Here’s an overview of the insightful conversation about Kahoot! pedagogy Jamie had with Harry Hawk.
Educational engagement company? Sounds accurate!
Harry, the host of the podcast and a big education enthusiast, introduced Kahoot! as an ‘educational engagement company’. We’ve never used this elevator pitch before, but it sounds pretty accurate!
We are on a mission to make learning something that everyone wants to connect with. For us, engagement is about unlocking everyone’s potential. It means bringing that student from the back of the class to the front and letting everyone become the classroom superhero.
Play is our first language
Play is the way we choose to make learning really engaging, because it’s one of the ingrained habits we’re born with. As babies, we all begin to learn about the world around us through exploration, which is also a form of play. Later in life, particularly at schools, play hasn’t always been encouraged. We at Kahoot! set out on a mission to change that and bring play back into learning, because it’s part of human nature.
Gameplay is motivating, not distracting
This way, Kahoot! disrupts the old classroom norm that considered gameplay a distraction. We, on the contrary, think gameplay increases motivation and heats up the interest in the topics students are learning.
That’s, by the way, how we came up with the name Kahoot!: ‘to be in cahoots’ means getting together to do something you shouldn’t really do. Teacher and students playing together?! They certainly are in Kahoot! 🙂 Have a look:
