Timed Decks: A Countdown, a Closing Time, or Both

Timed Decks are here! When you assign a Deck, you can now give each student a countdown, choose a closing time for the whole class, or use both.

Which should you choose? Ask whether the task needs the same amount of time for each student or the same finishing time for everyone. A student who starts late makes the difference easy to see.

A review station: give each student 10 minutes

You have a vocabulary review Deck at one station. Students rotate into it at different times, and you want each student to have ten minutes once they start.

Choose the per-student time limit and leave the class closing time off. A student who starts at 10:00 finishes at 10:10. A student who starts at 10:05 finishes at 10:15. Both get ten minutes; the second student’s timer starts five minutes later.

You can say: “Start when you are ready. You will have ten minutes from your start.”

The student confirms the start of their countdown. Once it starts, closing the page does not pause it.

A task before discussion: close for everyone at 10:15

You want students to work through a reading Deck, then bring the class together for a discussion at 10:15.

Choose the class closing time and leave the per-student limit off. Someone who begins at 10:00 has 15 minutes. A late starter at 10:10 has 5 minutes. Both reach the same 10:15 closing time.

You can say: “This Deck closes at 10:15. We will discuss the passage after that.”

Choose this setting when the shared finish matters. It does not give a late starter the same working time as an earlier starter.

An independent check: 20 minutes, with a 10:30 cutoff

You want to allow up to twenty minutes for a short independent check, while keeping the last part of the lesson free for reviewing answers.

Turn on both: a 20-minute per-student limit and a 10:30 class closing time. The Deck stops at whichever comes first.

• Start at 10:00: 10:00 + 20 minutes = 10:20. The student’s countdown ends before the class deadline.
• Start at 10:15: 10:15 + 20 minutes = 10:35. But the class closes at 10:30, so this student has 15 minutes, not twenty.

You can say: “You have up to twenty minutes, but everyone stops by 10:30.”

What students and teachers see

Students see their time remaining while they work. When time runs out, their independent work in that Deck stops: they see “Time is up” and return to the map.

From the classroom, you can see Not started, each active student’s remaining time, and Time up. If you set a class deadline, the classroom also shows its closing time. The timing status tells you whether time remains; use the student’s work to check what they completed.

Open your dashboard to assign a Deck with a time limit. Before students start, tell them which clock you have chosen—especially when a shared closing time can shorten a late starter’s countdown.