Why teachers spin a wheel
Ask “who wants to answer?” and the same four hands go up. Pick students yourself and you will unconsciously drift toward the front row, the confident, or whoever you spoke to last. A visible random picker changes the dynamic: every student sees their name on the wheel with an identical slice, the spin happens on the projector, and the selection is nobody’s “fault”. Students stay alert because anyone could be next, and the quiet kids get the same share of airtime as the hand-raisers.
Unlike a jar of sticks, the wheel needs no craft supplies, can’t be rigged by feeling for the long stick, and rebuilds itself next semester with one paste from your roster spreadsheet.
Set up your class in under a minute
- Copy the student-name column from your roster and paste it into the entries box — one name per line.
- Type the class name as the wheel title (“Period 3 Biology”).
- Click Copy share link and bookmark it. Repeat for each class period — one bookmark per class.
- In class, open the bookmark and spin. The winner pops up big enough for the back row.
No-repeat calling with elimination mode
The most requested feature in any classroom picker is “don’t call the same student twice”. Turn on Remove winner after each spin and each called student drops off the wheel, so a class of 28 is guaranteed to cycle through all 28 before anyone repeats. Your bookmarked share link is unaffected by the eliminations — it always restores the full roster for the next lesson, because the link itself stores the complete list.
Beyond cold-calling
- Presentation order — spin with elimination on and write the sequence on the board.
- Topic assignment — put essay topics or lab stations on the wheel instead of names.
- Classroom jobs — line leader, plant waterer, board eraser: one spin each, no arguments.
- Review games — spin for the next quiz question and spin for who answers it.
- Brain breaks — put activities (stretch, riddle, 20 jumping jacks) on a decision wheel.
A practical privacy note: the roster never leaves the browser — there is no account and no server database (details in our privacy policy). Schools with strict student-data rules can use first names, initials, or seat numbers. For prize-draw days, the raffle winner generator handles multiple winners, and the general random name picker covers everything else.
Teacher FAQ
How do I make sure every student gets called once before anyone repeats?
Switch on "Remove winner after each spin". Each student picked is taken off the wheel, so the class cycles through everyone exactly once. When the wheel is empty, reopen your saved class link (or press the browser back button to restore the URL) and start the next full round.
Can I save a separate wheel for each class period?
Yes — build the roster once, click "Copy share link", and bookmark it as "Period 3", "Period 4", and so on. The whole roster lives inside the link, so opening the bookmark restores that exact class instantly on any device, including the classroom PC.
Is a random picker actually good for participation?
Random cold-calling distributes questions beyond the usual hand-raisers and removes accusations of favoritism, which is why popsicle-stick jars have been a classroom staple for decades. That said, research on cold-calling is mixed on student anxiety — many teachers soften it by allowing a "phone a friend" pass or announcing the question before spinning. The wheel is a fairness tool; the classroom culture around it is yours.
Do students’ names get uploaded anywhere?
No. The roster stays in your browser’s local storage and inside the share link you create — this site has no accounts and no database, and the name list is never transmitted to us. If your school policy is strict about student data, you can also use initials or seat numbers on the wheel.
Can I use the wheel for making groups or assigning topics?
Yes. For topics, put the topics on the wheel and spin once per student or team. For groups, spin with elimination on and deal students to Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 in rotation as they come up — a random order dealt round-robin gives balanced random groups.