Random Student Picker

How to use the student picker

You can start right away with Numbers only: set the range (for example 1–25) and press Pick. To call students by name, choose Add class roster and type one name per line, or paste a column from a spreadsheet.

• Pick a class and press Pick. Names spin for a moment and one student appears in large type.
• Use −/+ to pick up to 10 students at once, handy for group leaders or board work.
• Picked the wrong person? Undo puts the last pick back into the pool.
• Tap a name in the student list to leave out absent students for today. Tap again to bring them back.
• On a projector or interactive whiteboard press Full screen (or F). Names scale up so the back row can read them.

How "No repeats" works

In the default No repeats mode, nobody is picked twice until everyone has had a turn. Progress is saved per class in this browser, so if 12 students were picked on Monday, Wednesday continues with the rest. Quiet students are never skipped, and nobody can say "I already went last time."

When everyone has been picked, the next pick starts a new round. If you pick several students and fewer remain, the remaining ones are picked first and the rest come from the new round, excluding those just picked so nobody goes twice in a row.

For a quiz prize draw where everyone should have the same chance every time, switch to Anyone, every time. In that mode the same name can come up again.

Is it really random?

Results come from the browser’s cryptographic random number generator (crypto.getRandomValues) using unbiased sampling, so every eligible student has exactly the same chance. Earlier picks, list order and name length do not affect the odds.

The spinning names are only a visual effect. The result is decided the moment you press the button. Turn off Spin animation to show results instantly; it is also skipped automatically when your device has "reduce motion" enabled.

Tips for low-stress cold calling

Random calling spreads participation beyond the few students who always raise their hands, but being named unexpectedly can feel stressful. These habits help:

• Ask first, pick second. Pose the question, give everyone thinking time (a 30–60 second visual timer works well), then pick.
• Think-pair-share. Let partners talk first and have the picked student share their partner’s idea.
• Offer a lifeline. Allow "ask a friend" or "come back to me", and always do come back.
• Ask for thinking, not just answers. Open questions ("What do you notice?") make random calling feel safer.
• Never use it as punishment. Rigging a pick for a chatty student destroys trust in the tool.
• Be considerate. Quietly leave out a student who should not be called on today, without public explanation.

Saving rosters and moving between computers

The class roster you enter here is shared with the Seating Chart Generator and the Classroom Timer on this site. Create one class per section and switch with the menu; picking progress is kept separately for each class.

Everything stays in this browser and is never uploaded. To move to another computer, open Edit rosters, choose Save backup file, then Load backup file on the other device. On a shared computer, delete the class when you are done.