# 10 PPT Activities for Online Teaching (4): Spin Wheel

https://ijuhsu.com/en/posts/10pptactivity-wheel · 2021-05-21
Category: teaching · Tags: ppt, 教學活動, 轉盤

---

Before diving in, I'd recommend reading the [first post in this series](/en/10pptactivity-choices/), which covers the overall goals and things to keep in mind for online teaching activities.  
For all online teaching activity content, visit the [Online Teaching Resource Hub](/en/teaching/), which includes all interactive PowerPoint templates, Google tools, and other useful resources.

* * *

## What's the Point of a Spin Wheel as a Teaching Activity?

I'm sure everyone knows what a spin wheel is for — anything that involves randomness can be handled with one. There are plenty of online tools that include timers and spin wheels, like the ones covered in Teacher Lian Yuren's video [Classroom Gadgets Roundup: Classroomscreen](https://youtu.be/kfk2UrQ9Scg). But if you want to stay entirely in PowerPoint without switching apps, this animation is really handy.  
At its core, the wheel's job is:

*   Random selection

Whatever you're picking — numbers, names, topics — the wheel has you covered.

The following sections walk you through how to build a spin wheel from scratch. You can also just download the template directly ([click here to download](https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=19uKbuiEiEyPvgifWQ6eOdwdnwVhFsf9S); if you can't open it after downloading, see [this guide](https://influrry.tw/powerpoint-cant-open/)). Building it from scratch actually takes about five minutes (the part that takes me the longest is the visual design XD).  
The template comes with three variations: one where the pointer spins, one where the wheel itself spins, and one where a ball moves. The first two use the same animation technique — but the spinning-pointer version requires a bit more setup, so I'll use the spinning-wheel version to explain things here.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-25)

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-26)

The third variation mimics the feel of Russian roulette, using a "Motion Path" animation instead. Feel free to try it out yourself.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-27)

> Software used: PowerPoint 2019 or above (this activity is compatible with older versions of PowerPoint — if you run into any issues, feel free to leave a comment)  
> Template font: Genshin B (free font — [click here to download from GitHub](https://github.com/ButTaiwan/gensen-font))

* * *

## From Scratch: Building a Spin Wheel in PowerPoint

Making a spin wheel is surprisingly simple — you can finish it in under five minutes.

### Step 01: Draw the Wheel

There are lots of different wheel styles, but I recommend going to **Insert → Chart** and choosing a **Pie chart**. The first and last pie chart options both work well (I'll demo the last one, which has a nice Russian roulette look XD).

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-17)

### Step 02: Insert Text

After inserting the chart, a spreadsheet-like panel will pop up immediately. Let's zoom in:

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-20)

Think of "Q1," "Q2," etc. as your options — the names, numbers, or whatever you want on the wheel. You can edit them directly here. I'll change these to whatever I need.  
The "Sales" column controls **how much of the pie each option takes up** (as a percentage).

Once you've entered your options, here's how to work with the percentage column:

**Equal percentages in all cells → equal probability for everyone**

No matter what value you enter, as long as all cells in the Sales column have the same value, every option takes up an equal slice of the wheel:

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-19)

This gives every option an equal chance of being selected, no matter how many times you spin.

**Unequal percentages → weighted probability**

Sometimes you want unequal odds — for example, in Monopoly, you might want a 6 to be the hardest step to roll and a 1 to be the most common:

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-21)

With this setup, 6 will visibly appear less often than 1 when spinning.

### Step 03: Customize the Wheel's Style

There are a few style options you can change — some are necessary, some are optional. I'll walk through them below.

**Showing labels on the wheel (required)**

We need the options to actually appear on the wheel, and we also want to get rid of the ugly default chart title. Here's how:  
Click the chart, and you'll see three icons appear in the upper right. Click the top one — the green **+**.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-22)

In the menu that appears, change the checkboxes so they look like this:  
□ Chart Title  
✓ Data Labels  
□ Legend

Then click on "Data Labels" — a small arrow will appear on the right. Click "More Options."

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-23)

The Format Data Labels panel will open on the right side. Under "Label Contains," check **only "Category Name"** — and you'll see your options appear on the wheel!

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-24)

That's most of the setup done!

**Changing text on the wheel (optional)**

You can adjust the text inside the wheel just by clicking on the section you want to edit (or selecting all) and changing it the normal way.

**Changing wheel colors (optional)**

You'll notice I deliberately used black and red in my template to mimic the look of a roulette wheel — but all of these colors are fully customizable!  
Just click the section you want to recolor and change the fill to whatever you like.

**Changing wheel options**

See the final section on editing the template below.

### Step 04: Add the Pointer

The steps above apply to both template variations, but here's where they diverge:  
Do you want the pointer to spin, or the wheel to spin?  
The animation technique is the same either way — but making the pointer spin is a bit more involved, so I'll explain the concept using the spinning-wheel approach here. If you're interested in the spinning-pointer version, feel free to leave a comment and ask.

Download your pointer image and place it on the slide wherever you'd like it to appear.

### Step 05: Set Up the Animation

Now for the spin animation.  
What we want: the wheel (or pointer) rotates 360 degrees, then stops when you click — showing the current position.  
From the 3+1 animation toolkit ([review the 3+1 concept here](/en/10pptactivity-choices/)), we need the **Spin** effect from Emphasis animations, plus the **Appear** effect from Entrance animations.

First, select the element you want to spin (wheel or pointer), then go to **Animations → Add Animation → Emphasis → Spin** (labeled "Gyroscope" in some versions).  
Open the **Animation Pane**, right-click that animation, and choose **Effect Options**. Under the **Timing** tab, change the **Duration** to under 1 second — this makes the spin feel faster.  
Also change **Repeat** to **Until Next Click**.

Next, select the same spinning element, go to **Animations → Add Animation → Entrance → Appear**.  
Now run the slideshow — you're done!

### Additional Notes

If you want to add an on/off switch (like I have in my template), you can use the "Trigger" technique covered in [10 PPT Activities for Online Teaching (1): Multiple Choice](/en/10pptactivity-choices/).

As for making the pointer spin — it's doable, but PowerPoint's Spin animation always rotates around an object's center point. I'd recommend using a shape like a "pen" or "finger" pointer instead, since those look more natural when spinning from the center.  
If you want something that truly looks like a clock hand moving — you'll need to add a transparent object to effectively shift the rotation center. Curious how that works? Feel free to ask anytime.

* * *

## Using the Template: Spin Wheel in PowerPoint

Download the template below first (if you can't open it after downloading, see [this guide](https://influrry.tw/powerpoint-cant-open/)):

[Template\_Spin Wheel Download](https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=19uKbuiEiEyPvgifWQ6eOdwdnwVhFsf9S)

After downloading, you'll see three slides — the only difference between them is the visual style.

There's only one thing to edit: click the wheel, and you'll see **Chart Tools** appear in the top toolbar. Go to **Design** and find **Edit Data**:

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dycjoye5f/image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ijuhsu/image-28)

From there, you can edit all the options to whatever you need.

* * *

There are many different types of random-selection tools out there — the spin wheel is just one of them. I'll introduce other variations in future posts!

I hope this has been helpful.  
If you have any questions, or there's an activity you'd like to learn, feel free to leave a comment anytime!  
For all PowerPoint-based online teaching activities, see:

Thanks again everyone — wishing you smooth sailing with online teaching!

* * *

### Thanks for reading :D

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to click the coffee button in the lower right to support us and give Lottery a can 🐾