GroupShuffle

Sorts your class into random groups.

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About GroupShuffle

GroupShuffle splits a class list into random groups or teams. Paste in your students’ names, pick how many groups you want (or how many students per group), and shuffle. It handles the stuff that actually comes up in a classroom: kids who are absent, kids who can’t sit together, and needing something big enough to read off a projector.

It exists because making groups by hand is a chore teachers do hundreds of times a year, and every manual method has a catch. Counting off around the room is predictable, so students rearrange themselves before you start. Picking groups yourself invites accusations of playing favorites. Popsicle sticks work, but they’re slow. A random shuffle the whole class can watch fixes all of that in a few seconds.

Why random groups at all?

Random grouping breaks up cliques, gives quieter students new partners, and makes the fairness visible. When the computer picks the groups in front of everyone, there’s nothing to argue about. Plenty of teachers re-shuffle weekly so students end up working with the whole class over a term, not just their friends.

Random isn’t always the right call. For long projects you might want deliberately balanced groups, and for reading levels you might want matched ones. GroupShuffle is for everything in between: labs, discussions, review games, seating changes. The moments where the fastest fair answer is the best one.

A few tips from classrooms

Shuffle in front of the class. The projector view is there so students can watch the draw happen live. It heads off the “that’s not fair” conversation before it starts.

Re-shuffle rather than tweak. If a grouping won’t work, hit Re-shuffle instead of swapping two students by hand. The moment you hand-edit one pair, the randomness is gone, and so is your cover. For pairs that truly never work together, add a keep-apart rule and it gets enforced automatically every time.

Save each class once. Type a roster one time, save it under the class name, and load it again next lesson. Saved classes live in your browser, so they’ll be waiting on the same computer you teach from.

Frequently asked questions

Is the shuffle actually fair?

Yes. Names get shuffled with an unbiased algorithm (a Fisher–Yates shuffle, if you’re curious) and dealt into groups round-robin. Every student has an equal chance of landing in any group, and group sizes never differ by more than one.

Do my students’ names get uploaded anywhere?

No. The shuffling happens entirely in your browser, and names are never sent to a server. If you use Saved classes, the lists are stored in your browser’s local storage on your own device, and you can delete them whenever you like. See the privacy policy for the full picture.

Can I keep certain students apart?

Yes. Add keep-apart pairs and GroupShuffle will look for an arrangement that separates them. If what you asked for is impossible (say, five students who all have to be apart in two groups), it tells you and shows the closest arrangement it found.

What about absent students?

Your full roster stays in the list. Uncheck whoever’s out today and they’re left out of the shuffle. No retyping, and they’re back with one click tomorrow.

How do I show the groups to my class?

Use Projector mode for a big, high-contrast fullscreen view that’s readable from the back row. You can also print the groups as a handout, or copy them as text to paste into a slide, an email, or your LMS.

Is it free? Do I need an account?

Completely free, no account, no sign-up.