Kahoot as an Educational Tool

What is Kahoot?

Who doesn't know what Kahoot is by now? I have been using this since I was a freshman in high school and I am now currently a junior in college. Kahoot is always relative, no matter the subject or age. It is also a very effective way to engage and motivate your audience. Kahoot can and is a highly competitive game! I have witnessed some serious competition over the years with everyone trying to be first in place and the fastest to answer. Which, is not necessarily a bad thing for the teacher. It means that students are getting answers right, learning, is an expert in the subject, and is actively engaged in class! This is also a way to create healthy competition within the classroom.

Just in case you actually do not know what Kahoot is, have you ever watched or played Jeopardy? Kahoot is very similar to that game, except it is a digital format and more adapted to the 21st century. Kahoot is a game, based on questions and answers. It can be accessed on any device with wifi. It is also a great way to review for a test or maybe learning what your students already know on the topic you are about to introduce. Either way about it, Kahoot is not going away any time soon and it may be time to jump on the bandwagon, if you aren't already.

How Do I Sign Up For and Use Kahoot?
Kahoot is another very easy and simple app to sign up for. To begin signing up you will go to the site. From there, you will click the "sign up" button on the right. It will ask if you are using it as: an educator, a student, socially, or at work.  For school, you will either sign up as an educator or have your students sign up for the student version.

Once you tell Kahoot your whole life story and all the right information, you will be able to begin using it! To begin, you will click the "create" button once you have logged in. Kahoot offers four options for creating, they are: a quiz, a jumble, a discussion, and a survey. A quiz means that you will create questions for the students to answer, in a multiple choice format. A jumble is when students will drag answers to their correct order. A discussion is when you ask a question to begin a debate. Lastly, a survey is when you take a poll on the audience's opinions.

After you choose your format, you are able to start designing your Kahoot! You will give it a title and add a cover picture that represents the topic covered. From there you will then determine how many questions you want. You will write the question that you want answered and give three to four choices for the answers. You are required to have at least three options and you have to click which answer is the correct one. If there is more than one answer, you can click any and all that would be right.

Kahoot, also offers a few special features. If I am correct, you can choose what song you want to play while the game is being played. You can adjust how long students have to answer each question. Each question gives you the option to add in a photo. You also have the option to show the leader board or to keep it private.

Being the creator or admin, you will have certain privileges. You will be able to keep track of who is in first place, who has the longest streak of answering questions right, how many questions students got right, and which questions they struggled with. The game also shows after each question, who gave what response. This lets you know if the majority of the class understood that topic or if they need more reviewing. You will also have access to all the games you have created for other classes and topics.

You also will be the one who has the access code to play the game. So, each time you play that specific game, you will have to share the code, in order for students to sign in to it and play. This does not even require the students to have an account, they can just go to the website, put in the code, and start playing.

How Do I Incorporate Kahoot in My Classroom?
Kahoot, like I have said before, is relevant and effective for any and all subjects and ages. As I also have discussed and said, Kahoot is a great way to review before a test. I have done this in Spanish class several times. My teacher asked us what, for example, red is in Spanish. We would have four options and chose which form was correct. Another example, is when I played it in my methods class. My professor asked us questions relating to our midterm topics and from our knowledge, we had to chose the best answer for the situation.

These are just some of the ways in which I have experienced Kahoot, but if you want more ideas you can look at this article. This article gives you twelve different ways to use Kahoot in the classroom. there are endless opportunities and uses for this app. It is easily accessible and usable to anyone who has internet access in the classroom. There are also endless possibilities on how you can incorporate Kahoot into review sessions and lesson plans.

From doing a bit of research and learning about Kahoot, I have thought of new ways to use Kahoot. Like I learned that there are more formats than just a quiz. I also learned that I can use Kahoot in history and math. The idea has crossed my mind, but I have never seen it done until recently. I like how the teacher used Kahoot in the picture.

Another way to use this app, is to have students create their own Kahoots to share with each other and to use as reviewing tools for themselves. This activity makes them think of what kind of questions might be asked, what they think are important things to ask about, and it also allows them to review since they are considering what to ask. This activity does require students to make an account to create a Kahoot, but it is fairly simple. I remember doing this for one of my classes and I actually found it very helpful and thought it was a unique idea.

My Experiences and Opinion
From my experience, Kahoot's are good and effective way to review before tests. I remember the questions I get wrong way more easily than just by reviewing it on paper. It sticks with me when I get a question wrong because it gives you a big "x" and it makes me feel bad that I missed that question. But, if I know a Kahoot is being used, I make an extra effort to know the meanings of vocal words or study, so that I can do well and be in the top five. Especially because sometimes my teachers would give extra points to the top 3 on their tests.

I am not an emotionally and visually competitive person, but I do like achieving. I am secretly competitive and just want to do my best, not even to get the extra points, but just to please myself. I like to be right and I think this game is a good motivator and evaluation for myself. It motivates me to do my best and allows me to see if I am prepared or not for the test. It also lets me know which areas I need to focus more on before my test.

So, in my opinion, I love Kahoot and will definitely be using it in my classroom. Whether it is for reviewing or introducing a topic to see where my students are, I will find ways to incorporate them into my lesson plans. I also think this game kind of creates a community for my students. It lets them see who knows their stuff, so they can use that person as a resource for helping them better understand. It also creates a healthy competition in the classroom. through this, students get to socialize with one another and with people who they may not have otherwise.

References 
Kahoot Website [website page]. Retrieved October 8, 2018 from https://kahoot.com/welcomeback/

Kahoot logo [online image]. Retrieved October 8, 2018 from https://www.smore.com/d2a0m-kahoot

Kahoot Sample Image [online image]. Retrieved October 8, 2018 from https://www.monticello.org/site/families-and-teachers/kahoot-quizzes-classroom

Kahoot math game [online image]. Retrieved October 8, 2018 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2017/08/28/how-kahoot-quickly-hit-one-billion-players-while-helping-advance-education/#7aefe87a7393

We Are Teachers Staff. (2015, December 1). 12 Ways to Use Kahoot! in your Classroom. Retrieved October 8, 2018 from https://www.weareteachers.com/best-of-teacher-helpline-12-ways-to-use-kahoot-in-your-classroom/