picker can also hold a clock the back row can read. Fullscreen fills the display. Presets for 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes cover the usual bursts without typing. The chime is muted by default so a teacher can open the tab during a test without a surprise beep. Reduced motion skips decorative pulse; the digits still update. If you need a name, not a clock, use the random picker. If you need dice for a warm-up, use the dice roller.
How to run the countdown
Type minutes and seconds, or press 1 minute, 5 minutes, or 10 minutes to fill the fields. Press start to begin, pause to hold the remaining time, and reset to restore the last duration you set. Press fullscreen for the projector. The display stays large; at about ten seconds left the status also shows 0:10 as text, not only a colour change. Check play a chime when time is up only if you want sound; it is off by default. When the clock hits zero you see time is up. Add ?embed=1 if you paste the URL into Google Classroom or a class site chrome. Nothing is uploaded. You do not sign in. Pair it with the random student picker when the next step is calling on someone.
What the clock is doing
The timer is a countdown in this tab, not a random tool and not a server punch clock. requestAnimationFrame updates remaining milliseconds so the digits stay in sync with the display refresh. Pause freezes remaining time; reset restores the duration from the minutes and seconds fields (or the preset you last used). Fullscreen uses the browser’s fullscreen API on the page so the board is mostly digits. The optional chime plays only if you checked the box; information is never beep-only because the status text still reads time is up. prefers-reduced-motion disables extra pulse animation. There is no crypto.getRandomValues on this page because nothing is being drawn from a list. localStorage can remember the last duration on this device.
Who this timer is for
Teachers, tutors, debate coaches, and workshop hosts who already use TheOwlBay to pick a student can keep a countdown in the same catalog. It is also for stations and exams where the room needs a shared clock, not twenty different phone timers. It is not a world clock, a Pomodoro account app, or a days-until-Christmas widget. Sub teachers who need seating rows should still use the seating chart; this page only counts time. Embed mode is for class sites that can iframe a URL. If the activity is charades, that generator has its own 30/60/90 round timer so you do not have to hop tabs mid-scene. TheOwlBay still does not require an account and does not run school logins.
FAQ
Is the chime on by default?
No. Play a chime when time is up stays unchecked until you want sound, so a quiet test is not interrupted.
Can I put this on a projector?
Press fullscreen. Digits stay large. The last seconds also show 0:10 as text, not only a colour change.
How do I embed it?
Open the page with ?embed=1 and paste that URL into a class site iframe. No TheOwlBay account is required.
I need to pick a student, not time a turn.
Use the random student picker. This classroom timer only counts down.
Does the timer upload class data?
No. It runs in the browser. Optional localStorage remembers the last duration on this device.