SpinSelector is the free teacher tool that transforms dry classroom routines into interactive experiences. Call on students, form groups, run quiz rounds, practise vocabulary – here you'll find ready-made templates for every subject and every year group.
Teachers face the daily challenge of maintaining fairness, engagement and motivation all at once. The spin wheel solves several typical classroom problems in one go:
Studies on classroom interaction show that teachers unconsciously tend to call on the same students repeatedly – often those who actively raise their hands. This leads to part of the class remaining passive and not being prompted to think along. A random selector like SpinSelector breaks this pattern and ensures everyone prepares, because any person can be called on.
The visual animation of the spinning wheel creates real suspense. Students who otherwise seem disengaged suddenly pay close attention. This form of gamification – integrating playful elements into the learning process – is well-researched and demonstrably leads to higher engagement and better retention of content.
When the wheel spins in front of the whole class and everyone sees the random process, the selection feels fair. No student can claim to have been intentionally favoured or disadvantaged. This significantly improves classroom climate and acceptance of task assignments.
This is the most popular use of SpinSelector in the classroom: enter all class names into the wheel, spin it for each question – whoever is selected answers it. Simple and effective.
Pro tip for teachers: Keep the class in suspense by spinning the wheel before asking the question. Only once the wheel stops and a name appears do you ask the actual question. This keeps everyone alert and curious!
Enter vocabulary words into the wheel. Whoever is called on must give the translation – or vice versa.
Enter maths problems directly as options. Whoever is called on must give the answer. Great as a lesson-start routine.
Put historical dates, key terms or political concepts on the wheel – whoever is picked explains the term in their own words.
Organelles, elements, chemical formulae or biological processes on the wheel. Whoever is picked defines the term or gives an example.
Group work often falls apart at the formation stage: friends want to be together, others feel left out, and the teacher has to weigh things up laboriously. The spin wheel makes group assignment in seconds – neutral and visibly fair for everyone.
All student names in the wheel, "Auto-remove" enabled. Spin once for Group 1 – that person goes into Group 1 and is automatically removed. Spin again for Group 2, and so on. When a group is full, move on to the next.
Instead of names, enter group numbers or group names into the wheel (e.g. "Group Red", "Group Blue", "Group Green"). Each student spins the wheel in turn to find out which group they're in.
For presentations or project work: put all topics on the wheel. Each student spins once and works on the assigned topic. This prevents the same "popular" topics from always being snapped up first.
Tip for group work: Shuffle the wheel before each group formation. This prevents any student from memorising the order of segments and predicting the outcome. Simply click the "Shuffle" button.
5 minutes before the end of the lesson: fill the wheel with topics from the lesson. Whoever is picked summarises the topic in one sentence. Excellent for lesson consolidation.
Which game or activity comes next? Let the class decide by wheel – hugely motivating and gives everyone a sense of influence.
Different homework variants on the wheel: different tasks, texts or projects are randomly assigned. Everyone has a different task – no copying possible!
All presenters on the wheel. The wheel determines the order. Particularly fair since nobody can be advantaged and everyone has prepared for the same amount of time.
Hybrid teaching, video conferences and digital tools are now firmly embedded in modern school life. SpinSelector integrates seamlessly into these environments:
Open SpinSelector in a browser tab and share that tab via your conference tool's screen sharing feature. All students see the wheel spinning in real time – just like in a physical classroom. Particularly useful: the animation is designed to be clearly visible even with compressed video signals.
SpinSelector's touch optimisation makes it ideal for interactive whiteboards. Students can come up to the board and start the wheel with a fingertip. This creates physical activation and increases the concentration of the whole class.
In classes with individual tablets, each student can open SpinSelector on their own device – for example, for self-directed learning tasks where the wheel determines the order in which different task blocks are completed.
Link SpinSelector as an external resource in your learning management system. Add the link https://spinselector.pages.dev/en/ as a material or activity so students can access it at any time – including from home.