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The screen goes dark. The learning begins.

Type one sentence. Tizmos turns it into a short mission your students do in the real world — with your hello on screen one — and shows you what came back.

Free, forever. No student accounts. Works on paper too.

From Ms. Garcia

Ms. Garcia has a mission for you.

10 min · Kitchen · A grown-up nearby
What do you think?

Which shape will you find most of?

Any guess is a good guess. Go and see.
Your mission

Find 3 round things.

Look in the kitchen. Bring them back to the table.

You’ll know you’re done whenyou’re holding three things that roll.
TimeAbout 10 minutes
Grown-upStay nearby
The screen goes dark while you’re away.
Mission in progress

Find 3 round things.

Come back when you’ve got them. away from the screen
Report back

Show me your three.

Think back

Which one was hardest to find? Why?

“The clock. It’s round but it doesn’t roll.”
That’s noticing what makes a shape a shape.

Tizmo complete.

Sent to Ms. Garcia. Screen time used 1:12 · off the screen 9:48

Tap the phone to play it through.

Type one sentence

You type

About twenty seconds later

Your Tizmo appears here.

Shape Detectives

5 steps · 15 min

Colour Hunt

4 steps · 10 min

Kitchen Measures

6 steps · 20 min

First Jobs

5 steps · 25 min

Illustrative. Titles and step counts are examples; every Tizmo is yours to change before you send.

Why we're doing this

Every Tizmo gives a few minutes back to the real world.

Screens won the last ten years. Tizmos is teachers taking some of that time back — one short mission at a time, sent home by the people kids already trust. Here is what a family sees when a Tizmo arrives.

minutes away from screens, so far

Counted from real missions, updated every ten minutes.

Add your class to the count →

How it works

One sentence in. A mission out. Home by tonight.

  1. Step 1

    You type one sentence

    Grade, topic, where, how long. The mission builds itself in about twenty seconds. Record a short hello if you like.

  2. Step 2

    It becomes a Tizmo

    Story, your hello, one question, the mission, the report back. Change anything you like, then send.

  3. Step 3

    You send it home

    A link, a QR code, or a printed card in the backpack. Families need no account. Monday, you see what came back.

What a Tizmo is

A short interactive sequence, with your hello on screen one.

Six kinds of step. Tizmos arranges them from your sentence in about twenty seconds; you change anything you like, then send.

  1. Step 1 of 6

    Story

    A few lines that set the scene, read in your voice if you recorded one.

  2. Step 2 of 6

    Video

    Your recorded hello, or a short clip that shows what to look for.

  3. Step 3 of 6

    Question

    One question to check they are ready before they go.

  4. Step 4 of 6

    Mission

    The screen goes dark. The student goes and does something real.

  5. Step 5 of 6

    Report back

    Done, a photo or short video, and one line about what they found.

  6. Step 6 of 6

    Tizmo complete

    A finish line. Back to the family, and a report to you.

Send it home

Link, QR, or a card in the backpack.

Or present it in class and let them do the mission tonight. Families open it with no account, ever, and no app to install.

  • A link, by message or email Any browser
  • A QR code on the board Scan from a seat
  • A printed card Works on paper
  • Present it in class Do it tonight

What comes back

Who went, how long they were off the screen, and what they found.

Enough to start Monday with "tell me about the clock you found" instead of "did anyone do it?" Students report with a tap, an optional photo or short video, and one line.

The screen-time receipt, per Tizmo

1:12 on the screen 9:48 off it

Illustrative. The timer counts time away from the screen; the receipt shows both, honestly.

Find 3 round things.

Sent Friday
  • Done · 14 min off the screen

    Photo · "a plate, a clock and the moon"

  • Done · 9 min off the screen

    Short video · "the bike wheel counts twice"

  • Opened · not back yet

    Sent Friday by printed card

Illustrative. Students report with a tap, an optional photo or short video, and one line.

The dark screen

It isn't a lock. It's a signal.

The mission screen shows the instruction, a timer, and one button. Nothing plays while they're gone: no videos, no rewards, no "while you wait." The product is the absence.

  • The instruction

    Short enough to remember with the phone face-down.

  • The timer

    Counts up. A receipt of time away, never a countdown.

  • The one button

    The only thing lit. Only the way back is.

Paths

One link. A new mission each time.

A path is a few Tizmos toward one promise — by the end, they can name and sort five shapes. Families keep a single link; every time they open it, the next mission is waiting. Homeschoolers use paths as the spine of a homeschool week.

  • The promise up front — every path says what they'll be able to do at the end.
  • Always the next one — no schedules to manage; the link knows where each family is.
  • You see it add up — mark each report not yet · getting there · got it, and the path shows who's ready to move on.

The community library

Every Tizmo you make has a home.

Every Tizmo is listed in the community library by default, and lives on your public page at tizmos.com/you. Remix anything another teacher made. Save anything you like. Invite a co-author.

See what teachers made

Example titles. The real library lives in the app.

Made for

Questions teachers ask

Quick answers.

  • No kid accounts, ever. The report goes to you, not to a feed.
  • Families need no app. A link opens in any browser; a printed card needs nothing at all.
  • Made with teachers since 2008. tizmos.com started as a start page for classrooms.

Something else? Write to us.

Do my students need accounts?

No. Students never sign up, sign in, or get a profile. You send a link, a QR code or a printed card; they open it and it plays. The report comes back to you, not to a feed.

What does it cost?

Making and sending Tizmos is free for teachers, forever. Pro, Team and Schools add classroom extras. Families always use Tizmos free.

What do families need at home?

Any browser on a phone, tablet or computer. No app, no account. If you sent a printed card, they don't need a screen at all.

Is it safe? What about supervision?

Every Tizmo says how long it takes, where it happens, and whether a grown-up should be nearby, before anyone starts. You write the mission and choose the setting, and families see all of it before the child goes.

What happens to photos and reports?

What a student reports goes to the teacher who sent the Tizmo, and nowhere else. A photo or short video is optional; done is always enough. There is no advertising anywhere a family or a student can see.

Pricing

Making Tizmos is free. Forever.

See full pricing

Type one sentence. See what comes back.

Free, forever. No student accounts. Works on paper too.