Kahoot! Engage Students with Low Stress and Interactive Assessments for Lectures, Labs, and other Reviews

Having mechanisms for assessing students in a low stress and interactive manner can help students retain and apply key course concepts, as well as, provide instructors with instant feedback on how well students are grasping key course material.

On this edition of Tech Tuesday I am spotlighting Kahoot!, a gamified quiz software that has features that can be used beyond the standard quiz game.

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Kahoot! offers a range of tools, including gamified quizzes (synchronous or asynchronous), lectures with built-in quiz questions, recording of student responses, and analysis of how difficult students find questions. Kahoot! can also be used to build interactive activities, such as word clouds, or event virtual lab reviews. To learn how to create your first game, check out this short 2-minute video:

Below I have showcased a number of the features of Kahoot!, as well as provided examples of how the Kahoots look from both the instructor and student perspectives. Feel free to play and try out any of the Kahoots. I am happy to share any of my Kahoots. If you would like to see any other examples, send me an email [email protected]. Happy Tech Tuesday!

Kahoot! For Lectures, not Just Games

Kahoots aren’t just games. They are also presentation tools. Kahoot allows for the addition of different types of slides, in addition to being able to use a variety of interactive features. The ability to incorporate questionnaires, thought clouds, polls, and open-ended discussion prompts allows students to participate in a low-stakes way. These replies can also be saved by Kahoot, allowing for the review and grading of answers, monitoring participation, and using analytics to determine “sticky points” for students. 
​Kahoots can also be used to demonstrate topics or concepts. For example, in my environmental / sustainability courses, we discuss the topic of biodiversity naivety. This concept is the idea that even though we live in an area we know less about the diversity than we realize. I use a Kahoot (provided below) to let students test how well they know local plants and animals. Consistently students overestimate their knowledge of the Sonoran Desert and the Kahoot serves as a demonstration on how even though we feel we know an area, we really might not. 
Example Kahoot Lecture: 

• Instructor View of Biodiversity Naivety Lecture Student View of Biodiversity Naivety Lecture (Game Pin 007825545) (starts an asynchronous game)

Kahoot! Games for Topic Wrap-up

Kahoot! games as topic wrap ups allow for students to test out their knowledge of what they just learned in a format that is lower stress than a formal quiz, test, or other assignment. It can provide instant feedback for students in both synchronous (in-person or online) and asynchronous courses. In these types of Kahoots it is possible to have students enter their name at the start of the Kahoot, allowing their scores to be recorded if desired by the instructor.
Kahoot games also allow for different formats. I have found that my classes love to compete as their lab groups, which gives them opportunities to discuss topics with others at their table before contributing as a team. This has served to prompt many different types of discussions and further cement core course topics. 
Example Wrap-Up:

• Instructor View of Geologic Time Wrap-Up
• Student View of Geologic Time Wrap-Up (Game Pin 004672969) (starts an asynchronous game)

Kahoot! Lab Quizzes / Virtual Lab Practicals

As we expand courses into different modalities it can be difficult to test or provide practice for identification of anatomy, lab tools, or other practical identification. Kahoots’ “pin drop” or “pin answer” feature serves as an option to have students identify components in an image. 
Single Question Example Lab Practical:

• Instructor View for Leaf Anatomy Practice
• Student View for Leaf Anatomy (Game Pin 003948537)(starts an asynchronous game)

Kahoot! Reports

Kahoot! Reports is a paid feature that serves as an analytics tool. Each kahoot played (either synchronously or asynchronous) can have a kahoot report. The reports show how well an entire class did, the questions that gave students the most difficulty, and the ability to see the scores of individual students. This 2-minute video provides the basic report uses:

Overall Benefits 

• High participation and interaction to encourage active learning.
• Students enjoy Kahoots. They are low-stress but give instant feedback. 
• Many students have played Kahoots before, so it is a familiar, comfortable activity. Almost all of my students have played Kahoot.
• They can be set up to either be individual or group-based. 
• Can be linked into Google Slides, genial.ly lectures, or Canvas using generated QR codes, game pins, URLs, and live play sessions.
• Usable in any modality. Online options can be set with or without deadlines.
• Easy-to-use templates and design tools.
• Can be freely shared among instructors using public or link-only settings.
• Options exist to allow students to replay Kahoots for review.

A Couple of Drawbacks

• Many features require paid accounts, some of which can be expensive. 
• Some useful features, such as directly embedding into Canvas or lectures, must be set up through a college account, rather than an individual subscription.

Kahoot! is a versatile tool that makes assessments engaging and low-stress, helping students retain information while giving instructors instant feedback. Its features—like gamified quizzes, polls, and virtual lab practicals—promote active learning and are easy to integrate into any course format.
Though some advanced features require a paid account, Kahoot!’s ability to boost participation and provide valuable insights makes it a great asset for both in-person and online teaching.
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Happy teaching, and enjoy your next Kahoot!

​Tech Tuesday Contributor

Cassidy Adlof has worked as a Biology Instructor at CCGC for six years and is dedicated to the campus’s community-centered culture. With over 15 years of experience in teaching and developing outdoor educational programs, Cassidy brings a passion for experiential learning to her students. Understanding that faculty support is key to student success, she has been instrumental in creating and promoting professional development initiatives. One such contribution is her Tech Tuesday post, Genial.ly - Engaging Hands-on Learners Through Interactive Digital Presentations, featured on the CTLA Teaching and Learning Blog. We appreciate her ongoing dedication to enriching the learning experience with her innovative ideas and contributions.