# Popsicle Sticks: Teacher Picks — Random Name Picker

> Digital random name picker and classroom management tool for educators. (iPhone/iPad app by Neil Daly.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/popsicle-sticks-teacher-picks/id1139826444 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Neil Daly](https://appshunter.io/developer/1139826443)
- Category: Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 1,287 App Store ratings · 71 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.6 · 57 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2016-09-03
- Data updated: 2026-08-25
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/popsicle-sticks-teacher-picks/id1139826444/reviews.md

## What is Popsicle Sticks?

Popsicle Sticks: Teacher Picks replaces your mug of popsicle sticks. Use it to randomly select and group students, to pick random numbers and simulate dice rolls, to score responses during discussions, to create classroom tournaments, and to energize your daily roll call! Its features include:

RANDOM SELECT
Select students randomly one student at a time. Use the "Random Bar" slider to precisely set the "randomness" of the next selection; from "uncalled students only" to "completely random" (and everywhere in-between). And although your students may not always love being selected, they will love listening to Siri say their name! (But rest assured, there is a "Mute" button for text-only selections.)

RANDOM GROUPS
Put students into random groups with just a couple taps. If the groups need a little tweaking, you can "swap" students with the Swap button. Easily view the "jigsaw" version of any random grouping, or create "round-robin pairings" for multi-day partner activities. Utilize the Share button to export a grouping (onto a white board, for example).

RANDOM LIST
Random List displays your class list in random order. Need a better system for picking the next student to take down the attendance, or to choose a birthday donut? Random List is the answer. Create, save, and export random lists for just about anything.

GRADE CALCULATOR
Utilize Grade Calculator to quickly determine final grades for test, quizzes, and other assignments. Calculate percentages and determine letter grades for a traditional grading system, or point averages and average performance levels for a rubric-based system. You can customize the output to include halves and/or thirds as well as extra credit points.

MENTL
Play Mentl with your students to improve their mental math skills. Utilizing a set of randomly generated digits, students build math equations equal to numbers on a Bingo board. Brain Bingo!

DIGITAL DABBLE
For each round of Digital Dabble, Popsicle Sticks generates a random set of digits (from a dice roll) and a target number. The challenge for your students is to use the digits to make an equation equal to the Target Number. Think digital!

RAD ROLL CALL
Invigorate your daily attendance with Rad Roll Call! Start each day by choosing one of over 200 Rad Roll Call questions. Students confirm they are present by responding to the question. Their answers (as well as the day's attendance) are saved and used for the Roll Call Recall game, where students earn points for remembering their classmates' responses.

TOURNAMENT BUILDER
With just a few taps, create a class tournament for almost any game (educational or otherwise). You can set it up for students to compete individually or in teams. You control the composition of the teams and the number of games. Choose from round-robin, single-elimination, or "quick-tournament." Record game results with a single tap. Popsicle Sticks will keep track of the standings, and, if you'd like, automatically slot the best players (or teams) into an end-of-tournament playoff! May the best student win! 

SCORED DISCUSSION
Use Scored Discussion to track student responses during discussions. Just tap on a score as students give answers. Popsicle Sticks will display a running total for each student and automatically save the scores for future discussions. You can select students randomly (of course) or manually (by just tapping on a name). Save multiple discussions for various subjects, and easily export the scores to Excel or another application.

With this free version of Popsicle Sticks: Teacher Picks, you can input one class, randomly select up to 500 students, create 10 random lists, 5 random groupings, 5 scored discussions, 5 tournaments, and 5 Rad Roll Calls. If you find it helpful, you can upgrade to the full version, Popsicle Sticks Unlimited. With Popsicle Sticks Unlimited you'll get unlimited access to all the features.

Use Popsicle Sticks: Teacher Picks as a student picker, grouper, scorer, and gamer!

## Key features

- Random student selection
- Student grouping and swapping
- Random list generation
- Grade calculation
- Mental math games
- Tournament builder

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Popsicle Sticks Unlimited | $1.99 | one-time |
| Random Picks Unlimited | $4.99 | one-time |
| Christmas Skin | $0.99 | one-time |
| Halloween Skin | $0.99 | one-time |
| Popsicle Sticks Unlimited | $9.99 | one-time |
| Popsicle Sticks Unlimited | $9.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Popsicle Sticks?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 👍 Great for elementary music teachers
- 🤩 Randomized grouping tool
- 🚀 Useful and fun app
- 🚀 Intuitive to set up and easy to learn
- 🚀 Awesome tool creates awesome student engagement

**Cons**

- 💰 Hidden cost
- 💰 Expensive
- 💰 Deceptive about costs
- 🐛 Crashes when picking a student
- 🐛 Import glitches
- 🐛 Deleting students/classes not intuitive
- 🔒 Not user-friendly when removing students and archiving classes

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Crashes when picking a student
- Import glitches
- Deleting students/classes not intuitive
- Asks for reviews too often

**Most requested features**

- Ability to edit voice/pronunciation of names
- Ability to mark students absent so they're not randomly selected
- Ability to rotate iPad to landscape mode
- Support for Slide Over and/or Side-by-Side apps
- Ability to remove students on a tournament-by-tournament basis
- Ability to mix groups by gender
- Ability to set custom group colors

## Recent user reviews (10 of 71)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/popsicle-sticks-teacher-picks/id1139826444/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Saves time

*2026-06-04, version 6.4.0*

This is a great way to call random names and assign visibly random groups! I use it for multiple classes, and even selecting next class awards. I wish there was a way to delete names or class lists though.

### 5/5 — Love

*2026-02-06*

I seriously love this app. It helps with picking students to call on, grouping and so much more! I never review apps, but I’ve had this one for a few years now and wanted people to know this one was worth every penny!

### 2/5 — Good but

*2025-09-24, version 6.2.0*

I like the app I like all the stuff but of course every app now have to have a premium or something to buy with and and you have to upgrade it to premium to get more than random groupings and to make more than one classes it’s really weird and I do not like it. That’s why I’m giving it two stars

### 3/5 — Some drawbacks

*2025-08-04, version 6.1.4*

The app is wonderful,however,it’s not user friendly when removing students and archiving classes.  There’s no where to show to do that with the app.

### 4/5 — It’s great just I have one complaint

*2025-03-01, version 6.0.4*

This is a great app just I was clicking on groups and it said I had reached my limit and I had to pay if I wanted to continue which was annoying but otherwise it is great!

### 2/5 — Warning: Hidden Cost

*2025-01-15, version 6.0.4*

You get hooked into using it (for free) and then suddenly you have to pay $13 or it won’t work in the middle of your lesson. You think it’s free, but it’s really just a free trial and for $13 is it worth it? 

That may be too expensive if you just wanted it for the random name function. 

If this is your app please consider lowering the price and offer the pay option instead of surprising people.

### 4/5 — Good

*2024-11-19, version 6.0.4*

I love it but it but it does say names wrong sometimes and then my students say that’s not my name are they talking about me and I have to explain to them not everything can’t say your name

### 2/5 — Problem deleting

*2024-09-05, version 6.0.2*

Would be a great app if I could figure out how to delete the students that leave my class.  If someone knows, please advise.  Thanks

### 4/5 — Works great, once you set it up

*2024-08-06*

I really enjoyed this last year. It worked well and the students laughed at how their names were pronounced. Some of the add on stuff has been fun too
Now it’s a new school year and I need to delete the old classes to make new ones. There isn’t an easy way to do that! This is a short term frustration of course. I can replace the names individually. But a way to clear it out at the beginning of the year would be nice.

### 1/5 — Terrible App

*2024-02-02, version 5.0.2*

Although it started off great I began using it too much and it ended up ruining my life because it would put people in groups that would ruin their grades and at my house we used it to separate chores. It also glitches and sometimes adds random people that you don't even know into groups. I hate this app and do not recommend using it for anything.

## Frequently asked questions about Popsicle Sticks

### What does Popsicle Sticks: Teacher Picks do?

This app provides a digital alternative to physical popsicle sticks for educators. It allows for random student selection, the creation of random student groups, and the generation of random lists for various classroom needs. It also includes features for grade calculation, math games, and tournament building.

### What are the key features of this app?

Key features include a "Random Select" function for picking students one by one with adjustable randomness, "Random Groups" for easily forming student teams, and "Random List" for ordering class lists. It also offers a "Grade Calculator," math-based games like "Mentl" and "Digital Dabble," and a "Tournament Builder."

### Is this app free to use?

The application is available for free with the option of in-app purchases. This means core functionalities are accessible without cost, but certain advanced features or content may require a purchase.

### What kind of classroom activities can this app help with?

This app can assist with a wide range of activities, from randomly calling on students during discussions and creating groups for projects to managing classroom tournaments and energizing daily roll call with engaging questions. The grade calculator also streamlines assessment management.

### Can I customize the random selections?

Yes, the "Random Select" feature includes a "Random Bar" slider that allows you to precisely control the randomness of the next selection. You can choose to select only from students who haven't been called yet, or opt for a completely random selection from the entire class.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 6.4.2 — 2026-08-17

Bug fixes

### 6.4.1 — 2026-08-11

We put a little "spin" on random name selection. Also, bug fixes.

### 6.4.0 — 2026-02-08

User interface improvements and bug fixes

### 6.3.0 — 2025-11-18

You can now use Pupil Puzzler to create a custom word search.

### 6.2.1 — 2025-10-14

Bug fixes

## Apps similar to Popsicle Sticks

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## More apps by Neil Daly

- [Popsicle Sticks Unlimited](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/popsicle-sticks-unlimited/id1171532604)
- [Basketball Drill Down](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basketball-drill-down/id1240369136)
- [Soccer Drill Down](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soccer-drill-down/id1347566116)
- [Volleyball Drill Down](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/volleyball-drill-down/id1350154651)
- [Rad Roll Call](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rad-roll-call/id1576246803)

All apps by Neil Daly: https://appshunter.io/developer/1139826443

## Related topics

[teachers pick](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/teachers-pick) · [student picker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/student-picker) · [popsicle sticks](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/popsicle-sticks) · [popsicle sticks unlimited](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/popsicle-sticks-unlimited) · [random group generator](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/random-group-generator) · [teacher app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/teacher-app) · [teacher apps](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/teacher-apps) · [teacher tools](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/teacher-tools) · [group maker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/group-maker) · [team shake](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/team-shake) · [random group maker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/random-group-maker) · [teacher group maker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/teacher-group-maker) · [random name picker tools](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/random-name-picker-tools) · [random list](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/random-list) · [teacher tools grader](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/teacher-tools-grader) · [teacher](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/teacher)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*