About City of Dublin FET College Liberties:
As one of 12 Further Education and Training colleges within the City of Dublin ETB, Liberties provides high-quality further education studies designed to build practical skills and student confidence. The institution empowers learners from all backgrounds to lay strong foundations for future careers or progression to higher education.
With over 20 years of IT teaching experience, Gerard is building practical skills and student confidence through engaging learning. He supports educational innovation by using technology to make learning more interactive and accessible.
Many adult learners in further education programs at the City of Dublin FET College Liberties have personal responsibilities, jobs, and family life alongside their studies. For Gerard Whelan and the teaching staff at City of Dublin FET College Liberties, it became clear that to improve student engagement in the classroom, support students’ learning outcomes during tests, and enhance knowledge retention, their classes needed to be more interactive.
“We were looking at a variety of ways to enhance the learning experience for the students and to make the classroom a more active and engaged learning space.”
While researching multiple tools he could add to his classes, Gerard came across Kahoot!. The City of Dublin ETB Digital Team offered it as part of their Digital Wheel (a set of digital tools for the classroom). After testing the available educational content, he knew he wanted to bring the same experience to his students.
“I’m passionate about using IT in the classroom and have been researching it for many years. When we looked into Kahoot! EDU, it was important for other colleagues and I that students could come together and that we could deliver a friendly competition experience with a core element of active learning. “
After introducing Kahoot! EDU into his classes, Gerard immediately experienced a boost in classroom engagement, more active participation from quieter students who often don’t dare to participate in class discussions, and increased interaction among student groups.
“What Kahoot! has allowed us, first and foremost, to bring students together and help them interact with each other. Students who often don’t sit together in class or interact with each other are now coming together and sharing their thoughts and knowledge during the kahoots we play in the classroom”
Beyond a straight fire quiz, Gerard sees value in open group discussions; students take time to analyze the answers to the questions on the kahoots. This interactive experience led Gerard to create an annual IT competition among 4 different colleges in Dublin called “The Golden Motherboard Award Competition“, a national competition among Computer Networking students that has been up and running for the last two years.
The competition brings together students for a live Kahoot! quiz from 4 separate colleges in Dublin via Microsoft Teams. The philosophy is to increase friendly competition, engage students, and motivate them during their studies.
“In 2026, we had the participation of four colleges in our annual competition. We aim to make this an international competition. We look forward to welcoming IT students from Spain for our 2027 edition.”
Real-Time Data:
Moreover, Gerard and other teachers at the City of Dublin FET College Liberties use the Kahoot! reports because they show teachers and students exactly where learning gaps exist, allowing formative feedback to students and targeted instruction in areas needing revision.
Student-Led Content:
Gerard students are also building their own Kahoots. This approach lets students take direct ownership of their learning, review results together, and give peer feedback.
Time-Saving AI features:
Kahoot! ‘s AI generator and image features have also helped Gerard and other teachers at the college to reduce prep time.
“I thought I was going to spend hours creating content in Kahoot!, but now I can upload a PDF, and I’m able to prepare my classroom material in minutes.”
Another area where Gerard sees value in using Kahoot! is its integration with Moodle, the central LMS for all City of Dublin colleges. Teachers can embed asynchronous kahoots directly alongside Moodle assignments, allowing students with varying schedules to access review materials and submit work whenever it suits them.
“Some students don’t have the same access to the materials at the same time, so the benefit of this integration is that they can access all the learning materials at any time, as well as submit their assignments when they can.”
For institutions hesitant to adopt new tech, Gerard points to Kahoot! ‘s extensive pre-built library, including content aligned directly with the Irish education system:
“If educators knew how much content is already available in Kahoot!, they would be surprised… Kahoot! makes it very easy for teachers.”
Does your school or school district have a Kahoot! success story that you want to share? We love hearing how schools and teachers are using Kahoot! In their classrooms to elevate the learning experience for their students. Reach out to us on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, or send us an email at press@kahoot.com to share your story!
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