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Make random groups for your class

Put in the names of your class, choose how many groups you want or how many pupils should be in one, and press the button. The division goes up on the board in large type, so everyone can see at a glance where they belong. No account, no adverts, nothing to install.

How it works

  1. Put in the names

    One name per line, or paste a list from your register; commas and tabs work too. The tool counts along, so you can see the class is complete before you divide it.

  2. Choose how to divide

    By number of groups, or by pupils per group. Four groups is not the same as groups of four, and both are questions a lesson asks.

  3. Make the groups

    One press and the cards land on the board. If the division does not suit you, press again; Enter does the same thing without reaching for the mouse.

  4. The names stay put

    Your class is remembered in this browser, so next lesson all you do is press the button. The division itself is not kept: that belonged to one lesson.

Why not leave it to the class

Letting children pick takes two minutes and gives the same result every time: the same friends together, and one child left over at the end. That child knows it, and so does the class.

A division made by the computer does not have that problem. There is nothing to negotiate and nobody to be cross with, because it is the names on the board that decided. That is also the reason to leave the division up on the board: anyone who doubts it can read it back.

What the tool does not do is take into account who had better not sit together. You know that and the computer does not. Press again in that case, or swap two names after you have read them out — that costs less time than the tool would spend asking.

In the lesson

For group work, make groups of four and leave the division on the board until the work is finished.

For reading, split the class into pairs: set the number per group to two and you have partners, with at most one three if the class is odd.

For an experiment or a game you want something other than the usual table groups. Two clicks and the class is sitting differently, without anyone having to choose.

And for a job that has to be shared out, set it to as many groups as there are tasks: four corners, four groups.

Frequently asked questions

Where do my pupils' names end up?

In your own browser, on this computer. They are not sent anywhere and not stored on a server, and "Clear names" takes them out again in one go.

What if the class does not divide evenly?

Then the groups are made as equal as they can be. Ten children in groups of four gives 4-3-3 and not 4-4-2, so nobody is left in a group of two.

Is the division really random?

Yes. The names are shuffled afresh every time, so pressing twice gives two different divisions. The order you typed the names in makes no difference.

Does it work on a classroom board?

Yes. The button in the top corner makes the page fill the screen, and the names on the cards are large enough to read from the back of the room. Enter makes new groups without reaching for the mouse.

Does the group maker cost anything?

No. The group maker is free and stays free. There are no adverts on it and nothing is asked of you.

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