Picking names and making groups fairly

Choosing someone by hand is never really neutral. Teachers reach for the same raised hands, and students pick their friends. Handing the decision to a wheel removes the argument, because nobody chose the outcome.

The randomness matters less than that, honestly. What does the work is that the outcome is visibly outside anyone’s control, including yours.

How the wheel chooses

Every name gets an equal slice, and each spin picks one slice with equal probability. The wheel then rotates so that the chosen slice lands under the pointer, which is why the animation always stops in the right place.

Each spin is independent. A name that came up last time is exactly as likely to come up again, which surprises people. Over six spins of a six-name wheel you should expect repeats, not one of each.

If you want each name once and once only, tick the box to remove a name after it is picked. The wheel shrinks as you go and nobody can be chosen twice.

Picking without repeats

Removing the name after each spin is the right setting for anything where every person must get exactly one turn: reading a paragraph each, presenting in order, or working through a class list.

Leave the box unticked when repeats are fine or even wanted, such as choosing who answers the next question. Then everyone stays alert, because nobody is ever safely out of the running.

Making even groups

Switch to the groups mode, set how many groups you need, and the list is shuffled and dealt out one at a time. Dealing round-robin rather than cutting the list into blocks keeps the group sizes as even as they can be.

With 23 names across 4 groups you get sizes of 6, 6, 6 and 5. There is no arrangement that does better, because 23 does not divide by 4.

Press the button again for a completely different arrangement. Nothing is remembered between attempts, so if a grouping looks unworkable you can simply redraw.

Ways to use it

• Cold-calling in class without picking on the same few people.
• Splitting a class into project teams or lab pairs.
• Deciding turn order for presentations.
• Settling a group decision when nobody will commit. Put the options in instead of names.
• Choosing which topic to revise next when everything feels equally urgent.

Is it actually random?

It uses your browser’s built-in pseudorandom number generator. Strictly speaking the sequence is computed rather than drawn from anything physical, so it is not random in the way radioactive decay is random.

For classroom use the distinction does not matter. The outcome is unpredictable to everyone in the room and no name is favoured. It would matter for a prize draw with legal weight or anything involving money, and this is not the right tool for those.

Your list stays on your device

The names never leave your browser. There is no account, no upload and no server involved, so a class list typed here is not stored anywhere. Closing the tab discards it, which also means you will need to paste the list again next lesson.

Other tools for the classroom

• Timer and stopwatch — time each turn or each group activity
• Flashcard maker — build a quick set to quiz the class
• GPA calculator — work out a semester GPA