Kahoot Challenge
Classrooms, Distance Ed, instructional technology, iPad, Mobile, Pedagogy

Kahoot! Now Has A New Out-of-Class Feature!

Kahoot mobile screenshotKahoot! is a game-based learning platform that, up until now, could really only be used face-to-face.  But great news, it now has an out-of-class feature as well that can be used for homework or for online courses.  I know many of you teaching online has wanted to use Kahoot! but haven’t been able to.  Well now you can!

The new feature is called Challenge and does require the Kahoot! App to play.  When you (or your students) want to start a Challenge just click on an existing Kahoot! (or you can make a new one) and at the top, click Challenge.  You then set a due date by when the challenge must be completed.  Lastly, you are given a Challenge link and PIN that you then share with your students, either via OAKS, Email, or Google Classroom.  The student really just needs to type in the PIN into the Kahoot! app and they go on with the game as they would in class.  At the end, the instructor can see how everyone in the class did.

The only thing I’m not in love with is that Challenges can’t be done on a computer and most young children (for EHHP) don’t have cell phones or iPads.  For a college classroom this shouldn’t be an issue.

Here’s how it works:

Kahoot! can be used to:

  • Review, revise and reinforce
  • Re-energize and reward
  • Get classroom insights
  • Gather opinions
  • Motivate teamwork
  • Challenge past results
  • Join global classrooms
  • Introduce new topics
  • Great for competitions
(taken from Inspiring Ways to Kahoot! )

Also, as you learned above, there is a new mobile app to make it even easier to join and play!  Check it out on their Mobile app page.

Blind Kahoot
Assessment, discussion, Innovative Instruction, instructional technology, Pedagogy

New Way To Introduce Course Content In Your Classes

Everyone who has ever tried Kahoot loves it.  We love it because it is fun, exciting, and a great way to review material.  However, have you ever tried to use it to introduce new material?  If you haven’t, you may want to take a look at Blind Kahooting.  A Biology teacher names Steph Castle appears to be credited with creating the Blind Kahoot! and it’s actually a pretty genius idea.  It’s using Kahoot! to introduce an entirely new subject, one for which they have little to no knowledge.   

How Does It Work?

The gist is that you follow a template to create your Kahoot! that flows like this:

Q1 – Introductory Question – this question sets the scene and brings the students on board with the topic and/or the main goal.

Q2 – Toughest Question – ask the toughest question you can think of about this topic or goal.  This question, if answered correctly, should demonstrate that the student understood the topic and could move on.   Note: is not just okay that they get the question wrong, it’s expected.  

  • Now, you explain the question and the answer to your students.  This gets you going on the topic or goal.

Q3-? – Reinforcing Questions – Ask a series of questions that will take the students through the topic.  The goal is for them to practice what they’ve just learned.  You will also explain each answer after the question is finished.  Basically you are using these questions to deliver your content and checking for understanding all at the same time.  You may even want to ask the same question several different ways to ensure they are understanding the topic.

Last question – Ask your Toughest Question again. Can also be an application question.  Should combine all the items learned in the Kahoot!

Wash, rinse, repeat – To introduce another topic or part of the topic, start the process all over.

When completely finished, be sure to leave enough time for the students to try to beat their score using Kahoot!’s Ghost Mode.

Resources

There are a ton of great resources and videos to help you through this process.  Here are just a few: