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13 Oct 2015

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Introducing new topics with Kahoot!

Introducing topics by using Kahoot! is a powerful way to teach. The concept of “Blind Kahoot!ing” is built on this knowledge. In this article I take you through how to use the concept to take your class engagement and learning to a new level!

We all know that Kahoot! is great for review and formative assessment – but did you know that you can use it to introduce brand new topics too?

Like millions of other teachers around the world, I was used to using Kahoot! for the more obvious ways to play, like formative assessment and review. My students loved it, and I had already seen remarkable engagement in the classroom as a result. But I was also aware that Kahoot! isn’t a quick replacement for smart lesson planning. I really saw the importance of how you plan, create and host your kahoots to fit with the students’ learning objectives. It’s not just about engagement and testing knowledge.

If you’re always doing kahoots on stuff they’re supposed to already know, it can become a competition between the strongest kids, with the weakest becoming disheartened.

The A-HA! Moment

Looking at Kahoot! in that light, I wondered what would happen if I instead created a kahoot about something my students had never seen before. Playing the kahoot “blind” – in other words, with zero exposure to the topic beforehand – could level the playing field and spark the curiosity of the students.

And as far as teaching while the kids are in “questioning” mode… well, besides being way more fun, you just know that new knowledge is going to stick.

With this in mind, I hosted my first Blind Kahoot – a quiz about oxidation states for students who had never so much as seen that material before.

The result?

With a 20-question kahoot, my students learned a new subject inside and out, from scratch. They worked together, debated, discussed, and felt empowered. And the best thing; they all had some real fun along the way, too!

And what’s more, this simple little experiment took Kahoot! from being a fun formative assessment tool to a teaching tool integral to our curriculum. One which benefitted every single one of my students – regardless of ability or prior knowledge.

For a closer look at how we did it read The Art of Blind Kahoot!’ing.

More ways to play!

We love how every single one of the Kahoot!’ers we meet has their own unique way of creating and playing learning games. We’ve done a quick round-up of just some of our favorite ways to play Kahoot! including Learners to Leaders, Global Classroom and those awesome brain breaks – check ’em out!