Bouncy Balls

Free! Bouncy Balls is a website for monitoring classroom noise levels. To begin, teachers must go to the website, and then click the “Begin Bouncing!” button. The website then loads the bouncy balls. To use them, teachers must first enable their computer’s microphone by clicking the “Microphone” icon on the top right of their screen. That way, as the noise level in the class rises, the microphone will detect it, and the balls on the computer screen will start to bounce. As the noise level lowers, the balls on the screen will quickly stop bouncing. This website includes additional options.…

Bouncy Balls is a website for monitoring classroom noise levels. To begin, teachers must go to the website, and then click the “Begin Bouncing!” button. The website then loads the bouncy balls. To use them, teachers must first enable their computer’s microphone by clicking the “Microphone” icon on the top right of their screen. That way, as the noise level in the class rises, the microphone will detect it, and the balls on the computer screen will start to bounce. As the noise level lowers, the balls on the screen will quickly stop bouncing. This website includes additional options. First, the “Bounciness” level can be adjusted, which impacts how sensitive the website is to noises. The “Total” option lets teachers adjust the amount of balls on the screen, the “Mode” option lets teachers choose the appearance of the balls (e.g., plastic, emoji, bubbles, and eyeballs), and the “Full Screen” option lets teachers toggle between viewing the website as a window or on their entire screen.

1. Teachers can connect their computer to a projector and select the “Full Screen” option. That way, as students’ raise the noise level in the classroom, they have a visual cue indicating that they are becoming or have become too loud.
2. Depending on the activity students are completing, teachers can adjust the “Bounciness” level. For instance, during a test, teachers can adjust the “Bounciness” level, so it is very sensitive. However, during a group work activity, teachers can make the “Bounciness” level less sensitive to allow for student talk.
3. Teachers can provide students with rewards and consequences for the class noise level. For example, if the class is loud and the balls bounce more than three times during a class period, teachers can subtract a class participation point from all students. However, if the class is well behaved and the balls do not bounce, the teacher can reward them with an extra credit point.