Kahoot

What is Kahoot?

Kahoot is a tool that allows faculty to create their own interactive learning games, such as quizzes, and play them asynchronously or synchronously with their students. Example question types include quiz, poll, open answer, word cloud, and type answer. Kahoot can be used on any student device, including mobile and tablets. Faculty can get students to play individually or in teams for added engagement, and faculty who use PowerPoint for their teaching, can add a Kahoot directly to their PowerPoint.

Never played a Kahoot? Try this demo game, you’ll see the faculty perspective on the projector screen, and the student perspective on the mobile device.

Kahoot Demo Thumbnail

Why use Kahoot in my course?

Kahoot is a great example of using a technology-enhanced active learning strategy for demonstrating knowledge and understanding.

As an assessment strategy, Kahoot is an excellent tool for diagnostic and formative assessments, allowing faculty to check-in on students' knowledge quickly and easily. As a learning strategy, it is a great way to apply the science of learning principle, retrieval practice, allowing students to recall information learned in a previous class and strengthen their knowledge of the content. As part of a connection activity, you can use Kahoot to assess the prior knowledge of students on a specific topic.

To protect academic integrity, it is not recommended to associate a grade with Kahoot activities. This is because students select and enter their own name choice, so there is no way to determine who is truly responding.

Active Learning Ideas for teaching with Kahoot

Icebreakers Use a Kahoot in individual or team-mode as an introductory classroom activity. There are fun, pre-made Kahoot activities that you can use to bring students together at the start of a semester. You can find these in the Discover tab in Kahoot, and even search for specific topics.
Retrieval practice with no-stakes quizzes and games Use a Kahoot in individual or team-mode to support retrieval practice - giving students the opportunity to recall information they’ve learned. Retrieval practice helps students pull concepts out of their brains, make new connections and strengthen their long-term memory. No-stakes quizzes can be created in Kahoot to test knowledge with question types such as quiz, true or false, type answer, puzzle, poll, or audio quiz.
Connection activity quiz Have students actively recall existing knowledge on a topic before building on it. This allows future learning to be better understood, retained and retrieved. This can be accomplished by using Kahoot in individual mode with question types: quiz, true or false, type answer, puzzle, poll, word cloud or audio quiz. This can also serve as a brief review of recently learned information.
Brainstorming ideas Using a Kahoot word cloud or brainstorm allows students to type a short answer to a question or prompt. Responses will show on the screen, and the most popular ones will be displayed in a larger font. Check out this video on using Word Clouds in Kahoot.
Self-challenge Using the ghost mode setting, faculty can have students challenge their own previous score for the same Kahoot quiz. For more details on this strategy, read this article on ghost mode.
Exit ticket Using the open-ended question type in a Kahoot, students answer a question or prompt before leaving class. A prompt could be “After this class, I understand...” , or “Name one important thing that was covered in today's class”. This provides students the opportunity to check their understanding, and faculty the opportunity to see if there are aspects of the lesson that should be reviewed or retaught.
Muddiest point Using the open-ended question type in a Kahoot, students post a question about the class. This can be used by faculty to inform what should be reviewed or retaught in the next class (this is an example of Just in time teaching!). A prompt could be “Something I still need help understanding...” or “I want to know more about...”
Quick sentence summary Using the open-ended question type in a Kahoot, students can convey what they’ve learned about a topic in one, two or three sentence(s). This is another opportunity for faculty to identify student understanding or connections that may be missing or weak.
Student-check in Use a Kahoot poll at points throughout the lesson to check for student understanding and gather real-time feedback on how the class is doing with the content.

NOTE: It is important to set parameters and expectations around participant conduct when using Kahoot in your classroom. Responses to open question types (type answer, word cloud, brainstorm, and open ended) are revealed in real time, which means faculty do not have the ability to filter what is being posted to the Kahoot screen. This is also true with students selecting and posting their own player name.

Join the Online Community of Practice to connect with other faculty, ask questions, share practices and resources. There is a channel specifically for EdTech at DC! This community is open to all DC faculty – full-time, part-time or sessional.

Many active learning stategies can be used with Kahoot. Do you have ideas on how Kahoot could be used in the college classroom? Add them to our Padlet:

Made with Padlet

How do faculty create a Kahoot account?

To create an account:

  1. Join Durham College Kahoot by using our Magic link: https://access-2.kahoot.com/auth/realms/kahoot-enterprise/protocol/openid-connect/auth?client_id=kahoot-rest&response_type=code&kc_idp_hint=durhamcollege
  2. You will be prompted to enter your banner number and network password. This will create you an account.

To access Kahoot after you've created an account:

  1. Ensure you've created an account using the instructions above
  2. To access your account moving forward, go to Kahoot.com and press “Log In”
  3. Begin to enter your email address (firstname.lastname@durhamcollege.ca), the login page will change immediately to say single sign on enabled, press “continue”
  4. Enter your banner and your network password to access your account. If you are already logged into a DC account on your device, you may automatically be logged in.

Screen Recording GIF - How to log in to Kahoot

NOTE: Students do not require an account to use Kahoot and should not be directed to create an account.

If you already have a Kahoot account with your Durham College email address, all your Kahoot’s will transfer to the Durham College instance. This means you will have access to all the new features!

Creating a Kahoot

Remember to consider what type of Kahoot is most appropriate for your intended outcome.

Enhanced Engagement and Safety with Player ID and Nickname Generator

Discover how Kahoot! enhances both engagement and security in educational settings with our Player ID and Nickname Generator features. These tools ensure a seamless and respectful interactive experience for all participants.

Player ID

The Player ID functionality enhances the personalization and accountability of Kahoot! gaming sessions. When activated, it requires students to enter their email address and select a nickname before participating in a game. This dual-entry system ensures that while only the nickname is displayed during the game to maintain privacy and engagement, both the email and nickname are captured in the instructor's report post-game for better tracking and management. This feature is especially useful as it does not necessitate students being pre-registered in the system, offering flexibility through a free form entry box. It can be set as a default for all sessions within a team workspace or adjusted individually by instructors.

Learn more about the Player ID feature.

Nickname Generator

To further enhance the user experience and ensure appropriateness in user-generated content, the Nickname Generator can be activated for any live or self-paced Kahoot! session. This tool automatically provides students with pre-approved nicknames, thereby eliminating the risk of inappropriate entries. Instructors may find it beneficial to combine the Nickname Generator with the Player ID feature, facilitating easy identification of students for grading or follow-ups post-session. Additionally, Kahoot’s support team is committed to maintaining a respectful and appropriate gaming environment by updating the deny list with any nicknames flagged as inappropriate during sessions. This commitment ensures a safe and engaging learning environment for all participants.

Learn more about the Nickname Generator feature.

Using a DC Theme for Your Kahoot

To use a DC theme for your Kahoot: in the Kahoot Creator, click the blue Themes button at the top right to open the Themes menu. DC themes are found within the Durham College themes section. There are two themes to choose from: DC Light or DC Dark. Choose a theme and your Kahoot will immediately be updated with a DC theme!

Sharing a Kahoot

There are three main ways students can access a faculty’s Kahoot:
Note: Students do not need a Kahoot account to use Kahoot, they type in their name when joining your Kahoot.

Professional Development on Kahoot

Check out the CTL Professional Development Calendar for monthly Kahoot PD sessions!

Want to level up? Join the Kahoot Certified for schools program and complete courses to earn three digital badges. Advanced certification courses are also available.

Rather watch a webinar than read instructions? Check out upcoming webinars and on-demand videos.

Resources

Kahoot Support

  • Weekly Kahoot Office Hour Every Thursday at 3pm Eastern Time
    • Join Kahoot EDU expert, Sydney Jones, for a live Q&A session. Ask questions, learn from others, and connect with Kahoot! team members. These sessions are not recorded.
  • Weekly webinars for Education
  • Kahoot! EDU 101 Every Thursday at 3pm Eastern Time
    • Join Kahoot's webinar for an in-depth demonstration of Kahoot! EDU. Learn tips & tricks for making the most of premium features. These sessions are not recorded.