A few weeks ago, we visited Junior High School 217 Robert A Van Wyck and interviewed their staff about their Kahoot! experience. This journey started with a happy, cheering class, then Kahoot! quickly spread to more teachers and now helps their staff collaborate, save time, and laser-target their instruction. Watch this video to hear different teachers’ take on this:

“Sneaky learning” and motivation booster

According to Scott Anello, 6th-grade math teacher, the most powerful thing about Kahoot! is how it facilitates “sneaky learning,” i.e., students learn something new without even realizing it. After introducing Kahoot! to his classes, Scott noticed that learners are more motivated to study and prepare so they can do better in the upcoming kahoot. What started as Friday fun turned into a powerful performance booster.

Relying on advanced reports to troubleshoot and target instruction

During our interview, several teachers pinpointed the value they see in advanced reports in Kahoot! Pro. For example, Ross Berman, who teaches math in grade 7, commented that reports truly help him drive instructions: analyzing the scores, he can change his lesson for the next days to target ideas and concepts that were the most difficult. Hillary referred to it as “troubleshooting” – reports help her understand if some of the questions might need to be reworked.

Sharing is caring – and saving time, too!

Why reinvent the wheel if there are already high quality kahoots created by other educators? EdTech consultant Santi Khairassame said that collaboration is a common theme brought up by teachers when it comes to saving time (which is a scarce resource!) Sharing games across the school in Kahoot! Pro, teachers at J.H.S. 217 help each other find relevant kahoots in seconds. Science teacher Steve Marshall also mentioned our question bank as one of his favorite features – reuse existing questions to put together your own kahoot!

What do you and your students value the most about Kahoot!? What features would you like to see added? Share your suggestions!