Calling on students at random keeps a class alert, but it only feels fair if the method is visibly even-handed. The failure mode everyone remembers is the same two or three names coming up while a quiet student is never asked. Here is a routine that avoids that, built from the parts WheelMigo already has.
1. Build the roster once
Paste one name per line, or import a class list as a text or CSV file. On CSV import you choose which column holds the names, confirm the header, and preview the list before it loads, so a spreadsheet with extra columns still comes in cleanly. Save it as a named roster and you will not have to type it again.
2. Confirm who is actually here
Before you start, mark absent students as not present. They stay on the roster with their identity intact, but they are excluded from this session's draws — so the wheel never calls a name that is out sick, and you are not quietly editing your class list to do it.
3. Turn on no-repeat for the round
Switch on "No repeats this round" so every present student is called once before anyone is called again. That single setting is what turns a random picker into a fair rotation: the quiet student in the corner is now guaranteed a turn within the round, not left to chance.
4. Reset between activities, reuse between lessons
Start a new round when you want to go around the class again — eligibility resets while attendance stays as you set it. Next lesson, reopen the same saved roster instead of rebuilding it, and adjust attendance for whoever is there that day.
A note on what this is for
Troubleshooting a draw that feels unfair
If the draw still feels off, it is almost always one of a few fixable things. Match the symptom to the setting:
| Problem | Fix in WheelMigo |
|---|---|
| The same students keep coming up | Turn on No repeats this round |
| A name is called while absent | Mark them not present for the session |
| Rebuilding the list every lesson | Save it as a named roster and reopen it |
| Two students share a name | Keep both entries and rename to tell them apart |
This is a classroom participation aid, not an assessment or identity system. It selects entries on a list; it does not verify who a student is or record anything beyond your own local roster and result history on this device. Keep a backup of any list you rely on — browser storage can be cleared — and treat the draw as a fair way to share turns, which is exactly what it is good at.