Kahoot!
Description
Kahoot! is an interactive game-based, web-based learning platform that can be accessed on any device and used in a school, work or home environment. Individuals (teachers, facilitators, trainers, students and others) can create, host or play learning games which are called kahoots, reviewing or introducing topics and concepts or elaborating on them. Games (kahoots) can take the form of any combination of quizzes, surveys (polls) or discussions (content slides) and can lead to further discussion, collaboration or research. They can consist of various question types that are connected to colours, shapes and music, as well as uploaded images and embedded YouTube videos. Quizzes can consist of multiple-choice, true or false, open-ended or puzzle (sort/ sequence) questions. Surveys (Polls) can consist of multiple-choice questions or free form answers that can be visualized in a word cloud and discussion in the form of content slides can contain additional information about a topic or concept. Learners connect to a game through a generated pin on a shared screen and can see their name, nicknames or team names, that they have created, on the leaderboard. They are able to get immediate feedback when choosing, answering or sorting questions. And they can see how their responses rate relative to their fellow learners or colleagues by the number of points they have been awarded for correct and timely answers. Teachers, facilitators and trainers can use the games (kahoots) to help them with formative assessment, evaluating learner knowledge and which learners may need help. They can also gather feedback about content and structure of their games (kahoots) from learners. The results of each game can be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet or Google drive. Games (kahoots) also provide opportunities for learners to assess and reflect on their knowledge. Games (kahoots) can be shared with others, edited, published online, and teachers, facilitators or trainers can assign them as homework in the form of kahoot! challenges for learners to play at their own pace on their own devices at home within a timeline set by them.
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Justification for Using this Tool
Justification 1 - Engages and Motivates Learners to Learn
- The most important feature of Kahoot! is its ability to engage and motivate learners to learn.
- It is tied to “gamification of education” (Dichev & Dicheva, 2017) in employing such “game design elements” (Deterding, Dixon, Khaled, & Nacke, 2011) as fun, rewards connected to units of measurement such as points and time, immediate feedback, visual tracking of progress and recognition through a leaderboard, and “social elements” such as “competition and cooperation” with other learners where “their progress and achievements are made public” (Huang & Soman, 2013).
- Games (kahoots) can also be used to facilitate discussion “between an entire class” (Plump &LaRosa, 2017) and promote team collaboration and problem-solving.
- Instructors, facilitators, and trainers can also invite learners to create their own games (kahoots) either by themselves or as part of a team, edit them, and share them with others.
- Teachers, facilitators and trainers are able to identify which learners are having difficulty with a topic or concept. They are able to see who is answering questions incorrectly and whose name is lower down in the leaderboard. They can then adjust games (kahoots) or create new games (kahoots) to address those areas of difficulty.
- Games (kahoots) offer learners opportunities for "self-reflection and self-assessment" (Ismail et al., 2019).
Strategies for Use
Strategy 1 - Using Kahoot! for Review
- Teachers, facilitators or trainers can use Kahoot! to review topics, subjects or concepts previously covered in class as preparation for tests and exams.
- They can also create review quizzes for formative assessment of learners or access public ones and edit them for their own use.
- In addition, they can incorporate and assign a kahoot review quiz to learners as homework using the challenge feature enabling learners to do the kahoot at their own pace within the time they have allotted them.
- Learners can also be encouraged to create review kahoots individually or collaboratively on a particular concept or topic covered previously to prepare for a test or exam, or for simple review, and share them with one another.
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Strategy 2 - Using Kahoot to Introduce New Material
- Kahoot! can be used to introduce learners to new material through the creation of “blind” kahoots.
- Builds learner knowledge through a defined step by step process.
- Facilitates questioning, discussion, reflection and higher order thinking.
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Helpful Resources
Resource 1 - A Teacher Tutorial on Creating a Kahoot!
- In this YouTube video a teacher takes you through the various steps involved in creating a kahoot!
- This Kahoot! guide explains how to play and create a kahoot!.
- It offers suggestions and tips on different ways of integrating kahoot! in educational settings.
- It links to various examples of kahoot! games.
- This YouTube video by Kahoot! co-founders explores different uses of this platform.
- They articulate their vision for Kahoot!
- They delve into various features and functionalities of Kahoot!
References
Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R. & Nacke, L. (2011). From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining Gamification. In Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, Tampere, Finland.
Dichev, C., & Dicheva, D. (2017). Gamifying education: what is known, what is believed, and what remains uncertain: a critical review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. 14(9).
Huang, W. H-Y., & Soman, D. (2013). A Practitioner’s Guide to Gamification Of Education. Research Report Series: Behavioural Economics in Action. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Ismail, M. A. A., Ahmad, A., Mohammad, A. M., Fakri, N. M. R. M., Nor, M. Z. M., & Pa, M. J. M. (2019). Using Kahoot! as a formative assessment tool in medical education: a phenomenological study. BMC Medical Education. 19.
Licorish, S. A., Owen, H. E., Daniel, B. & George, J. L. (2018). Students’ perception of Kahoot!’s influence on teaching and learning. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning. 13(9).
Plump, C., & LaRosa, J. (2017). Using Kahoot! in the Classroom to Create Engagement and Active Learning: A Game-Based Technology Solution for eLearning Novices. Management Teaching Review. 2(2).
Contributor
Submitted by: Ivetka Vasil
Email: [email protected]
Bio: I am a graduate student at Ontario Tech University in the M.Ed. in Education and Digital Technologies program with an interest in incorporating gamification into healthcare learning environments.
Email: [email protected]
Bio: I am a graduate student at Ontario Tech University in the M.Ed. in Education and Digital Technologies program with an interest in incorporating gamification into healthcare learning environments.