Kahoot! Your Classroom! A Great Way to Engage Your Students

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Get Kahoot! It’s a game… no, wait, it’s a learning tool… yep, it’s both! We were introduced to the greatness of Kahoot! at the Mississippi Educational Computer Association (MECA) conference last year. Instantly, we saw the benefits. It has completely changed the way we review topics in class.

If you have not tried Kahoot! yet, you really need to take a good look at it. There are thousands upon thousands of already made Kahoots you can use. To get started, head over to www.getkahoot.com and click to sign up for free. You should be at a screen like the one shown below.

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After filling out all of the nitty gritty, you are ready to roll. When you log in, you will have a screen with a top bar like this:

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Obviously, the public Kahoots are just that, public. Head there and search for a topic. You can find Kahoots already made for virtually any topic. As with anything, be sure to screen them and make sure they are good material. Remember, anyone can create a Kahoot, so you want to make sure it measures up to the standards you have set.
If you find a Kahoot that you want to customize, that is a simple matter. You can hover over the name of a Kahoot, and click DUPLICATE. This puts a copy of it in the area marked as CREATED BY ME, and you can edit it from there. You can do minor editing, such as fixing small errors, changing time limits, etc, or you can do a complete overhaul. The choice is yours.

You will find that students simply LOVE Kahoot!. They thrive on the competition, they can’t wait for review sessions done using it, and it is full of great teachable moments. Kids will start to learn that fast is not always best, as slow and correct will always beat fast and incorrect.

Kahoot! is friendly across virtually any platform, though I have found that it can be a bit glitchy at times. I allow my students to use their own devices, or use the Chromebooks in class. Most of them prefer the Chromebooks, because we seem to have a problem every now and then where mobile devices get disconnected. This is much more rare on a Chromebook, but you need to be aware that can be an issue.

Another thing. If you are one of those teachers who insists that your room remain totally quiet, Kahoot! may not be for you. Your kids will be loud, they will get excited, you will have kids jumping up and down in excitement.

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And groaning in despair when they get an answer incorrect.

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Maybe it is just me, but I love that my students get into the game enough that they actually care if they miss a question. Think about it, how often do you have someone get pumped or mad at themselves for getting something wrong on a paper study guide or review session?  Yeah, didn’t think so.

So, sign up, give it a shot. Your students will love you for it.