FUN ACTIVITIES IN TEACHING ENGLISH BY USING KAHOOT!

2nd International Seminar on Education 2017Empowering Local Wisdom on Education for Global Issue

Batusangkar, September 05-06-2017

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FUN ACTIVITIES IN TEACHING ENGLISHBY USING KAHOOT!

Susi Susanti

English Department of STKIP Muaro Bungo, [email protected]

ABSTRACT

In this digital era, the proses of teaching and learning is closely related with the use oftechnology. The term “technology” refers to an advancements in the methods and tools that areused to solve problems or achieve goals. In the classroom, technology can encompass all kinds of

tools from low-tech like pencil, paper, and chalkboard to the high-tech such digital learningtools, gadgets, and laptops with their various features and applications. The use of technology inteaching can make the students have a fun learning. Technology also has the power to transform

teaching by ushering a new model of connected teaching. This model links teachers to theirstudents and to professional content, resources, and systems to help them improve their owninstruction in the classroom. The use of technology also increases students’ engagement and

motivation and accelerates learning. However, Mostly students get bored with the traditionaltools and ways of teaching. In this case, teachers’ creativity in modifying teaching and

technology is needed since students nowadays are engaged with their digital tools. Therefore,there is one solution to overcome this case which called Kahoot.A Kahoot is a free game-basedlearning platform that can be created by teachers, students, and social users. It is used in real-

time, to an unlimited number of “players”. Kahoot can be used to monitor each student’sknowledge and to identify areas where the students would benefit from more one-to-oneteaching, but it is more generally used as a break from traditional classroom activities.

Key words: teachnology in teaching, Kahoot!

INTRODUCTION

owadays, teaching and learning activitiesneed technology. Teaching with

technology is able to extend students’ learningby supporting instructional objectives.However, it can be challenging to select thebest tech toolsfor students’ learning. There isno doubt that finding the time for integrativetechnologyis an overwhelming task foranyone.

Throughout the course of a day, teachersfind themselves pulled in many directions.However, technology is already integrated innearly everything we do and nearly every jobour students will encounter. So how doeducators find an ideal balance for learning

about and eventually integrating technology?It begins with a focus followed by choosingthe proper tool. The tool that is going to beintroduced in this paper calledKahoot!.

TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING

The term “technology” refers toadvancements in the methods and tools thatused to solve problems or achieve a goal(Martinez: 2011). In the classroom, technologycan encompass all kinds of tools from low-tech pencil, paper, and chalkboard, to the useof presentation software, or high-tech tablets,online collaboration and conferencing tools,and many more. The newest technologies

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allow us to try things in physical and virtualclassrooms that were not possible before.What to use depends fundamentally on whatteachers are trying to accomplish.

Technology is a major part of students’lives, and their academic training requires anintroduction to the uses of technology(Prensky: 2001). It's also part of the classroomfocus on using technology to reach educationalgoals more effectively and efficiently.

Digital technologies are everywhere andthey’re bringing many exciting opportunitiesfor our schools, impacting what, where andhow education is delivered (Garret: 1991).Integrating technology doesn't have toconsume your life as an educator. In fact, if alittle time is spent on it, teachers caneventually save time and paper, whilecollaborating more effectively with students.

Lately, most of schools and universitieshave access to the technology that is availableto provide high quality, high capacity, andultrafast internet access for teaching andlearning. Connected classrooms offer today’sstudents and teachers easier, affordable, andfaster access to information, teaching andlearning resources, peers, experts and thewider community. This condition makes apossibility to use Kahoot!in teaching andlearning process.

KAHOOT!

1. Nature of Kahoot!

Kahoot!is a tool for usingtechnology to administerquizzes, discussions orsurveys (Play: 2014). It is a

game based classroom response system playedby the whole class in real time. Multiple-choice questions are projected on the screen.Students answer the questions with theirsmartphone, tablet or computer.

AKahoot is a collection of questionson specific topics. Created by teachers,students, business-people and social users,they are asked in real-time, to an unlimitednumber of “players”, creating a social, fun andgame-like learning environment.

Kahoot!isalso a free game-based learningplatform that makes it fun to learn – anysubject, in any language, on any device, for allages (Edtech:2015).Kahoot's quick pace,suspenseful music, and instant scoreboardskeep competition lively and learners engaged.Students will definitely be asking to play againand again, and many will love the challenge ofcreating their own Kahoots. Fast, right-or-wrong feedback is provided on students'devices and the class screen. The multiple-choice quizzes may tend to favormemorization, but having kids create Kahoots

allows for higher-order learning. There are 3features of Kahoot!(Play: 2014).:

2. Quiz

This is the most common type ofKahoot,epitomizing our game-based approachto blended learning. There is no limit to thenumber of questions in a quiz. Each questioncan have an associated picture or video, and 2- 4 multiple choice answers. There must be atleast one correct answer (but more can bechosen), and the time-limit for each questioncan be individually set from 5 seconds to 2minutes.

Aside from being a great way toengage and focus a whole room of people,quizzes can be used to formatively assess theknowledge of each individual in the room, andadapt their learning accordingly. They can beused to track progress of individuals over time,and inspire learners to enquire further bycreating their own quizzes.



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Players answer questions displayed atthe front of the room on their personal device,motivated to answer correctly and score themost points. The faster someone answers aquestion correctly, the more points they get.The top 5 highest points scorers are displayedon the leaderboard at the front in-between eachquestion, and the ultimate winner is shown atthe end. Results, including who answered whatfor each question, can be downloadedafterwards.

3. Discussion (previously ‘Quick poll’)Discussions are designed to do exactly

what they say - facilitate a conversation. Theyare simply one quick question with no right orwrong answer, which can have an associatedpicture or video and 2 - 4 alternative answers.They should be used to gather opinions oncurrent affairs, divisive topics, or even ask“what shall we do today?” Once again, playersanswer the question on their personal device.There is still a time-limit to answer within,however no points are involved. The collectiveresults of the question are displayed at thefront, acting as the basis for the discussion.

SURVEY

There are no limits to the number ofquestions in a survey. Each question can havean associated picture or video, and 2 - 4multiple choice answers - however there areno right or wrong answers. They are just liketraditional surveys except questions are askedin real-time to those present who answer ontheir personal devices. The results of eachquestion can be debated there-and-then, and allsurvey results can be downloaded at the end.

1. How can teachers use Kahoot!

Kahoot can quickly become a go-tofor teachers looking for an engaging way torun checks for understanding or exit tickets.You could even have students take over thereview process or class discussion by rotatingresponsibility for making the weekly quiz. Gobeyond memorization of facts and allowKahoot to introduce scenario

questions/prompts with multiple decisions;stimulate conversation from the results.Kahootextends the discussion to classroomsacross the state or country. Acclimate studentswith the site so they may increase their scoresafter class has ended or perhaps test their skillwith Kahoot!. Don't forget professionaldevelopment; use the Team mode to posepedagogical questions and promote for thoughtdiscussions among teacher peers. Use Kahootto break the ice at the beginning of the schoolyear or bond with learning-communitymembers.

Kahoot, a free student-response toolfor all platforms, allows teachers to run game-like multiple-choice answer quizzes in realtime. Teachers (as well as students) can eithercreate their own quizzes or find, use, and/orremix public quizzes. Questions, along withanswer choices, are projected onto a classroomscreen while students submit responses using apersonal (likely mobile) device. Questions andpolls can contain images and video to helpfurther appeal to all learners. Students' devicesdisplay color and symbol choices only; theactual answers must be viewed on theclassroom screen. The energized, game-likeatmosphere comes from the use of brightcolors and suspenseful music. Liveliness in thegame or quiz escalates as updated ranks appearon the class scoreboard after each question;personal point’s data is sent to each device.The Team Mode mixes things up and allowsgroups of students to cooperate with eachother and compete against other teams.

Playing a game of Kahootdoesn'tinvolve an account, only a game PIN from themain screen and a name. However, studentscan create accounts, and there are some seriousprivacy concerns

2. Is it good for learning English?With Kahoot, teachers and students

can create multiple-choice quizzes as well aspolls and surveys that populate on-the-spotdata (although this data isn't saved over time).Other than their own scores, students only seethe top achievers, so low-performing studentswon't feel put on display. Quiz questions andpolls stimulate quick instructional decisions as



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well as whole-class discussion, but an open-ended response feature and/or the ability tostring together a quiz and a poll in one gamewould be welcome to aid learning. Techsavvy-students can connect with students fromacross the globe to play or connect to theirpeers after-hours to compete for new scores.

Data can be downloaded by teachers(or student creators) and viewed in Excel.These reports can be helpful, but data can't becompared over time for classes or individualstudents since accounts are not required forstudents (even though they can, if they choose,create them). For teachers, this means it can betime-intensive to analyze students' growthpatterns or individual problem areas usingKahootquizzes.

Kahootis suitable for teaching Englishthe three features (quiz, survey and discussion)could be used as assessment, ice breaker andtool to stimulate students’ discussion in anyspecific subjects in English. Teachers are freeto select the mode of kahootthat they desire touse in the classroom. For instance in teachingspeaking, discussion and survey can be used.Quiz can be used in teaching theoreticalsubjects such as: linguistics, grammar, reading,and so on.

How can you use Kahoot in classroominstruction?a) Create a quiz to reinforce learning

outcomes.b) Create a game to introduce a topic. It can

help you discover what the studentsalready know and where you should focusyour instruction.

c) It works best with short, quick responsequestions. It is a great tool for learningterminology.

d) The frequently asked questions sectiondoes address using the game in onlineinstruction. Online students would need toload Kahoot on their machines and use adifferent device to play the game.

e) Survey the students about something youare discussing in your unit of study. For

example, teacher could display choices acontroller is facing that may or may not beethical. The students would select whetheror not they believe the controller made anethical business decision. We would thendiscuss the results.

f) Create a quiz to use as a study session foran upcoming exam.

g) You can play the game a second timeusing a “ghost”. The game plays the sameas previously but now the students areplaying against their first responses andhoping to improve their score.

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

The data were taken in small group ofstudents. There were 10 of them involved. Atthe beginning of the class, they were asked toopen or download Kahoot application in theirhand phone or laptop. Then researcher gavePIN of Kahoot! So that they could join theQuiz. Right after they signed up, theKahootquiz began. There were asked toanswer 5 questions related to topic of grammarlesson that day (simple present tense). Each ofthe students competed to answer the questionas fast as possible. Their speed and accuracy inanswering the question is needed. After all thequestions delivered. Kahootshown the winnerof that quick Quiz. This result helps theteacher to see students’ ability. This activitycan be used as brainstorming to start the class.Educator can use this at the beginning of theclass to gain students’ attention.

Furthermore educator also can use thisquiz features as assessment by playing it at theend of the lesson. They can do individual orgroup assessment with this. Of course, it’ssimpler, faster and fun. Students do the quizthat is modern look as the quiz on TV.

Students enjoyed the quiz. Theydidnot feel anxiety on doing the quiz because theyfound it interesting. They said that that wasjust a fun quiz not an assessment.



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In the next day, researcher usedKahootagain. This time, researcher useddiscussion features. A questions where shownin the screen (do you agree if a female Muslimhas eye contact when she is communicatingwith male foreigner?) in the option theresearcher gave two answers (agree anddisagree). The students were asked to selectone answer. After that,Kahootwill show thenumber of students who say agree anddisagree. In this Kahootfeatures no wrong orright answer. This activity is used to stimulatethe discussion in the classroom. For instanceapproximately 45% agree and 55 disagree withthat statement. Then researcher called outsome students who say agree to explain theirreason. Furthermore, researcher also askedstudents who selected disagree. This activitymade the class alive with discussion. Studentscan argue each other. This activity can be donein speaking and cross cultural understandingsubject.

This discussion gave interesting waysto stimulate students to speak up. They gavetheir point of views based on result that isshown on the screen. The result seemed to beattractive with the clear figure.

Next, researcher applied survey. Ingeneral, discussion and survey have the samefunction. Both stimulate students to speak upor to invite students to get involve with thetopic being asked. Survey in Kahootis quickway to get the data on students’ perception oncertain thing. Researcher asked students“living in the city is better that living in thecountry”. The options were “Yes, and no”.After the students choose one option, thenKahootshown the result in percentage. If theteachers want to know students reason inanswering “yes/ no”, teacher can ask certainstudent to give their opinion.

This activity made the students’ eyeopen widely during the class. No sleepy headswere found. It shown that Kahootcould breakthe monotonous in the class with playingsystem. At glance, they seem just playing,

however, they study through playing quiz. Inshort researcher found it very benefit and funfor teaching English.

CONCLUSION

The games bring a lot of interaction tothe classroom. Teachers are in control ofadvancing the questions that allowing them theopportunity to build discussion time betweenquestions. The majority of students enjoy thecompetitive nature of the game and commentthat it helps them retain concepts and enjoy thequiz.

Kahoot! can be used to monitor eachstudent’s knowledge and to identify areaswhere the students would benefit from moreone-to-one teaching, but it is more generallyused as a break from traditional classroomactivities.

Kahootwas admitted as an enjoyable,free, flexible, easy and fun way to learnEnglish. It brought new color to the class withgame based learning. A 21st century teachers/educators should try Kahootin their teaching inorder to make their class more fun andattractive.

REFERENCES

Europe, EdTech. "Digischool, Kahoot! andRefME Announced as Winners of 2015EdTech 20". www.prnewswire.com.Retrieved 5 August 2017

Garnet, N. 1991. Technology in the service oflanguage learning: trends and issues.Modern language journal 75 (1) page75-101

Google Play. Google Inc"Kahoot! - AndroidApps on Google Play".. 9 June 2014.Retrieved 2 August 2017

Kahoot! Blog"Kahoot! is searching for talentto impact education globally".. KahootAS. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 2 March2015.



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Matinez, Jaime. 2011. A performatoryapproach to teaching, leraning andtechnology. Rotterdam: SensePublisher.

Prensky, M 2001, Digital natives, DigitalImigrants. On the horizon. 9 (5) 1-6

Underdal, AnlaugGårdsrud; Sunde,MartheThorine (5 September 2014).Investigating QoE in a Cloud-Based

Classroom Response System (PDF)(Thesis). Retrieved August 2017.

Wang, Alf Inge (12 July 2017). "The wear outeffect of a game-based student responsesystem" (PDF). Computers &Education. ISSN 0360-1315

FUN ACTIVITIES IN TEACHING ENGLISH BY USING KAHOOT!

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