Bouncy Balls

Manage Classroom Noise

Created by Scott Aten, March 8, 2022

A quiet classroom does not necessarily mean optimal learning is happening. Students can learn a lot by collaborating, discussing solutions together, and exchanging viewpoints on what they are learning. There can be a fine line, however, between productive classroom noise and disruptive classroom noise. As teachers we can train our students on how to keep classroom discussions and collaboration at a volume that can be productive. Joe Grigas shared this site with the staff at GMS recently and after looking at it myself, I thought it was worth sharing with all of you. The site is called "Bouncy Balls" and it can be used to measure the noise in a room.

Here is how it works. The teacher launches the free Bouncy Balls website. In the upper right corner of the site you will see a microphone with a line through it. Clicking on this icon will turn on your microphone (you need to have a microphone connected to the computer).

Next the teacher has the ability to set the sensitivity of the microphone. This may takes some practice to determine what is the best setting for your classroom and microphone placement. This also helps determines what noise level is too much.

The "Total" area allows you to determine the number of "balls" or other items appear on the screen. Sliding the control to the right adds more and to the left reduces the number of elements on the screen.

Bouncy Balls comes with more options than just balls. You can choose different "themes" to bounce Emojis, Bubble, or Eyeballs. Plastic is the default and represents the "bouncy balls".

The training part occurs when the "Noise Alert" is turned on. The site will make a noise and display a message when the max noise level is reached. This can be an audible clue to the class that things have gotten too noisy for productive learning. There are two options for the noise alert - Beep and "Shush". This alert can be turned off as well by clicking the "checkmark".

Overall this is a simple site to use and creates a visual interpretation of the noise in the classroom. Give it a try next time students are working in groups.

Please feel free to schedule me to come and assist you with your next project that has at technology piece included. I am always ready to come help.

[Green Technology Training Center]

[Click here to go to the YouTube Channel]

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