I have been taking a look at Kahoot!, a phone/tablet-friendly app which allows teachers to create multi-choice quizzes, polls and surveys.
The Edshelf site describes it thus:
Using a simple and speedy ‘drag n drop’ creation tool, educators create and manage ‘Kahoots’ in the form of quizzes, surveys or polls related to the topics they're teaching; either asking quick questions ‘on the go’ to get feedback or opinion, or more in depth questions for formative assessment. Content can be shared with learners, colleagues or fellow educators globally.
The Edshelf site describes it thus:
Using a simple and speedy ‘drag n drop’ creation tool, educators create and manage ‘Kahoots’ in the form of quizzes, surveys or polls related to the topics they're teaching; either asking quick questions ‘on the go’ to get feedback or opinion, or more in depth questions for formative assessment. Content can be shared with learners, colleagues or fellow educators globally.
Educators
launch their Kahoots on the screen at the front of the class to their
learners, who join through their personal devices. In real-time and with
gaming elements to increase engagement and motivation, learners answer
questions through their personal devices. Educators get an overview of
the current knowledge levels of everyone in the room, and can adapt
their teaching accordingly.
I had a go with the multi-choice quiz function. You create a free account and can immediately create your quiz. Each question can have four answers. You can add pictures to make your quiz more attractive. You can set a time limit for each question, from 5 seconds to two minutes. Questions can get points if you choose this option. Once it is finished, you can then get students to sign up and take part in the quiz.
The result is colourful and bold, well suited to mobile devices, accompanied by some music to add drama.
On the plus side, it is free and you can create a quiz very quickly, making it available to a class who can compete on it very easily. You can also tailor exercises to the abilities and tastes of your class. The competitive elee element will no doubt appeal to some classes and teachers. But we are, when it comes down to it, talking about a multi-choice test here. For linguists, the Hot Potato package of tasks provides more sophistication and range, even if not every game works perfectly on an iPad. A pay site such as Textivate may be less flashy, but offers a far greater variety of authoring options. Taskmagic 3, although a significant investment, has a much graeter "fun" factor, if that is what you are looking for.
I have to say that my first reaction is that this is a triumph of style over substance. If the teacher can construct clever quizzes, then it can be worthwhile.
Hey Steve, I'm Co-founder & Lead designer of Kahoot! - thanks for reviewing our platform, hugely appreciated in helping us spread the word.
ReplyDeleteIt really is something you have to experience in class, with your students to get the full experience. Our users love the fact that with Kahoot! they have everyone in their classroom completely engaged in what they're teaching.
Here are some of the videos our users have shared with us of the fun, social and enchanting atmosphere Kahoot! creates in the classroom: http://blog.getkahoot.com/tagged/video - would love to hear your experiences when/if you have a chance to try it with your students.
You're right about constructing clever quizzes too. We have an ever growing library of public quizzes created by our users globally to pick from too. And, because Kahoot! is a platform for everyone asking great question, students love creating their own quizzes to play back with classmates and thus sharing their deeper knowledge on specific subjects. See a case study here: http://blog.getkahoot.com/post/66973663345/case-study-implementing-the-kahoot-pedagogy-at
We're very new, and what you see today really is just the beginning - there's a lot more to come! So stay tuned, and happy Kahooting!
Thanks
Jamie Brooker