Recently we’ve had requests for recommendations for assistive technology tools to help students organize their time within a task.

Time can be a very abstract concept for some students, so its a skill that can be practiced and scaffolded. Some students might understand how to tell time, but have difficulty managing time, or understanding the passage of time. Sometimes it helps to have a visual prompt to structure the task.

While there are many low-tech ways to help students manage their time that are great ex. sand timers, calendars, etc.), here are some higher tech tools that are easy to use in the classroom, either on the Smartboard, laptop or iPad.

Time Timer app

The time timer app is a high-tech version of the time timer you’ve likely used before in your class. As time passes, the block of time gradually disappears, allowing students to see how much time is left in a visual way. You can display for the whole class or set up an individual time for a specific student. Look for it on the EMSB Mesure iPads.

Toy Theater Visual Timer

Toy Theater is a website (free) that provides all kinds of manipulatives-including timers! They have three options for timers-and bonus-you can set the timer into a specific shape. Check out the heart timer below.

Classroom Screen

Classroom Screen is a popular tool in the classroom for classroom management (and its free!) Honestly, its a tool I can’t live without! One of the best options however are the timing options built into the tool. Here’s a picture of all of the classroom screen organizational tools available (with the timer, clock, stopwatch, and traffic light). Basically, you can pick and choose your “widgets” which allow you as the teacher to customize the screen based on what your class or student needs. Sometimes I use the traffic light alone if I am letting students know when to start and when to finish (be sure to use the yellow light as well to let them know you’ll be wrapping it up!), or I might also add the countdown clock, depending on if I want students to monitor their own time throughout the task.

Let us know what kind of tools you like to use in your class for visual timing!