If you’re looking for new ways to make your class content fun or keep your students engaged, Kahoot! is definitely the teaching solution you’ve been looking for. 

Schools nowadays always encourage teachers to bring technology into the classroom and in their teaching, but finding ways to integrate technology into your class plans can be difficult. It can also be difficult for teachers to get students to actively participate in the classroom activities and discussions, which is one of the ways to gauge whether they are learning and retaining the lesson materials. 

Due to the pandemic, most teachers are expected to deliver instruction through a mix of distance and in-classroom learning. To achieve this, the use of an online learning management system is vital. While there are plenty of choices available in the market today, none really helps make learning fun as much as Kahoot!, an online learning program with elements of gamification. 

Today, we’re going to take a look at Kahoot! and why you should immediately start implementing this into your lessons. 

But what exactly is Kahoot!?

Kahoot! is a game-based learning and trivia platform that facilitates learning beyond the classroom. You can use the platform from any device, via the website or the app, which makes learning fun and inclusive for all ages. For teachers, Kahoot! is a great way to prepare fun lessons. It allows teachers to create interesting class content ranging from multiple-choice games, as well as a multitude of other forms of games related to class lessons to keep students alert and engaged throughout. Moreover, it is also a very flexible system that caters to various subjects.

Kahoot! focuses on how you learn, not what you learn. Students are encouraged to create a learning space which in turn generates discussion, collaboration and motivation around their lessons. The content prepared by Kahoot! and its community is set to specific standards, which often aligns with the curriculum that teachers can search for. This means that users are able to discover games that align to standards they’re teaching or learning.

Games are also designed to bring emotions into the learning experience, whether it is through game mechanics, music and visual design. This helps to create memorable moments that help students unlock their potential.

Teachers can use this platform in many different ways. Some teachers build whole lessons around a single game, or run activities where students create their own content on Kahoot! Other teachers may opt to use it as a supplement to their lessons and classroom activity. In this case, they might do that to introduce a topic, do a review or use Kahoot! to give their students an energizer during class.

So, why use Kahoot!?

Kahoot! offers many benefits in the classroom. Through its gamification system, students can play either individually or in groups. Students, who will need to create a unique username to use throughout a semester, answer these questions with their own personal electronic devices and receive points for both response accuracy and promptness. After each question is answered, the correct answer will be displayed as well as a scoreboard of the highest point earners. At any time, teachers can track all their students’ progress and scores in real-time.

There are a few ways to use Kahoot! effectively in the classroom. These include: 

1. Instead of using a worksheet at the end of a lesson for assessment, Kahoot! is a fun and effective way to measure which concepts your students understand fully; and which concepts which might need some reinforcement. 

2. If you’re looking to end class on an exciting note, Kahoot! allows your students to utilize class concepts while having fun. 

3. Kahoot! works well as a class starter to get students energized and engaged at the beginning of class. You may also use this space throughout a lesson to measure student engagement and understanding.

4. Use the platform to introduce new concepts as a form of pre-assessment to see how much students know about the new content, by introducing new content, then using the app to see what students understand about the topic.

Best of all, Kahoot! is absolutely free for teachers and students. 

How to get started on Kahoot!?

Getting your teacher’s account started is a breeze with these simple steps. 

1. Getting a Kahoot! account 

Create an account at kahoot.com, and choose Teacher as your account type. You will be required to sign up with your email address and password, and provide some additional information to customize your own Kahoot! experience. 

2. Hosting a Kahoot! session

After your account has been created, it’s time to host your very first Kahoot! session. You can choose to host a session live in class, or even remotely. 

i. Open a kahoot, click Play and choose Teach. 
ii. You can adjust your game options, like randomizing the order of questions, or choose between Team Mode or Classic Individual Mode. 
iii. Start once everyone is ready to join in the game. 

Hosting live in class: When playing live in class, kahoots are displayed on a shared screen for everyone in the class to see. Students will be required to join in and answer using their own devices. 

Hosting remotely: When hosting remotely, you’ll need to connect to your video conferencing tool of choice; Google Meet, Skype or Zoom and make sure your camera, microphones and speakers are turned on. 

3. Finding Kahoots!

You can also opt to go through the Kahoot! library, with more than 60 million existing public kahoots for you to play, duplicate or edit. A ready-made kahoot is a great starting point if you don’t have the time or the ideas to create a new kahoot from scratch. 

i. Log in to your account and click Discover on the top bar. 
ii. Take a look through the featured collections, sorted by Top Picks, Collections by Verified educators or Kahoot! Premium partners. 
iii. You can also search for kahoots using keywords or phrases in the Search bar. You can also filter based on Subject, Grade Level and other filters. 
iv. Save your kahoot to your favorites for easy referencing. 

4. Creating Kahoots!

Once you’ve done your research and established your learning objectives, you can jump right in to create your own kahoots! 

i. Log in to your Kahoot! account. Click Create and choose New kahoot.
ii. Start typing your first quiz question. Add answer alternatives and mark the correct answer(s).
iii. Tune the timer and points depending on the complexity of the question.
iv. Add an image by uploading it from your computer or choosing one from our image library. You can also embed a YouTube link.

5. Assessing Results with Kahoots!

With Kahoot! reports, you can capture useful instructional insights for formative assessment. Learn how to use reports to assess learning and better target your further instruction – which is especially important for distance learning when you’re interacting with students remotely.

After you’ve hosted a game live or assigned a student-paced challenge, go to the Reports section in the top navigation bar and find the report you need. The Summary section presents various actionable insights in a neat, visual way:

i. All the key stats – how many students played, how many questions there were, etc
ii. Which questions were the most difficult and might need reteaching
iii.  Which players need help based on their game results

Conclusion

The reason for Kahoot!’s success boils down to its unwavering focus on improving learning outcomes by boosting engagement, participation, and motivation through competitive, game-based learning experiences. Studies have shown that students who have played Kahoot! were more confident answering quiz questions, and felt more comfortable asking questions during discussion sessions. 

This improved classroom dynamics and student confidence is a sure sign of Kahoot!’s positive effect on learning, by promoting a correlation of engagement, motivation, and fun for a better learning experience. 

If you’re looking for a new way to reinforce class content or keep your students engaged, maybe it’s time to join the 6 million teachers and 800 million students in over 200 countries using Kahoot! Kahoot! is definitely the teaching solution you’ve been looking for. 

Try Kahoot! today: https://kahoot.com

If you wish to find more interesting approaches to teaching, feel free to check out our blog!