Not sure if there is a better/easier way to address this, or if anyone else has this problem, but this was our situation.
We have multiple new classes with exams that are timed using the Quiz parameters. Unfortunately, students have complained endlessly of the "obtrusiveness" of the Javascript clock (their words, not mine).
To accommodate, I've changed the background to black of the clock only, not the clock header. So, now students see the box that reads "Time Remaining" and a blacked-out clock. When they mouseover the clock, the background changes to white and shows the time. They seem to find this less distracting, or that the absence of the ticking seconds, less stress inducing.
If useful to anyone, simply add:
class="off" onmouseover="this.className='on'" onmouseout="this.className='off'"
to the <td> definition on line 34 of mod/quiz/jstimer.php.
Then add:
td.off {
background: #000000;
}
td.on {
background: #FFFFFF;
}
to mod/quiz/styles.php
Matt