Student Contributor: Baylie Gibson
This tool is helpful because it allows students to self-monitor their noise level during independent work time, partner work, or group work. It also has a timer, so that students can also track how much time is left in the allotted quiet time.
The Too Loud -Noise Meter and Timer is a fun animated app that students and teachers can take advantage of when they are in the classroom and want minimal noise for work time. This tool can be used when students are doing individual work, partner work, or group work within the classroom. To get the app going you set the timer duration, meter sensitivity level, and then press start. The animal will then react to the noise level in the room. When the arrow is in the green it means the noise level is good and the animal is happy. When the arrow is in the red it means it is too loud in the classroom and the animal becomes unhappy while the background and landscape change. I used this in my 5th grade classroom and students loved it. We named it our class pet, and we all worked together to take care of our “class pet”. Students often kept each other in check before the noise meter would get all the way to red. It does take some trial and error to get the noise meter sensitivity to the right level.
I would place this tool mainly in the corrective phase of the theories of influence. It belongs in this phase because using this tool we are correcting the noise level that usually occurs during work time. This tool relates to the two other phases of influence because we are correcting a behavior that students should already know the expectations for. Supportive phase is influenced by this tool because by using this tool, students are able to relearn what is expected of them during work time and helps them regulate their own noise level.
More Information –
Tool Source: My mentor teacher introduced me to this tool. She uses it in in the classroom quite a bit to correct noise level usually during small group work time.
