Creating & Playing Learning Games: K!Academy
Creating & Playing Learning Games: K!Academy
Creating & Playing Learning Games: K!Academy
ACADEMY
March 2016
K! ACADEMY
K!ACADEMY
WELCOME!
Feeling inspired? This practical guide will help you
navigate the most powerful ways to use Kahoot!
Youll learn how to introduce new topics with Blind kahoots, boost
motivation with Ghost Mode, challenge players near and far with
Connected kahoots, and even teach novice Kahoot!ers to design their
own learning games.
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Contents
4 How to make a kahoot awesome
11 Blind Kahoot!ing
18 Connected Kahoot!ing
23 Ghost Mode
27 Learners to Leaders
33 Kahoot!ing with Kano
43 Contact us
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How to make a
kahoot awesome
1. Research and plan ahead
Before creating their kahoot online, many of our most experienced Kahoot!ers
take a bit of time to make notes about the learning game, how it will be played,
and about the learners themselves. Aside from researching the questions and
answers, here are some things you might want to think about:
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2. Ask the right questions
Now youve done some research, its time to think about the specific questions
and answers. Look at the best kahoots and youll see that theres tremendous
value not in just asking questions, but in asking therightquestions - ones
which help you:
Top
tip!
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3. Make sure your kahoot holds all the answers
To p
tip!
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4. Get creative with high impact images and videos
High quality images, videos and animated gifs are an absolute must, and not
only because they make your kahoot more engaging. Here are a few things to try
when making or finding imagery for your game:
Imagine how your kahoot will look when played on a large screen or an
interactive whiteboard use high resolution images;
Use multiple images instead of just one - you can easily create a mini
slideshow-style animated gif usingGiphy, or a collage in PicMonkeyorPIXLR
Express;
Challenge students to create videos, animations, images or even code their
own artwork for the kahoot;
Inject a little humor and surprise learners with your own take on a meme;
Maximize learning opportunities by adding instructional images, diagrams,
charts, or YouTube videos either the ones youve found or something youve
created;
Build anticipation or gradually give learners little hints with an image
reveal animated gif (heres how);
Hide clues for this question or a later question in the image.
Top
tip!
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5. Take learners on a journey
Like the best presentations or lectures, awesome kahoots have a natural flow to
them. There is a real art to building a narrative or flow into your learning game,
so you may need a bit of practice.
Use the questions as building blocks tointroduce a new subject with the
kahoot once learners understand the answer to Question 1, theyre ready
to move on to Question 2, then 3, and so on.
Use storytelling strategies to take learners on a journey. A great movie
hooks the audience with scene setting, highs and lows and moments of
celebration. You can do the same with your kahoot by weaving back and
forth between questions with multiple correct answers, quick-fire easy
questions, challenging problem-solving questions, and game-show-style
bursts of fun or humor.
Use the answers or images as a natural transition from one question to
the next. For example, an incorrect answer from Question 1 might form the
basis of Question 2.
To p
tip!
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Awesome kahoots
to learn from
High School Math: Quadratic Equations
Kahoot!er sksnokahoots makes Algebra fun with this kahoot about Quadratic
Equations! Our resident math pro takes us through what makes this an awesome
math kahoot, plus some tips on how to play.
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Inspiring Ways to
Play Kahoot!
Did you know that there are hundreds of ways to
play Kahoot!?
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Blind Kahoot!ing
A powerful way to introduce new concepts, Blind Kahoot!ing is all about
building knowledge brick by brick in a single game.
In essence, rather than teaching the content and then using Kahoot! to recap,
youll be asking the toughest review questions first, before youve even begun
teaching that content. This switches learners into very active questioning
mode, the perfect mindset for learning something new.
Top
Blind Kahoot!ing tip!
works best if you
know it is truly blind
in other words, that learners have not
yet been exposed to the content at all,
and that its not been touched upon
by other teachers as part of aspiral
curriculum. That, of course, means
taking the time to understand what
your students have learned in other
classes.
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How to introduce new content with a Blind kahoot
Before getting started with a Blind kahoot, youll need to have a clear goal
in mind as to what the lessons outcomes should be. What is the single most
important thing your learners will take away from that lesson, and why?
Make a note of the question you would ask at the end of the lesson to make
sure learners had achieved this goal.
Heres an example:
Goal: Learners can confidently and correctly spell tricky words with ie and ei.
As you move gradually towards that goal, there will no doubt be milestones
along the way. Before you get started creating your kahoot, make a note of
those milestones theyll help you form the right questions.
Milestone 1: Learners recognize that ie and ei often make the same sound
Milestone 2: Learners can confidently apply the i before e rule
Milestone 3: Learners can confidently apply the i before e rule together
with the except after c rule
Step 3. Find examples, tricks and rules to help learners reach those
milestones
Are there tricks or rules which would help your learners grasp the new content?
Make a note of those, as youll be using them to explain the new subject during
Kahoot! gameplay.
Spend some time finding and creating fun, relevant and tangible examples of
those rules in action.
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CREATING & PLAYING THE KAHOOT
Create a Quiz kahoot as usual - as though learners had already learned the
content. This time, though, imagine that the kahoot is broken into several
sections: Part 1 is to reach Milestone 1, Part 2 is to reach Milestone 2, and so on.
Step 2. Set the scene with a question about the main goal
Learners will feel more connected to their learning journey if you start out by
setting some objectives for the lesson using an Introductory Question. The first
question in the kahoot should be tied to the goal you made a note of earlier, and
designed to grab everyones attention.
For each milestone, first ask the toughest question one which, if answered
correctly and quickly, would demonstrate that your learners have understood
the content and are ready to move on. This is called a Blind Question. When you
actually play the kahoot, be prepared for very few correct answers!
Step 4. Take the time to explain the answer to the Blind Question
Having had to guess or answer the Blind Question incorrectly, learners will now
be actively seeking to understand how they could have answered correctly. That
moment is a prime opportunity to explain the correct answer, using a trick or
rule youd made a note of earlier.
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Step 5. Ask a series of questions based on your explanation of the Blind
Question
With the knowledge fresh in their minds, give learners the opportunity to
immediately and successfully apply what they have just learned. In practice,
that means adding a series of Reinforcement Questions with the fun, relevant
examples youd prepared earlier.
Depending on how complex a subject youre tackling, that might even mean 10
almost-identical questions. Have fun with it, turning the timer right down to 5 or
10 seconds for the latter questions, and using funny GIFs to keep them engaged.
With each question, learners will feel more and more confident about the new
content.
Step 6. Ask your toughest Milestone 1 question (the Blind Question) again
If youre confident that learners have grasped the new content, ask your toughest
Milestone 1 question again. As its no longer blind, this time around youll no
doubt have correct answers across the board!
Step 7. Throw them off course with a Blind Question about Milestone 2
Now youre ready to get started towards Milestone 2. The trick here is to
challenge your learners by switching things up with another Blind Question,
something that doesnt fit neatly with what theyve just learned so well.
Nows your chance to explain a new trick or rule, and demonstrate how it builds
on what they learned.
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Step 9. Reinforce the new knowledge
Again, the trick is to give learners the chance to immediately and successfully
apply what they have just learned. If they were paying attention a few minutes
ago during your explanation, every learner not just your most advanced
students will have a chance to feel success.
At this stage, learners should feel very confident about what they have learned
during the Milestone 2 section. Nows the time to mix it up and give them a
chance to apply their knowledge to more complex questions and learn the
subtleties.
Carry on in the same way until all of your learners are confidently and
successfully applying their new knowledge. Youll be amazed at the results your
learners will have truly grasped the new concepts and had plenty of fun getting
there.
To further reinforce knowledge and boost motivation, try using Ghost Mode.
Teachers often either send the Ghost Mode link as homework so their students
can try to beat their own scores at home, or play in Ghost Mode during next
weeks class so learners can see just how far theyve come.
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Lets look at an example of Blind Kahoot!ing:
Heres a quick look at a Blind kahoot the basics of mitosis, by IB Biology teacher
Stephanie Castle. Without any prior knowledge, by the end of the kahoot
her students can correctly and quickly distinguish between chromosome,
homologous pair and sister chromatids.
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Read more about Blind Kahoot!ing:
Create CHALLENGE #1
Heres how:
1. Ask the toughest blind question first to fire up students inquisitive natures
2. Take the time to explain the correct answer, using examples, rules or tricks
3. Let learners immediately apply and reinforce fresh knowledge
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Connected Kahoot!ing
What is Connected Kahoot!ing?
With so many ways to connect with fellow learners around the world, its easier
than ever to boost motivation with Classroom vs. Classroom kahoots, or build
cultural awareness by Kahoot!ing with learners in another country. Aside from
a device and internet connection, all learners need to join in a game is a shared
screen whether theyre in the same room with you, connected through a video
call, or following a live broadcast of your game.
Start small by
connecting with a
Kahoot!er you know
well from another
school. To make your first Connected
Kahoot!ing experience a success, youll
want to be aligned when it comes to
how its played or even collaborate on
creating the kahoot itself.
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How to enrich learning with Connected Kahoot!ing
Create a Quiz, Discussion or Survey kahoot as usual, but make sure that there
are opportunities for everyone to feel success. You might want to adjust the
language, tone or cultural references to make your game more accessible to
people from other countries.
Your co-host will need to get everything organized at their location, making
sure that their learners are gathered around a shared screen at the right time,
and ready with devices in hand. Its best to team up with someone who knows
Kahoot! already so that they can let their learners know what to expect before
getting started.
You dont need to share the kahoot, but if youre planning to connect with
another classroom its best to make sure both teachers are happy with the
content of the game. To share the game, just click Share and then type in your
co-hosts Kahoot! username theyll be able to preview the questions and
answers, and thumbnails of the images youve included.
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Step 4. Launch a screen sharing application
Whether you use Google Hangouts, Appear.In, Skype or another screen sharing
tool is up to you the most important considerations are that the co-host(s) can
log in, and that youre comfortable using it for video calls and switching between
your camera and the screen.
To use Google Hangouts, the co-host(s) youre connecting with will need to have
a Google account, or an account for any Google application, like YouTube. To
use Skype, they will need a Skype account and Skype installed on the computer
theyre using to join the game.
Some Kahoot!ers prefer to use Appear.In since an account isnt needed, but
youll need to make sure Google Chrome is installed on your computer and the
hosts computer first.
Step 5. Connect
Invite your co-host(s) to join a video call or an Appear.In room, just as you
would if you were calling one of your friends. Make sure that the sound and
camera are working correctly its no fun if you cant hear each other!
Before launching a game, the host should take a moment to make introductions
and explain whats about to happen. Encourage learners to wave and say hello.
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Step 7. Share your screen
Now its time to switch over from the camera to screen sharing. On most video
call or screen-sharing applications, if you hover over your screen youll see a little
icon to Start Screenshare or Present to Everyone click on it, and select Entire
Screen.
Now, launch the kahoot as usual. The Kahoot! lobby screen should now appear
on your screen as well as on the screens of all the co-host(s) youre connected
to via screen sharing. Everyone in every location will see the same PIN code to
join the game.
Top
Have learners add their class name or location to their
nickname - it sparks a bit of healthy competition when it
tip!
comes to seeing results on the scoreboard!
Play the kahoot as usual, but switching between screen share and the
camera whenever a question needs further explanation or to cheer a players
achievements.
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Read more about Connected Kahoot!ing
Heres how:
1. Gather your students together around a shared screen in the classroom, as usual
2. Connect to another classroom through a screen sharing application like Appear.in,
Skype or Google Hangouts
3. Launch the game on the shared screen, switching over to the camera to say hello to the
other class and to encourage players and celebrate their achievements
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Ghost Mode
What is Ghost Mode, anyway?
Ghost Mode allows learners to compete against their previous scores, which
appear as ghosts on the scoreboard. By sharing the kahoots Ghost Mode link,
learners can also challenge other people to play against their ghosts.
How you use Ghost Mode is up to you some teachers send Ghost Mode links
to their students as homework to reinforce key facts through repetition. Others
might play the same game in Ghost Mode several times throughout a term to
motivate learners by letting them see just how much theyve progressed.
Some Kahoot!ers use Ghost Mode to inject a bit of healthy competition into the
room, playing against the ghosts of celebrities, other classes or even against the
Kahoot! team.
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How to motivate learners with Ghost Mode kahoots
Step 2. Go to My Results
Playing the same game in Ghost Mode right away is easy - just click on the
Ghost Mode button at the end of the game.
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Step 3. Click Share Link
On the My Results screen you will see a list of all the kahoots youve launched
or created. Next to each game, youll see Download, Save, Play Again (with a
Ghost icon) and Share Link - that last one is the shareable Ghost Mode link.
Copy and paste the Ghost Mode link into a message to students or add it to
your class intranet. When they get home, they can click on the link and play
again on their own or with friends.
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tip!
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Read more about Ghost Mode:
Heres how:
1. Click the Ghost Mode link shared with you
2. Launch and join the kahoot in a social or classroom setting - as usual
3. The other class ghosts will join you in the lobby now all you have to do is beat their
scores!
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Learners to Leaders
What is Learners to Leaders?
One of the most rewarding experiences is seeing learners take the reins, using
their knowledge and resourcefulness to create and lead their own kahoots. We
call this Learners to Leaders.
Our Learners to Leaders approach works with learners of any age whether they
are kindergarten children learning their ABCs or adults learning a new coding
language.
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How to encourage Learners to become Leaders
To create or duplicate kahoots, every creator will need to register (for free) with
Kahoot! using a valid email address. With young learners who dont yet have
an email address, the easiest way to get them started is to create accounts for
individual students or groups using aliases of your own email address.
Top
Make sure that under 16s register for a Young Student
account so they have access to age-appropriate content
tip!
- including high quality handpicked kahoots.
Learners love a good challenge, and will relish the chance to share knowledge
with their friends.
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Step 3. Encourage learners to research and plan their own kahoots
Even the youngest learners know that a little planning goes a long way. Make
planning easier by allotting time for learners to visit the library, by suggesting
good online resources, or even by providing them with a skeleton structure or
checklist for their kahoot.
To help learners plan and create high quality kahoots, share the notes from the
section on How to make a kahoot awesome.
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Step 4. Inspire them to get creative
Having learners create their own videos and images is a wonderful way to
reinforce knowledge and to help them feel more connected to the content
theyre learning.
Why not challenge learners to create and photograph a LEGO model or video a
science experiment? Weve even seen larger-than-life paper mach volcanoes,
funny stop-motion animated short films, and spinning solar systems in kahoots
created by inventive learners.
Going on a field trip? Bring along an ipad and have them capture the best
images from the day to add to their kahoot, too.
For digitally savvy young learners, step things up and challenge them to code
artwork on a Kano - they could even code and personalise their own Kahoot!
ghost.
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Step 5. Create the kahoot
Now that learners have done their research and planning and have some
interesting images and videos to hand, its time to create the actual kahoot.
Most learners over age 10 will be fine to just get started. Younger learners might
need a little guidance to create their first kahoot; you could even have them
submit their questions, answers and artwork on paper and help them create the
game if theyre not yet comfortable using a computer.
Secondly, sometimes naughty words or offensive content can find their way
into student work you might find its best to deal with those before the
kahoot is played with the whole class.
Step 7. Let learners take the lead inviting players and setting up
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Step 8. Celebrate #LoudLearning by playing their kahoots
Having worked hard to create their own learning games, learners will be looking
forward to challenging their friends and classmates to play their kahoot.
Better still, your learners will have had fun learning, become more adept at their
digital, creative, research and planning skills, and also developed the invaluable
soft skills it takes to become a leader.
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Kahoot!ing with Kano: Challenges for Young Learners
Play CHALLENGE #4
Create CHALLENGE #6
Create CHALLENGE #5 The K!ano Code &
Create Challenge
The K!ano Create To fuel creativity and make learning
Challenge fun, challenge young learners to code
their very own artwork for a kahoot.
For an even deeper sense of achievement,
challenge young learners to create their 1. Build a Kano, connect it to a screen
own kahoot about the #WinterGames, their and the internet, and log into Kano
favourite subject, or even about themselves. World.
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Sample Rubric for Assessing Student-Created Kahoots
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Teaching Kahoot!
to Novices?
As an expert Kahoot!er, your experience and pointers will
be invaluable to novice users. In this section youll find
Getting Started tips to print and links to presentations to
help you introduce and explain Kahoot!
About Kahoot!:
Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform for any subject, in any language,
on any device, for all ages.
Its designed to make learning fun but its not just
for the classroom. Top
There are over 25 million
tip!
people using Kahoot!
every month in hundreds
One of the things that makes Kahoot! so
of different settings, from
unique is that its a platform where you
classrooms to business
decide on the content, the imagery and how
meetings to charity
the game is played. You can either choose one
fundraisers, awards
of the 6+ million free public games and adapt
ceremonies and events.
it for your own learners, or create something
Weve even seen Kahoot!
of your very own from scratch.
played at a wedding!
Thats right, Kahoot! is all about coming together and making learning awesome.
Whether you come together to learn about quadratic equations, digital strategy
or about each other is up to you.
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How to make your first kahoot
Adding a good description helps you define learning objectives for the game
and keep it focused. Using descriptive tags will ensure other teachers can find it
easily. A great cover image helps the kahoot stand out and attract more players.
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Step 3. Create the learning game by adding questions, answers and imagery
Follow the instructions on-screen to add questions, answers, images and video
clips. You can also fine-tune the kahoot using different timer and points settings
or setting multiple correct answers.
To p
tip!
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How to play your first kahoot
Games are displayed on a shared screen for example a smart TV, a laptop or
an interactive whiteboard. You can also use screen sharing tools like Appear.In,
Skype or Google Hangouts to include players from other classes or other parts
of the world.
Players join in using their own device whether that is a smartphone, iPad,
Kano, laptop, or desktop doesnt matter, as long as they have a browser and
good internet connection.
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Step 2. Launch the game so players can join
Change the settings if you like, and then click Launch to start letting people
join the game.
A unique Game PIN will be displayed at the top of the screen. Players go to
kahoot.it and enter the Game PIN, then enter their nickname.
Click Start once you can see all the players nicknames on the lobby or
waiting screen. During gameplay you can use the space bar or your mouse to
go to the next question.
At the end of the game, click Feedback and Results, and then Final Results to
save and download the scores, favorite, play again, or play in Ghost Mode.
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Read more about teaching Kahoot!
Play CHALLENGE #7
Heres how:
1. Create a fun kahoot applying everything youve learned at the Masterclass
2. Launch the game on a large screen at your next PD session or training event
3. Use each question to talk about a feature, setting, or trick youve used - like including
videos, multiple correct answers, timer settings and image reveal.
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Connected Kahoots CHALLENGE #8
LIVESTREAM A KAHOOT
Install and launch a broadcasting or live streaming application like XSplit Gamecaster,
and click stream or broadcast. Now, share the broadcast link with players and launch
the game.
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Create CHALLENGE #12
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Say hello!
Get in touch any time - whether you need a hand, have
stories or resources to share, want to challenge the K!rew
to a Connected Kahoot! or just want to say hello.
@GetKahoot instagram.com/GetKahoot
facebook.com/GetKahoot youtube.com/user/GetKahoot
masterclass@GetKahoot.com pinterest.com/GetKahoot
Let us know if youve created a high quality kahoot we might feature, or are
interested in becoming a guest author for your specialist subject.
@janiskcurry @kahootjay
Founders:
Our founders love hearing about all the inspiring ways you play Kahoot!, and
enjoy playing your best kahoots with our team. Keep them posted!
@johanbrand @jamiebrooker
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