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16 Apr 2025

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Teacher Takeover: Bringing fun and inclusivity to distance learning with Kahoot!

Educator and Kahoot! Ambassador Bernadette Smith, based in Australia, has discovered that integrating Kahoot! into the distance education program has transformed how students learn, collaborate, and build confidence.

teacher on screen with kahoot assignment customizations

In a rapidly evolving educational landscape, engagement and inclusivity are at the forefront of effective teaching. Educator and Kahoot! Ambassador Bernadette Smith, based in Australia, has discovered that integrating Kahoot! into the distance education program has transformed how students learn, collaborate, and build confidence—no matter where they are.

Meeting the needs of a diverse student body

Teaching Year 1 students, aged five and six (to eight) years old, in a distance education setting – no less – comes with unique challenges. Families choose this mode of education for a variety of reasons—for a dynamic classroom schedule to allow for world travel, perhaps to reach a new level of rigor not available in the local schools, to gain increased levels of flexibility and support, or even the potential to escape domestic violence situations. With such a diverse group, the need for an accessible, engaging, and flexible learning tool became clear.

Kahoot! has provided a way to bridge the gap between structured learning and fun, allowing students from various backgrounds to participate in a collaborative and supportive environment. “It’s time for Kahoot!” has become a phrase that brings the whole family to the screen, creating a shared learning experience that extends beyond the student. Bernadette shares that the simple call to action attracts even the older siblings and parents of her students, “I say it’s time for a kahoot and suddenly I see teenagers and parents in the video window with their students!”.

I say it’s time for a kahoot and suddenly I see teenagers and parents in the video window with their students!

Bernadette, on launching a kahoot during a virtual class

Reinventing engagement and learning outcomes

Bernadette initially experimented with Kahoot! in a high-achieving, fast-paced school. Standardized curriculum structures lessen opportunities  for educators to spend time in creative lesson planning and design – with so much to cover, not much time is leftover for supplemental activities!

Fortunately, Bernadette got word of a teacher down the hall using Kahoot! and quickly inquired for more information, “My kids were missing out [without Kahoot!] and I wanted to introduce more fun!”. With these students, though, the intense competition sometimes discouraged struggling students from fully participating. Enter – team-based play and Kahoot! collaborative game modes! Partnering students together or creating teams of classmates helped to foster inclusivity as the individual games often left some students feeling disengaged.

In such, distance education provided an opportunity to reimagine the use of Kahoot!. Rather than an optional add-on, it became a core tool for:

  • Increasing engagement and focus – Students eagerly anticipate Kahoot! sessions, seeing them as a break from traditional learning while still reinforcing key concepts.
  • Building a collaborative community – Peer support and encouragement create an inclusive space, especially for neurodivergent students and those requiring additional time for processing.
  • Reinforcing concepts and improving recognition speed – Kahoot! is used more frequently in the second half of the term, focusing on review and reinforcement rather than introducing new material.

Providing accessible game-based learning – Whether students have access to multiple devices or just one screen, Kahoot! adapts to their learning environment. 

Personalizing the learning experience

Understanding that many students require additional processing time, the educator is trialing an approach where students needing the most support receive Kahoot! quizzes in advance. This gives them a chance to practice, gain confidence, and be more competitive when playing with their peers. With assigned kahoots and self-study tools in solo mode, students use this self-paced learning format to review, reinforce, and refresh new content and build confidence prior to in-class learning. Bernadette explains that it doesn’t matter if the kiddos see the content for the first time at home in self-study, live with the class, or even in a secondary challenge for homework: “As long as the students are learning and reviewing the material, I’m happy! Kahoot! assignments and solo game modes help to make sure they’re given the opportunity to review as many times as they need.”

A future of inclusive, game-based learning

With a strong push in Australia to make learning accessible for all, tools like Kahoot! play an essential role in ensuring that every child, regardless of their background or learning style, can thrive. By integrating interactive, gamified learning into the curriculum, educators are not only reinforcing concepts but also fostering a lifelong love of learning.

For this Bernadette, the goal is simple: to make education engaging, inclusive, and fun. And with Kahoot!, that mission is being realized—one game at a time.

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