Digital Resources: Kahoot

DISCLAIMER: I am a very competitive person. When I play, I play to win. I will abstain from games and other forms of competition just because of my intense need to win. So when put into a situation where I have to play a game, all bets are off. This was the situation I found myself in this past summer at a professional development workshop when the speaker introduced Kahoot. I was immediately hooked. It's fast paced, it's completely customizable and it's highly competitive. The graphic behind the text on the sign up page is a kid at a computer screen praying as he waits for the results to be announced and then celebrating when they are. That moment of suspense really makes this quiz/game generator different from many of the others. It's also great because students can play on any web-enabled device, so if you don't have enough laptops/tablets/Chromebooks/etc. to go around, you can supplement what you have with what the kids have (assuming, of course, that your school allows for such things) AND kids don't have to sign up for an account, so you can avoid that hassle and just start playing! There are also public Kahoots, so students can play without you having to design anything at all; all you need to do is find the appropriate quiz and get kids started. You can also gather data into a Excel spreadsheet to see what students got right or wrong (although students enter their own nicknames so be sure to set a clear nickname policy in advance!

A screenshot from a popular public Kahoot - you can preview
gamesand play practice rounds before rolling them out!

Kahoot is designed to be a quick, fun and engaging game rather than a data-creating assessment. The countdown feature (where players get more points for answering more quickly) doesn't encourage deep thinking about individual questions; rather Kahoot seeks to spark initial engagement and enthusiasm. Kahoot is easy enough to use for students to create their own sessions, so there is an opportunity to use the tool to a more rigorous end.

Where: www.kahoot.com

Cost: Free 

What: Quiz/Game platform

Students! Try Kahoot if you want to...

create a fun quiz for your friends to try

develop a study tool for a group

include an engaging game in a presentation

Teachers! Try Kahoot if you want to...

include an element of competition in your lesson

create an engaging opening activity

have students create fun quizzes for each other