Best Spinners and Pickers for the Classroom

As a teacher, we are in a constant process of making decisions in class. A spinner or picker is a great tool for the classroom. They can help you and your class make decisions that are completely random. Whether you need to choose individuals, groups, activities and more.

Spinner wheels can be used in many ways in the classroom. For example, you can use them to randomly select students to answer questions, assign group projects, or choose which book to read next. They can also be used for classroom games and activities, such as a spelling bee or a math quiz.

The benefits of using spinner wheels in the classroom are numerous. They encourage participation and engagement from all students, including those who may be reluctant to speak up. They also help to create a sense of fairness and impartiality, as everyone has an equal chance of being chosen.

Overall, spinner wheels are a fun and effective way to make decisions in the classroom. With HeySpinner, creating your own customized spinner wheel is quick and easy, and it’s sure to be a hit with your students.

Here is a list of our favorite online spinners and pickers.

1. Flip a Coin

Starting off with the simplest way to make a decision, by flipping a coin. Make quick decisions with a flip of the coin with this tool from CoinFlipperr. All you have to do is click ‘Flip Coin’ and your decision is made. You can also click the coin to flip it and click ‘Reset’ to reset the heads or tails counter.

The best thing about flipping a coin is that it’s a 50/50 decision. You either get heads or tails which will help you make a decision instantly. If you don’t have a coin handy, why not use an online coin flipping simulator such as coinflipper.com?

2. Spin the Wheel

There are quite a few wheel spinners online that can help you make decisions when you’ve got a classroom full of students. For example, if you want to split your kids off into groups or have someone present their work to the class. Online spinners are easily customizable. Choose your theme, speed, colors, or even the language. Once the selected name is displayed, the tool asks whether you want to remove the chosen name or not. You can edit and save your list, share it with others or embed it in your class website or blog.

3. Roll the Dice

If you need to pick how many exercises to assign for English homework, taking a roll of the die is pretty simple with an online dice roller. They are quite simple to use. Select one, two, or three dice, click ‘roll dice’ and they will then be rolled. They’ve even got authentic sounds and graphics which your students will love. You can roll as many times as you like and change any of the options to best suit your classroom.

4. Pick a Name out of the Hat

Picking a name out of a hat is an old fashion method of choosing names by writing on slips of paper and then drawing from a hat. The only problem is not everyone has a hat handy so why not use an online tool to draw names from a virtual hat. Picking a name out of a hat is perfect for assigning students to a group and randomly selecting a student to read or answer questions. A quick pull of a name out of the hat is great because it’s completely random, and each name can only be pick one time. Once all of the names are picked, they are automatically shuffled and reloaded.

5. Assign Students to Groups

Assigning students to teams can sometimes be difficult. Using an online team picker can help you create teams quickly and randomly. All you have to do is add your students’ names to the list and it will create as many teams you like. You can even balance the gender distribution if you want.

6. Ask the Magic Eight Ball

Need an answer to a tricky question? Would you rather leave things to chance? Use a magic eight ball to find your answer with an online magic eight ball tool. This tool is so much fun and gives the students some excitement with a normally mundane task. You can use this to ask funny or random questions that will really get a laugh out of your students.

7. Pick a Card from a Deck

Using a deck of cards for games and activities in the classroom is a fun learning experience for children. You can use a deck of cards to pick names, assign students to team or groups, and to asks students questions. Using a deck of cards is also a perfect warm-up activity to begin a maths class. With this tool, all you need to do is click your mouse to reveal the card. You can then click ‘continue’ or to keep going or click ‘remove name’ to remove the current card.

There you have our favorite spinners and pickers for the classroom. We hope you found this helpful. If you can think of other free teaching tools that can help improve the learning experience in the classroom, please let us know your thoughts.