Kahoot: Unleashing Fun in the Classroom

Kahoot, an online student response system, will unleash fun in your classroom through gaming. It can be accessed through any internet capable device and is played like trivia. Students earn points for correct answers and the quicker you respond the more points you earn. If you are limited on the number of devices students have access to, then have students work in pairs/groups. 

In nine easy steps you can bring fun into your classroom using Kahoot. Watch your students start to beg to play. 

Step 1: Choose Your Kahoot
Kahoot has 3 types you can create: quiz, discussion, survey. No matter which one you choose students will see a question with four answer choices. On their device they will pick the shape that correlates with the answer they choose. 

You can also choose one from the public gallery (at the time of this blog there were almost 755K Kahoots to choose from). You can search by name, audience, and/or type.

Step 2: Launch to the Class
Project on a screen and launch the Kahoot to the class. 

Step 3: Students Join the Game
Students will go to kahoot.it and enter the pin projected on the screen once the game is launched. They are prompted to give a nickname. Teachers can give expections on whether or not the student is required to give their real name or not. 

Step 4: Students Answer Questions
For five seconds the question is projected to give the students time to start thinking. After the initial five seconds, four answer choices will be projected and the countdown begins. Each answer choice is differentiated by a color and shape. The students choose the color/shape on their device that corresponds with the correct answer. 

Step 5: Question Feedback
After time is up the correct answer(s) is highlighted with a check and the wrong answers are faded out. A bar graph will appear showing the class the number of students who choose each answer. Each student will receive personal feedback on their device to whether or not they got the answer correct. 

Step 6: Leaderboard

After each question a leaderboard will display showing the top five players. It never shows a full list of players, so those not in the top five do not have to worry about being shown where they are on the list.

Step 7: The Winner

At the end of all the questions the winner's name will be projected for everyone to see. 

Step 8: Students Rate the Experience

At the end the teacher can have students rate the experience: 

• ‘How fun was it?’ Students answer 1 to 5
• ‘Did you learn something?’ Students answer yes or no
• ‘Do you recommend it?’ Students answer yes or no
• ‘Tell us how you feel’ Students select happy, normal or sad

The accumulative feedback is displayed for the class to see, which is great for prompting discussion on what worked and what didn't work. 

Step 9: Gather the Data

The students will get personal feedback on their device; total points earned, number of correct and incorrect answers, and the position they finished. Teachers have the ability to download the students' data to see how each person answered and how long it took them to answer each question. This data is only good if the teacher requires each student to use their own name. 

Check out the Kahoot Tutorial for more information and ideas on implementing this engaging tool in your classroom.