Quiz timer for classroom quizzes
A countdown for a quiz, a test or a single question, shown large enough to read from the back of the room. Choose a preset from 30 seconds to 30 minutes, or type your own length as minutes or minutes and seconds. Start, pause, resume and reset as the lesson needs.
The timer runs in your browser tab and makes no sound. It measures time from your device clock, so it stays accurate if you switch to another window and come back.
2:00
Ready
How to use it
- Pick a preset, or type a length such as “7” for seven minutes or “1:30” for ninety seconds, then press Set.
- Press Start when the quiz begins. The display turns red for the last tenth of the time.
- Pause if you need to stop, and Resume to carry on from the same point.
- Press Reset to return to the full length for the next round.
Choosing a time limit for a question
These are rules of thumb, not product settings. A recall question, such as a capital city or a spelling, usually needs 10 to 30 seconds. A question that needs a short calculation or a comparison of two ideas often needs one to two minutes. An essay or a multi-part question needs its own timer, not a shared one.
Time a few questions yourself before the lesson. If most students finish with time to spare, the limit is too long for the question. If the room is still reading when the time runs out, it is too short.
Timed quizzes in Votense
A live Votense game has a countdown on every question, set per question from 5 seconds to 2 minutes. When the time is up, or everyone has answered, the answer is revealed. The phones and the big screen use the same clock, which the server sets, so a phone cannot get extra time.
A Votense exam has one time limit for each attempt, set in exam settings and up to 10 hours. The limit is enforced on the server, which records when the attempt started. A submission that arrives after the limit is kept and marked as late, not thrown away, so you can decide what to do with it.
What this timer does not do
This page is a countdown for the screen you project. It does not lock a student’s device, play an alarm, or show the timer inside a Votense quiz. For an exam where time must be enforced, use a Votense exam, because the limit is kept on the server.
Use it with a real vote, quiz or test
Votense is free to start: no card, and creating a poll, quiz or exam does not need a plan.
Quiz timer questions
- Does the timer keep counting if I switch tabs?
- Yes. The timer works out the time left from your device clock, not from a count of ticks, so it shows the right figure when you return to the tab. Very long pauses in a background tab can still delay the screen update, but not the time.
- Will the students see this timer?
- Only if you show it on a screen they can see. It is a countdown for your display. The timer inside a Votense quiz or exam is separate.
- Can I time a whole test rather than one question?
- Yes. Type the full length of the test, such as 45 for forty-five minutes. For a test students take on their own devices, set the time limit in a Votense exam so it is enforced for each attempt.
- Is there a sign-up or a time limit on using it?
- No sign-up and no limit. The timer runs in the page, and nothing is stored on a server.