I know you are in cahoots, with Kahoot!

 Oh hello, me again. Second blog time.

Today I am taking a look at Kahoot! a game based learning platform. Not to be confused with 'Cahoot' the online internet bank, which coincidently I used work at in the early 2000s, which sadly for the second blog in a row, reveals me to be an 'old git', anyway- on with the review.

A Kahoot! put simply, is a multiple choice quiz that the user can create, in my case for learners, but this can easily be utilised by parents for extra learning or even social trivia nights with friends, (already I am planning a Lord of the Rings/Buffy Kahoot for my fellow nerds!)  But let's take a more in-depth look at the site:

Organisation and Layout

When I first clicked onto the Kahoot website, I won't lie, my initial reaction was "eww" what a dreadful home page, it's colourful, it's busy, it's packed with links. Once you have recovered from this initial visual onslaught, and started to navigate the site, you will find lots of interesting things to click on, including 'what's new, your previous Kahoots, and much more. Image shown below

Overall, it's organised fairly well, I just can't get on board with the layout. I award this section 3 Nik-knacks

Content and Features

Now, this is where Kahoot! straps a rocket to it's back and takes off, as of 2017 (last check point I could find) there were 50(FIFTY) million active users of Kahoot! and it's easy to see why. With the ability to create your own Kahoots!, host them virtually, host them in classroom (provided everyone has a mobile/tablet/laptop) or even utilise the pre-made Kahoots- via the official partners- Take a Life Sciences with Groot Kahoot!, or a Minecraft/time craft general knowledge Kahoot!, there really is something to cater for everyone. 

There is the option to create a group, as I did with two of my MA peers, and share ideas/Kahoots you have created to feedback with each other. There is also a very helpful imbedded video showing how to set up a homework assignment for your students via Kahoot!

Another cool feature is the option to allow your bitmoji to host your Kahoot! Of course, all these blogs are doing is making me feel like I'm a hundred years old, because to have a Bitmoji, you have to have a snapchat which is logged in. Still a nice feature none the less.

I should note- there is a wealth of features already available- but you do have the option to upgrade to a paid subscription to unlock more features should you choose to do so, there really isn't a need for this however.   I award this section 5 Nik-knacks, 

Ease of Use and Navigation

I already made my feelings clear about the layout, however Kahoot! is easy to navigate around, it's fairly obvious what every link will be, before you click on it (a good thing in terms of ease of use)  Creating a brand new Kahoot! is easy with a create button handily located at the top of the page.  It's easy to use and to navigate -there is just so much to navigate from the home page. I award this section 4 Nik-knacks

Target Audience

The target audience is teachers, students, parents and even businesses. I'm really only looking at this site from a teacher perspective, but if you are interested in learning more from the business side, how it could be used, there is a helpful article from Kahoot! themselves: https://support.kahoot.com/hc/en-us/articles/115016114688

Overall, considering it's targeted at basically 'everyone' I can't see any other option than to award 5 Nik-knacks here as I think it will have widespread appeal

Summary

To summarise,  it was certainly not love at first sight when I loaded up Kahoot! for the first time, however, having played around with it, and trialled several of the features, it has grown on me like a fungi and I can't speak highly enough of this website. The fact that is a free resource for teachers and students alike, really is the icing on the proverbial cake.

Coming out of nowhere, Kahoot! is the first thing I have reviewed that is receiving a perfect 5 out of 5 Nik-knacks 

            

If you are interested in using Kahoot! here is a really  helpful video from Russell Stannard on using Kahoot! for online lessons

I would also strongly recommend subscribing to Russell on Youtube if you are entering the world of ELT (just a Nik tip for you) 

That's it for this blog review, and as Moira Rose once said "Who has time amidst all this chaos?"

So save yourself some time- Sign up for Kahoot! Create a team with your colleagues/peers and Lets goooooo! 

https://create.kahoot.it/