Is the spin wheel safe for student data?

Yes. Student names are stored only in your browser's localStorage — no servers, no accounts, no analytics on student data. Closing your browser keeps the data; clearing browser data removes it. We can't see your wheel even if we wanted to.

How is the spin wheel different from a name picker?

Mechanically they're the same — a spinner that picks from a list. The distinction is framing. A 'name picker' is single-purpose: pick a student. A 'classroom spin wheel' is multipurpose: students, groups, jobs, warm-ups, behaviour rewards, review questions, anything you can put on a wheel.

Can I make it spin faster or slower?

Yes — open Settings and adjust the spin duration. Faster (3–4 seconds) for rapid cold-call cycles; slower (10–12 seconds) for dramatic review-game reveals or prize spins.

Does it work on my smartboard?

Yes. The wheel is fully responsive and supports tap-to-spin. We've tested on Promethean, SMART Board, ViewSonic, and Newline panels. Press F for fullscreen — the wheel fills the panel with no surrounding browser UI.

Can the AI generate review questions for me?

Yes. Open the AI panel, describe the topic and grade level ('Year 4 fractions review', 'AP Bio cell respiration'), and the AI proposes a list to drop on the wheel. Edit before spinning if needed.

What's the most students it can handle?

Practically there's no hard limit — wheels with 200+ entries still spin, though the slices become visually thin. Most classroom wheels are 20–35 names, which display beautifully.

Spin Wheel for the Classroom

A free spin wheel for classroom use — for student picks, review games, group formation, and 'who's the helper today' decisions. Project it on the smartboard, save one wheel per class period, and let randomness handle the dozens of small decisions every teaching day requires. Built specifically for classroom workflows: cold-call removal, hide-after-pick, smartboard tap-to-spin.

Built for K–12 teachers, university lecturers, ESL tutors, and substitute teachers who want a spin-wheel tool optimized for classroom rhythms — fast set-up, big visible animation, no distractions from the lesson.

Open the wheel →

Sample entries — Class wheel

Aarav
Beatrix
Carlos
Daniela
Eli
Fatima
Gabriel
Hina
Isaac
Jasmine
Kenji
Leah
Mateo
Nadia
Owen
Priya
Quinn
Rahul
Sara
Tomás

Copy these into the Entries tab on the main wheel.

Why use this wheel

Save unlimited wheels — one per period, one per activity type
AI-generates review questions, lesson hooks, or warm-up prompts
Tap-to-spin on Promethean, SMART, ViewSonic, and iPads
Fullscreen mode strips UI for clean smartboard display
Remove-after-pick for one-per-round cold-call cycles
Hide-after-pick keeps the entry list visually clean
Local-only — no student names ever leave the teacher's browser

Common uses

Cold-call wheel. Drop the roster, spin to pick the next student to answer. Pair with a 'pass once per lesson' rule for graceful exits.
Review game spinner. Drop review questions on a wheel and spin per turn — a no-prep alternative to Kahoot or Jeopardy boards.
Group or pair assignment. Multi-pick to draw groups of 3–4 in one spin. Auto-excludes already-picked students.
Classroom job rotation. Spin the 'jobs wheel' weekly: line leader, paper monitor, library helper, smartboard tech.
Behaviour reward picker. Spin to choose today's reward type — extra recess, choice seat, line-up first, music during work.
Choose-the-warm-up. Drop the term's warm-up activities on a wheel and spin to pick one daily. Kids love the surprise; you save planning time.

Why classrooms benefit from a permanent wheel tab

Classroom decisions are deceptively numerous. A typical lesson involves dozens of small picks: who answers, who reads next, who sits at the table by the window, who passes out papers, what we do first, how we split this group. Each pick that defaults to teacher discretion adds a small fairness-judgement load and (sometimes) a small fairness-objection from students. A wheel converts the entire category into half-second random events.

The bigger benefit is psychological. Students who suspect favouritism (rightly or wrongly) disengage. Students who see visible randomness understand the rules and adjust their behaviour accordingly — they prepare to answer, they accept the assignment, they don't argue. The classroom-management literature is reasonably clear on this: visible procedural fairness outperforms hidden curated fairness on most engagement metrics.

Classroom spin-wheel patterns

The 'roster' wheel: every class period gets one wheel with the full roster. Use 'Remove after pick' for one-per-round cycles (exit tickets, presentation order). Reset by re-pasting the list.

The 'review' wheel: refresh per unit. Generate the questions with AI from your unit summary, drop on a wheel, spin during the unit-end review game. Lower-prep alternative to building a Jeopardy board.

The 'jobs' wheel: weekly rotation of classroom helpers. Save it once, re-spin every Monday morning. Removes the 'why is it always X' complaint.

The 'choice' wheel: small in-lesson decisions ('which warm-up?', 'which exit ticket question type?'). Drop the options when planning, spin when the moment comes.

Smartboard and tablet usage tips

Press F before the lesson to enter fullscreen — students see a clean, distraction-free wheel with no surrounding browser chrome.

Tap-to-spin works on every modern interactive panel. Let a student tap the wheel for the next pick — the small ritual increases engagement.

If your smartboard sometimes freezes mid-animation (under-powered hardware), reduce the spin duration to 4–5 seconds in Settings. Shorter spins are less likely to drop frames on older panels.

How to use spin wheel for the classroom

Paste your class roster. Type or paste names in the Entries panel. Spreadsheet rows paste cleanly — each cell becomes one entry.
Save the wheel for this class. Click '+' to add a new wheel and name it ('Period 1', 'Year 6', etc.). Switch between wheels with the dropdown.
Project on the smartboard. Press F for fullscreen. The wheel fills the panel with no UI distraction.
Spin and proceed. Tap the wheel or press Space. Use 'Remove winner' for one-per-round cycles.

Frequently asked questions

Is the spin wheel safe for student data?: Yes. Student names are stored only in your browser's localStorage — no servers, no accounts, no analytics on student data. Closing your browser keeps the data; clearing browser data removes it. We can't see your wheel even if we wanted to.
How is the spin wheel different from a name picker?: Mechanically they're the same — a spinner that picks from a list. The distinction is framing. A 'name picker' is single-purpose: pick a student. A 'classroom spin wheel' is multipurpose: students, groups, jobs, warm-ups, behaviour rewards, review questions, anything you can put on a wheel.
Can I make it spin faster or slower?: Yes — open Settings and adjust the spin duration. Faster (3–4 seconds) for rapid cold-call cycles; slower (10–12 seconds) for dramatic review-game reveals or prize spins.
Does it work on my smartboard?: Yes. The wheel is fully responsive and supports tap-to-spin. We've tested on Promethean, SMART Board, ViewSonic, and Newline panels. Press F for fullscreen — the wheel fills the panel with no surrounding browser UI.
Can the AI generate review questions for me?: Yes. Open the AI panel, describe the topic and grade level ('Year 4 fractions review', 'AP Bio cell respiration'), and the AI proposes a list to drop on the wheel. Edit before spinning if needed.
What's the most students it can handle?: Practically there's no hard limit — wheels with 200+ entries still spin, though the slices become visually thin. Most classroom wheels are 20–35 names, which display beautifully.

Free random spinner from SpinOfLuck — no signup, no ads, runs entirely in your browser.