Classroom Random Name Picker
Paste your class roster, one name per line, and press Pick a student. With no repeats on, which is the default here, everyone gets a turn before anyone is picked twice. It is free for teachers, needs no signup, and the names stay in your browser instead of being uploaded.
Last updated
Your pick appears here
Add two or more options, or tap a quick start.
0 of 0 left in round 1
Need timers or a shared screen for presentations?
Start a shared turn board. A board gives everyone the same live order on their own screen, with an optional timer for each turn. It starts a fresh room, so you would enter the names there; this page does not pass them along. A live board is stored on our servers for the life of that session, so do not enter sensitive student information there.
Start a shared turn boardPerfect for every team
One tool for standups, classrooms, Q&A, and more
Class Presentations
Pick who presents next at random. Removing bias from the choice takes some of the anxiety out of waiting.
Cold Calling
Random selection for participation without bias. Keeps all students engaged and prepared.
Oral Exams
Choose who goes next in oral assessments. With no repeats on, everyone is called once per round.
Group Work
Pick several students at once to form a group or choose volunteers for an activity.
Review Sessions
Call on students at random during review so any of them could be next. The history list shows who has already been picked.
Debates
Pick who speaks next in a classroom debate, with no repeats until everyone has spoken.
The Challenge
- 1The same hands go up while quieter students miss chances to speak.
- 2Picking randomly without structure wastes class time and feels chaotic.
- 3Students perceive bias in who gets called on, affecting classroom culture.
- 4Hand-picking names makes it hard to rotate through the whole class.
- 5Keeping track of who has already been called on is time-consuming and error-prone.
Our Solution
- 1No-repeat rounds mean everyone is called on once before anyone is called twice.
- 2One-click random selection keeps the lesson moving.
- 3Students can see the pick happen, so the choice does not feel like favoritism.
- 4A history list shows who has been picked in this session.
- 5The picker runs in your browser and does not save or upload the names you paste.
How it works
Get started in minutes
Add student names
Paste your class list, one name per line or separated by commas. The names stay in your browser.
Choose how picks behave
Keep no repeats until everyone has been picked for fair participation, or allow repeats or remove picked students.
Start picking
Press Pick a student. Everyone gets a turn before anyone is picked twice, and Big screen shows the name to the whole room.
Everything you need
Why teams choose us
- 1More chances for quieter students to speak
- 2No prep: paste a list and pick
- 3Students stay ready because anyone could be next
- 4Names you paste are not saved or uploaded by the picker
- 5Works on any device with a browser, including tablets and smartboards
How the randomness works
The tool shuffles with the Fisher-Yates algorithm. Each random number comes from your browser's Web Crypto generator (crypto.getRandomValues), not Math.random. Any value that would tilt the odds toward some spots is thrown away and redrawn (rejection sampling), so a plain shuffle gives every order the same chance. Options that avoid repeats or lock a spot change that on purpose. The draw runs on your device, and nothing about the result is decided by a server.
Frequently asked questions
Is student data private?
How do I make sure every student gets a turn?
Can I skip a student who is absent?
Can I use it for cold calling?
What class sizes are supported?
Make your classroom more equitable
Pick students at random, with no repeats until everyone has had a turn
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