What is a Wheel of Names?

Updated: January 28, 2026

A wheel of names is a visual random name picker that randomly selects names by spinning a wheel divided into slices. Each spin produces an unbiased random result. It is commonly used by teachers and students in the classroom, parents home schooling, nurseries and kindergarten.

What does the wheel do:

Acts as a random name picker.
Randomly assigns activities to users.
Removes bias from decisions.
Adds excitement through animation and sound.
Hidden activities or actions can be saved behind each entry which makes learning much more engaging! This is backed up by a study, Trux (2022) - Surprise in Gamification, which shows that surprise and unpredictability as an element, such as hidden activities, in gamified learning environments positively influenced learner motivation and engagement.

Where can the wheel be used:

At school in the classroom by teachers and students.
Parents home schooling (home education).
Kindergarten and nurseries.
Care homes, nursing homes and assisted living.
Raffles, contests, competitions and prize draws.
In the workplace for creating engaging presentations and teambuilding exercises.

What makes the wheel unique:

Hidden activities and actions for users.
Wheel can speak results and activities aloud.
Feels fair and transparent
Engages attention visually
Builds anticipation

The hidden activity or action might be a question, answer, fact, task, or prompt that only appears once the wheel selects a name. This feature makes the wheel ideal for classroom quizzes, writing exercises, team-building activities, and icebreakers where you want more than just a name selection.

The wheel of names can also speak aloud all results and hidden information! This makes it really fun to use in the classroom, as well as helping to make it more accessible for auditory learners.

Teacher Reviews

★★★★

“The hidden activities feature lets me adapt tasks without students noticing. I didn't want the ads showing but I found I could hide them all in fullscreen view.”

– Primary School Teacher

★★★★★

“Random Wheel Spin keeps my lessons fair and engaging. My students actually ask to spin the wheel!”

– Anonymous

If you are a teacher or parent and would like to leave a review please contact us here or you can leave us a Google Review.

How to Use the Wheel of Names

Add or edit wheel entries using the Add Names button
Wheel of Names Tutorial: How to Add Names using Google Sheets and Excel
Click Spin to spin the wheel.
View the result instantly - every spin is fair and unbiased.
For advanced options and features, see the full FAQ page.

Who Created the Wheel? Is it Free?

The wheel was written by Matt, who has over 25 years' experience coding, along with his wife, to provide a reliable, simple, distraction-free wheel picker that anyone can use without signing up. Initially developed for their young family and to help one of their daughters with autism by making learning more interactive, it was found to have scope in so many other areas.

The wheel is 100% free to use.
No ads in fullscreen mode.
No accounts required.
Runs entirely in your browser. All data is private.

Using the Wheel of Names in the Classroom

Engage your students with fairness, surprise, and interactivity using Random Wheel Spin. Teachers use it to:

Load lesson prompts: Math problems, writing or discussion topics, science questions.
Practice questions: Use it to randomize practice questions in a review session.
Role-play: Spin for different role-play scenarios during live training.
Energizer activity: Add the wheel of names to a blended learning course as an energizer activity.
Using the hidden information: Hide answers, discussion points, or activities behind each spin.
Fairness: Manage class participation and roles fairly.
Neurodiverse learners: Support neurodiverse students with visual, auditory, and calming engagement.
Random student selection: Call on students unpredictably to reduce bias.
Quiz & question wheels: Hide a question, prompt, or answer behind each name. When the wheel lands, click to reveal the hidden activity - perfect for classroom quizzes or topic discussions.
Group assignments: Assign roles or teams randomly using hidden entries.
Brainstorm prompts or writing tasks: Preload discussion topics behind entries for creative exercises.
Classroom routines or rewards: e.g., “line leader,” “homework checker,” or “mystery prize.”
Example use-case by one teacher: “I created a wheel with 15 quiz questions hidden behind student names. Each spin selects a student and reveals their question - everyone stays engaged!”
Neurodiverse learners: Digital spinners can help engagement and reduce anxiety. The wheel creators' daughter is autistic and the spinner has had a significant positive effect when she uses it.

Quick Setup for Teachers

Create a class wheel and add student names.
Optionally add hidden questions, prompts, actions or activities behind names.
Optionally customize the wheel.
Save your wheel if you want to use it again.
Optionally share a link to your wheel to your school website, educational software or LMS.
Spin the wheel during class to select a student and reveal the hidden task or activity.

Using Hidden Activities and Actions in Class

The wheel supports hidden activities and actions, giving each wheel entry a second layer that is revealed only after the spin completes.

Each visible entry on the wheel (such as a student name, question, or topic) can have a hidden activity, action, or answer attached to it, which is revealed to everyone once the wheel stops.

The wheel face shows only names, questions, or prompts
The hidden activity or action is revealed after a selection is made
This creates a two-level experience: selection first, outcome second

Use Cases:

Differentiated classroom tasks: All student names appear equal on the wheel, but the revealed activity can vary in difficulty or format once the name is selected.
Question-and-answer quiz wheels: The wheel shows questions or topics, while the hidden activity reveals the correct answer, explanation, or next step after the spin.
Role assignment after selection: The wheel selects a participant, then reveals a role such as leader, presenter, timekeeper, or recorder.
Challenge and reward wheels: Names or options are visible first, with points, bonuses, or challenges revealed only after the spin finishes.
Discussion prompt reveal: The wheel selects a student or group, then reveals the specific discussion question or task they will respond to.
Movement vs written activity selection: The wheel chooses who goes next, while the revealed action determines whether the task is active, reflective, or collaborative.
Game mechanics and turn rules: Player names appear on the wheel, with hidden rules, actions, or consequences revealed after each spin.
Revision and retrieval practice: Topics or numbers appear on the wheel, and the revealed activity provides the exact question or recall prompt.
Presentation or speaking order with instructions: The wheel selects the speaker, then reveals timing limits, focus points, or speaking prompts.
Classroom routines with surprise outcomes: Predictable structure from the wheel spin combined with an unexpected revealed action keeps engagement high.

Wheel Examples

Random Wheel Spin includes a wide-range of ready-made wheels for the classroom to help you get started quickly. Below are examples of wheel of names ideas teachers can create and customize for use in classrooms.

Yes / No decision wheel
Math Quiz Wheel
Heads or Tails coin flip
Numbers 1–10
Alphabet A–Z
Student name wheels
Classroom task wheels
Discussion prompt wheels
Game challenge spinners
Reward and incentive wheels

Privacy

No data sent to servers apart from an anonymous spin count.
Runs locally in your browser.
Shared links contain static data only.
Uses advanced cryptographic randomness.
We abide by GDPR and CCPA.

Why choose our Wheel of Names vs Alternatives?

The wheel of names is trusted by over 50,000 users.
Hidden activities and actions. This unique feature allows teachers to create interactive and engaging wheels such as quizzes and presentations.
Free with no sign-up account.
Results (and hidden activities) can be spoken aloud.
Bulk import names and hidden activities via Google Sheets and Excel.
Results are truly random (as random as you can get on a computer). Some spinners use "math.random". Whereas this wheel of names uses cryptographic randomizing with SHA-256 irreversible hashing (used by banks).
Clean, distraction-free design. Ads can be hidden in full-screen mode.
Easy saving, sharing and embedding on school websites.
Easy customization with colors and images.
Wheel can handle over 1000 entries with images, text and hidden activities.

Common Questions with Quick Answers

Below are common questions or problems teachers might have. They cover classroom use cases, benefits, psychology, setup, and engagement strategies. It is designed for teachers, trainers, and educators who want quick, focused answers without reading long guides.

Find a Wheel by Category

Trending Wheels

Discover the most popular wheels being used right now. The Trending category highlights wheels that users are actively spinning, sharing, and customizing, making it a great place to find ideas that are currently engaging classrooms, workplaces, and social groups.