Too Noisy app review: a sound meter for when you need to control the sound of your kids
Introduction
Filed under the Education category in the App Store, Too Noisy by Wallsall Academy has nothing to do with education at all. It’s more of a parenting tool, and one I can’t completely agree with. What this app does is measure the sound level in the room, and when the sound level reaches a certain point, the smiley face on the screen will turn from happy to sad. It has certain levels of sadness, but I don’t really think kids will look at an iPad screen when they’re making so much noise!
A Parenting Tool for Lazy Parents?
I myself would never use an app like this, as I believe that having a conversation with your kids would be a lot more effective. If they won’t listen to me, I doubt an app like this would help. I can’t imagine any parent ever needing this app, yet it ranks within the top 200 educational apps! Looking at the comments, this app is useful for other people. I can see this app being used perfectly fine in schools, where you want to control the sound levels during class, or for people who have trouble speaking up, the so called low-talkers.
The app is highly sensitive on where you place your device; you’d want to have as little background noise as possible.
Settings
The app only has one setting. It’s pretty basic, but this setting is hugely useful: you can set the sensitivity of the sound meter. When you set it to its most sensitive, even a heavy breath can set the meter off to too noisy, Even the sound of someone typing on a keyboard will set it off. This all depends on where you put your device.
When you have the app set to its least sensitive, it still is quite sensitive. What I would’ve liked to see is a decibel measure, so I can see exactly how many decibels are actually being made. You can’t make the app ad-free, but there is a pro version, which doesn’t have ads. This version costs $1.99 and also holds an audible alarm, a counter that counts too-noisy moments, and different backgrounds.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Useful for classrooms
- Great for controlling larger groups of children
Cons
- Not suitable for parenting
- No decibel measure
Conclusion
Parents, move along, as this app is not for you. This app clearly has been designed for classrooms and other places with loads of kids. It’s perfect to control the noise level in a school for when work must be done.
The paid-for app has more options and is actually a lot better (and has no ads!) The free app works with both iPad and iPhone, and can be linked up to a bigger screen using Apple’s very own video cables. The app is just under 6 MB in size.
