Classroom name picker
Paste the class list and draw a name when you need somebody to answer, present, or go first. Nothing is stored, which matters when the list is a list of children.
0 names in the list
How to use
- 1.Paste the class list, one name per line.
- 2.Draw one name to pick a student, or several to set an order for presentations.
- 3.To work through the class without repeats, draw the whole class at once and read down the list.
Drawing the whole class instead of one at a time
Pressing draw repeatedly can pick the same student twice in a row, because every press is a new draw. Asking for the full class size in one press gives a random order with nobody repeated and nobody left out. That is better for going round the room, and it heads off the complaint that one student was asked twice while another was never asked at all.
Cold calling, fairly
Random picking spreads participation past the three students who always raise a hand, and it moves the choice away from the teacher, which takes some of the sting out of being picked. Saying out loud that it is random is worth doing, because a student picked twice by chance will otherwise assume it was aimed at them. Teachers who use it regularly tend to pair it with a rule that passing is allowed.
Student names stay on your machine
The class list never leaves the browser tab: no account, no upload, no record. For a list of minors' names that is the right default. The flip side is that there is no history, so the page cannot tell you who was picked yesterday.
Frequently asked questions
Can I avoid picking the same student twice?
Draw the whole class in one press. Within a single draw no name repeats, so you get a full random order.
Is the class list saved between lessons?
No, nothing is stored, so the list has to be pasted each time. Keeping it in a document and pasting it in takes a few seconds.
Can I use it on a projector?
Yes. The result is large text on a plain background, and the page is ready as soon as the list is pasted.
Is this suitable for student data?
The names stay in your browser and are never transmitted, which is why this page has no account. Follow your school's own rules about what may be shown on a screen.
Running a giveaway on an Instagram post?
The comment picker reads the post, counts the entries and produces a public verification page with a code anyone can open — things a list pasted by hand cannot prove. Free up to 100 comments.
Pick from comments