"Wheel Decide"

Random Selection Tool

@MrKimDHS/@LisaBerghoff

Guest post written by @JoeTaylorDHS

It's a little known fact that when I used to write this blog every week, I would frequently run the content past my daughter. I'd have her try the tech tool, or comment on the writing, or at least tell me if she'd be interested in using the tool. Well, she was home this weekend and I was talking to her about how many challenges there were with remote learning. I talked a little bit about using tools like Forms or Socrative for Formative Assessment, and the importance of finding ways to gather information about really knowing who "got it" in class today. As I was talking, she yawned, turned in her chair a little, and opened TikTok.

I was about to get mad but then I thought, everything is a little heavy right now and maybe we just need something a little fun and silly. So, rather than talk about all of the heavy stuff, I want to introduce you to a simple to use online tool called "Wheel Decide." It mimics the spinning wheel on "Wheel of Fortune" and you can use it to make decisions on topics to discuss or randomly select students to respond in class. I made one to use in BAM:

To use Wheel Decide, just navigate to https://wheeldecide.com/. There will be a default wheel there for fun, but if you scroll down the page a little, you can modify the wheel to meet your needs.

If, for instance, you want your students' names to appear on the wheel, you can just type their names in each line. If you have their names in a spreadsheet, you can copy and past all of the names by using the "Paste List" feature on the Wheel Builder. Once your list is correct, click Apply Wheel Changes and you are ready to spin the wheel.

The website suggested several wheels that you could build for group decision making, like choosing the place for dinner, the TV show to watch, or family vacation spot. There are some "dynamic" wheels to choose, like "Restaurants Near Me" that depend on location services on your computer or phone, but I haven't tried them to see whether or not they work.

To be fair, "Wheel Decide" wasn't made for education. So, most of the pre-created wheels you can choose probably don't fit in a classroom. And, it is a FREE Tech Tool, so the quality is what it is. There might be a lag, and sometimes it will land on the same selection twice, but it could be a fun way to get kids to engage in your class. I mean, it's no TikTok, but it's cute.