Home Educational Games & Gamification Kahoot is a Fun Free Game-Based Classroom Response System

Kahoot is a Fun Free Game-Based Classroom Response System

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Engaging Classroom Tool Encourages Students to Take Ownership of Learning & Move From “Learner to Leader”!

Kahoot! was launched in 2013 as a game-based classroom response system. Easily accessible by any device with a web browser and Internet connection, Kahoot! gives teachers a new and engaging method to test student knowledge and encourage classroom participation. Not only is Kahoot! used by teachers and professors, but by businesses and other users seeking a fun social experience.

Kahoot! utilizes a game-based pedagogy that encourages research and creation in learners, which is then shared by the teacher and learners to their peers. Kahoot!'s game-based system is more entertaining than traditional quiz methods, pulling students together as they attempt to select the most correct answers and end up on the leaderboard. Since its conception, Kahoot! has been used in classrooms around the world by teachers of various grade levels.

Kahoot

Creating an account with Kahoot! is free for all users, whether you are a teacher, student, businessman or simply want to enjoy it socially. The process only takes 30 seconds and only asks for basic profile information:

  • Visit the Kahoot! registration page
  • Select your role as a user
  • Provide your school (if applicable)
  • Enter a username, email and password
  • Select “Create Account”

Your account role is not set in stone – it can be changed by visiting your profile on your Kahoot! homepage. Your role does not change the appearance or function of your Kahoot! account – all users can still create their own Kahoot!s, access another user's Kahoot! and so on.

Using Kahoot! in the Classroom

Kahoot!’s game-based pedagogy is based around a loop from “learner to leader,” where students are encouraged to become leaders through the research, creation and presentation of their own quizzes. Conducting research on a given topic spurs students to learn and pass on that knowledge to their classmates. The cycle is not only empowering for the students, but fun when carried to completion.

The loop starts when teachers present their own Kahoot! in front of the class and have students answer the questions. The students then work to create their own quizzes about the topic, doing research and learning more about the subject. Once the students create their own Kahoot!, they amp up their leadership skills by playing them back to their classmates. Through the quizzes, teachers are able to assess the student's knowledge of the topic at hand via the quality of the questions and answer selections.

A great feature of Kahoot! is that it saves results for each quiz that is played. When players join a quiz, they are required to enter a nickname to be identified by; this nickname is listed in the quiz results, along with the answer each player chose and whether they were right or wrong. The recorded scores are saved to the presenter’s Kahoot! profile, where they can be downloaded and saved for the teacher's personal records. This makes grading via Kahoot! a breeze!

Kahoot!ing Your way to Improved Outcomes and Increased Engagement

When games are used in the classroom, students have the opportunity to learn while having fun. Students feel encouraged to excel because they are playing a game, not simply taking a pen and paper quiz. There is a great video of year 9 students in Eastbourne playing a Kahoot! where a student is very excited to discover if his answer is correct. A celebration ensues by both himself and his classmates, showing how Kahoot! makes learning a more entertaining experience.

David Ceron, a 4th grade writing teacher at Ruben Hinojosa Elementary School, experienced such a huge improvement on his students' scores that he had to share it with Kahoot!; though he only found out about Kahoot! three weeks before the exam, his scores went from 79% passing the previous year to 88% passing this year. He credits a large part of the increase to Kahoot!, which helped his students enjoy learning before the writing exam.

Kahoot! is not limited to grade school education; Jorick Sheerens’ college class at Mediacollege in Amsterdam showed their love for the game-based response system with laughter and cheers. Students of all ages benefit from using Kahoot! in the classroom. Since most students have easy access to smart devices nowadays – whether owning a smartphone or iPad or using school-distributed devices – Kahoot! makes group learning both simple and enjoyable.

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
Gamifying the Classroom with Minecraft – the Possibilities are Powerful and Endless!
Socrative – A 21st Century Way to Assess
The Answer Pad – Enhancing Student Engagement in a BYOD or 1 to 1 Environment

32 COMMENTS

  1. A great feature of Kahoot! is that it saves results for each quiz that is played. When players join a quiz, they are required to enter a nickname to be identified by; this nickname is listed in the quiz results, along with the answer each player chose and whether they were right or wrong. The recorded scores are saved to the presenter’s Kahoot! profile, where they can be downloaded and saved for the teacher’s personal records. This makes grading via Kahoot! a breeze!

  2. i love kahoot. i play at school. i want to thank whoever made kahoot. it really helps me learn. LOVE

  3. […] Kahoot is a Fun Free Game-Based Classroom Response System … – Engaging Classroom Tool Encourages Students to Take Ownership of Learning & Move From “Learner to Leader”! Kahoot! was launched in 2013 as a game-based classroom … […]

  4. Thanks for commenting Steph – Kahoot is a fun tool that so many teachers really appreciate! A few presenters mentioned Kahoot at the TLIPAD 2014 conference that just ran the week before last, and several fans also commented about loving Kahoot on our Facebook Page when we re-ran this post. Keep up the great work, and keep those new features coming!

  5. Thank you kindly for sharing your thoughts and insights with the community! We are particularly excited to read feedback and analysis on the learners to leaders pedagogy.
    We have just introduced a feature where you can randomise questions each time you play a game. This enables the teacher to not only save time but will allow you to bring new life to a favourite quiz, and really test your players’ knowledge by changing the order in which they’re presented the information. Being able to repeat a quiz, but with a bit of variety, gives you a chance to your reinforce your students’ understanding of the material.

    Thanks again for taking the time to write and share!
    Happy Kahooting
    Steph

  6. […] knowledge and encourage classroom participation. How to Create Image-Based Quizzes in Google Forms. Kahoot is a Fun Free Game-Based Classroom Response System. Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python. Bitesize. Best of Gamification – Maj. Kevin Werbachs […]

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