Kahoot: Best Practices, Tricks, and...Ghosts?

Kahoot right now in the education world is like cocaine in the U.S. in the 1970s.

Source: http://www.verbicidemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/cocaine-cat1.jpg

Kahoot is the hottest thing in education, and kids will literally beg for it if they go too long without it. This in and of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. To clarify in case this simile is getting confusing, I'm not saying cocaine is a good thing. I just had to make sure we were on the same page there.

I support the use of Kahoot in the classroom, but I think we still have to be mindful about how we use it just as we should be mindful about the way we do anything else in our classroom. I've had lessons where students do great on the Kahoot, and then they come back the next day having remembered nothing. Or even worse, they can regurgitate stuff back to me that they learned on the Kahoot, but they can't apply any of it.

Source: http://bit.ly/2nAOmif

Here are some of the different tips and tricks I've gathered and use to help make Kahoot a more valuable learning experience in the classroom.

1. Ask students to explain the incorrect answers. 

Being able to explain why something is wrong helps students process things more thoroughly. This allows them to approach the concept more broadly instead of just regurgitating the information. To do this, I will often have students get into groups and discuss why each option is either right or wrong. Once they've done that, then I'll call on someone for each option. 

Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/50/01/49/5001490648775e0eee1ac06dac2aa240.jpg

2. Get creative with images and videos. 

Embedding images and videos has allowed me to change how I ask certain questions. For example, instead of asking, "What is a fragment?" I can put up a picture of a paragraph and ask, "Where is the error in this sentence?" It goes from regurgitation of the definition to application of the definition or concept. You could also put up a video of a scientific process and ask students to identify which process is happening there. There are a number of different ways to do this, but the goal is to incorporate more application in the questions.

3. Use the Kahoot as a hinge-point.

The true value of a Kahoot is often what you do after it. I used to teach a lesson and then end with a Kahoot. Now, more frequently I will do a Kahoot early in the period and then use that data to differentiate what students do for the rest of class. This sometimes involves using the Kahoot data to make strategic pairs so that one student can support another for the rest of the lesson. Other times, I will use it to send students to certain stations, digital or physical. To view the data you need for this, just click on "Save Results" when you get to the end of the Kahoot.

4. Change the order of your answers.

The duplicate question feature is great, especially if you have a set of answers that students will choose from. However, students are smart. They'll start to recognize the pattern and just do process of elimination. I'm sure we've seen this happen in class. The best way I've found to slow them down is to rearrange the order of the answers. Now, be prepared for a riot the first time you do this. They'll still tap away without reading, and once they realize it, they will be up in arms. Whenever that happens, I always just tell them that I'm training them to read carefully. This just helps them slow down and really think a bit more.

Actual GIF of my students responding when they find out I changed the order. Source: http://www.theprospect.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/freak-out-gif.gif

5. Play Kahoot as you teach.

I stumbled across the concept of a blind Kahoot a while ago, and I have since grown to love the concept. A blind Kahoot is designed to spark wonder and foster inquiry. It really is a guided lesson that follows a structure where students are exposed to a question they don't know, given time and space to reflect and learn, and then they're asked that question again. Using Kahoot as a guided lesson might actually be the best way I've found to play Kahoot with students. It keeps my lessons focused and engages students the whole way, but the engagement is reflective because they spend time figuring out what they need to learn and where they're at. Plus, they get to see tangible growth from the blind question to the question at the end. Kahoot has set up a really nice template that you can use if you click here. You can also read more here.

6. Use the ghosts.

When I first saw that there was a ghost mode, all I could think about was Mario Kart on the N64. Kahoot's version of their ghosts is the exact same concept. Students play against their own previous score to see if they improved. This can be fun to do as an entry task and an exit task so student can tangibly see their growth. However, you can also assign students to play against their ghost outside of class time. Instead of assigning a worksheet with tons of problems, what if you had students play Kahoot?

What are other ways you've found to make Kahoot more than just a fun activity in your own classrooms?