Classroom name picker
Paste your class list once and cold-call without keeping track in your head. Every student who comes up leaves the wheel, so the class gets through everyone before anybody is asked twice.
How it works
- 1
Paste the class list
Type or paste your students one per line. The sample roster is only there so the wheel works the moment you arrive; replace it with your own.
- 2
Go full screen and spin
Use the full-screen button so the wheel fills the projector, then press Spin or tap the wheel. The winner is announced on screen and read out by screen readers.
- 3
Keep going until the list runs out
Each student drops off the wheel once called, so you can keep spinning and every name comes up exactly once. Reload the page to start the class over.
Cold-calling without the bookkeeping
Picking students by hand quietly stops being random: the confident hands go up, the same few names come to mind, and the quiet half of the room learns it will not be asked. A wheel removes the choice from the room entirely, and because each name leaves the wheel once it is called, participation spreads across the whole class without anyone having to track who has already spoken. It is also visibly fair to the students, which is most of why it defuses the complaint that you always pick the same people.
Is it free, and do I need an account?
Free, with no account and nothing to install. It runs entirely in the browser on a school computer, tablet, or phone, which also means nothing has to be approved by IT before you can use it.
Will the same student get picked twice?
Not while "remove winner after each spin" is on, which it is when this page loads. Each student leaves the wheel as they are called, so the class works through every name before any repeats. Turn the setting off if you would rather every student stay in the draw on each spin.
Does my class list get uploaded anywhere?
No. The list stays in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, there is no account holding it, and the only way it ever leaves your machine is if you choose to copy a share link, which stores the names inside the link itself.
That is worth knowing if your school treats student names as personal data: this tool never receives them.
Can I show it on the projector?
Yes. The full-screen button expands the wheel to fill the display, so it reads from the back of the room. Sound is off unless you switch it on, so it will not surprise a quiet classroom.
Is it genuinely random, or does it favour names near the top?
Genuinely random, and the order you paste your class in makes no difference. The winner is chosen by a seeded generator before the wheel starts moving, using uniform sampling with rejection so no position in the list is favoured, and the animation then spins toward the student who was already chosen.