Making a Kahoot

Hopefully you've already read the blog about why I like Kahoot in my class and how I do it. This post will show you how to find and create Kahoots to use with your class.

There are two options to using Kahoot in your class. You can make your own quiz, or you can find one in the public collection. First off you can go to the main Kahoot site. You can use public Kahoots without registering if given the direct link, but I am still going to say that your first step should be to register so you can search and create your own. It is fast and easy. They ask for your school, a username, e-mail and password. In less than 30 seconds you'll have your very own account.


Next, if you are short on time, or you want inspiration, you can go to the public Kahoots. These have been created by other teachers or businesses. You can search these by grammar or other topic. They have Kahoots on different historical movements, different novels, and of course, different grammar points.


To the right is an example of a "Passive and Active Voice" quiz. You can see how many questions are in the quiz, how many players have played the quiz and preview the questions (as well as answers).

If you like the quiz as is you are welcome to simply use it. If you like some of the questions, but not others, or otherwise feel that you would like to change the quiz you can make a duplicate and then edit it to best fit your class.

The other option is to create a Kahoot from scratch. This is pretty fast as well, but can take a bit longer. First you give the quiz a name.

Then you add questions. Kahoot encourages you to have pictures that go with the questions, but this isn't needed. This is just a really fast quiz as an example, so I made it with two questions. You can select as many correct answers as you like. For example:

Question: Select all the adjectives in the sentence: The girls beautiful blue dress never wrinkles. 
Answers: Beautiful   Blue   Never   Wrinkles

You can give different time limitations for the questions. A simple multiple choice may be 15 seconds whereas something where students need to read larger sentences may be a minute.

After putting in all of your questions you will be taken to a page to reorder the questions and confirm that you didn't make any silly typos in the questions. If you find any typos, you can always go back and edit your questions.


 You're almost done! Now you give a description of your quiz. Give a level, description, whom it is for, difficulty level, and any tags to help categorize your quiz. If you opt to make your quiz public it means other teachers can use it too! All of these are optional, but the more you fill out the easier it is for other teachers to find it later.

Last, but not least, you are allowed to add a cover image that will be shown while people are waiting for your Kahoot to start!
So there we go! You have a couple different ways to use Kahoot in your class.

If you make a great Kahoot you'd like to share you can copy and paste the link below for other people to see.

Here's a link to the super fast two question sample quiz.

For more on how to use Kahoot be sure to check out my other post.

Easily Make Reviews into Gameshows!

You can see how involved students get!

Today’s article for the RTT Teach Abroad August Blog Carnival, If you'd like to contribute to next month's Blog Carnival, please contact Dean and he will help!

Kahoot is a REALLY easy game to set up. You can check out my other post how to find and create your own Kahoot which will be published tomorrow.

What you'll need to use Kahoots with your students:
1. WiFi access: Technically it doesn't need to be wireless internet if they are using laptops or computers directly plugged into the internet, but since most of my students use tablets or cell phone WiFi works best.
2. A monitor: It is really important that all students can see  the monitor. If you have an IWB or projector those work best!
3. Devices: Students will need to have a phone, tablet, laptop, or computer that can access the internet. You don't need to make it one student per device; this can be done in small groups with two-five students per device
4. A Kahoot relevant to your class either made by you or others.

Kahoot basically allows you to make multiple choice quizzes that students can all answer. It makes a great review game, quick quiz, or an exit exam. 

To start the teacher starts the quiz. This will show the Game Pin (figure 1 to the left) on the monitor all students will see. On their devices they enter the Game Pin and then their name (or if they are working in groups their team name). Then their name she should be displayed on the monitor for everyone to see. Once you start the quiz keep in mind that the questions are displayed on the screen with each answer having a different shape and color. Students' devices will ONLY show the colors  (see figure four). If students can't see the monitor they will not be able to play.

You can set a time limit for each question from five seconds to two minutes, but once all of the students have answered the time is up regardless of how long you have given the students.The countdown will play as well as your graphic, the questions and answers.

After all of the students have answered, the correct answer will be displayed as well as a breakdown of how students answered (figure 2). This is an easy way to see not only if the students are mostly getting it wrong or right, but also which incorrect answers they are guessing. Are they missing the modals? Do they not know the irregular verbs? etc. Notice that it doesn't specify who gave which answer! This also takes some of the pressure off students. Unlike calling on a student when they answer this way no one knows if they get it wrong.

I usually take this time to go over why each answer is wrong. Ask the students, "why is blue wrong?" After you've gone over it, you press next and the scoreboard will pop up. Students get points for answering correctly; the faster they answer the more points they get. At the very end of the game the student with the most points will be declared the winner.

I feel like I should briefly point out that I often think that technology in the classroom is superfluous. Teaching our students how to use the internet as a tool to search properly is important. Being able to interact with different software programs is important. However, often teachers tell me, "Oh yeah my students are doing this online and it is awesome," and all I can think is, "how does this really help them more than a pen and paper does?"

This is one of those situations where technology isn't making your class more dynamic. You aren't encouraging more critical thinking. You could make a very similar game using post its and a marker. The perks of this compared to paper alternatives are:
 1. Technology Students LOVE the technology. It makes them more involved and most of them beg for it later! After you finish the Kahoot you can download the statistics to see how your students did. The spreadsheet will show how many questions students go correct and incorrect. It also does a breakdown of each question, and each students' answers to each question. This lets you know what questions are tricky for your students. 
2. Breakdown The technology makes it easy for you to get a breakdown of what questions students are getting right and how specific students are doing.
3. Efficient Pretty fast to set up; for me faster than most review games requiring a bit more prep
4. Paperless! Better for the Earth and your school's budget.

Let me know if you try out Kahoot and what you think! I personally didn't love it when I first tried it, but my students BEGGED for it every day after. Anytime my students like an activity I think it is probably worth sharing.

Simulations in the classroom

Have you ever had students bring in old items from home, issued them fake money, and let them buy items from one another? It is a great way to get students using vocabulary in a lifelike situation! You aren't role playing; rather, students are really exchanging currency for products. They can haggle, contemplate the worth of something, and budget. This is called a simulation.

Simulations are very popular in all types of educational settings because they help students see that what you are teaching them in the classroom is valid in the real world. Why are simulations so successful? Think back to when you were younger. If someone said, "The oven is hot; don't touch it" what did most children do? Touch it!

It isn't (usually) because they are trouble makers. We want to experience things fro ourselves rather than trust what someone says. The child thinks, "maybe the oven is hot to some people, but maybe I won't think it is hot," or, "well how hot is it?"

Simulations are great because they show our students that what we are talking about is real. They also let us discuss what we want to with our students knowing that they all have a shared background.

Finally, they are one of the ways I encourage teachers to help students open their schema. For example, if you were going to teach about social hierarchy you could ask a series of questions about their own experiences interacting with different classes or you could use a simulation from Shilo Morlang's book, 10 Sims for Teachers involving a deck of cards. Once they have all finished the simulation, you can discuss what it reminds them of, how they can see it in other parts of their life. This is a great way to be sure that your students are prepared to have the knew knowledge of their class, "stuck" in their brains!

On a related note, check out this video made for teachers at my school on different ways to help students access prior knowledge.

What's your favorite simulation to use in class?

Quizlet for at Home Studying

I recently had the honor of hosting a guest post about the use of flashcards to help students study. One of my favorite ways to help students is by using Quizlet.

Quizlet allows me to create flashcards for students. In addition to making these for vocabulary words, you can also make them for collocations, dates, authors, math formulas, etc. Pretty much flashcards can be made for anything you want to help your students review at their own pace.

Students can view lists that you make without logging in or creating an account. They can also look for lists other users have created (things like GRE, TOEFL; SAT, etc. are very popular). If they create an account they can create their own lists or access them via tablets / smart phones.

Here are some of the ways students can use Quizlet. All of these examples use vocabulary words from Lewis Carroll's The Walrus and The Carpenter. You can click on the screenshots to make them bigger for a better look.

Definition

Word / Phrase

On the Internet
They can use them as traditional flashcards. The Quizlet website has a, "cards" section. Using the mouse to click from the term to the definition (or the arrow keys). Your students can set their own preference: term-->definition, definition-->term, or a mix of both.

"Learn" with quizlet

 "Learn" is a step up from flash cards. The definition is shown and you type the vocabulary word. This can help students with spelling and recalling the word (and not just relying on word banks. If your students are more auditory they can click on, "speak text" where the definition is heard instead of read. This can also help your students with their listening skills.
 

Practice the spelling

The "Speller" option lets your students hear the word being spoken as they see the definition. Then they try to type the word correctly. This is great for students who struggle with English's less than phonetic spelling. It is also nice for character names, authors, and other proper nouns. Not the most dynamic or interesting option, but I know some students have found it very helpful.

Sample Test

 My least favorite option, "Test." The reason I don't like this is  I think students focus too much on memorizing definitions and not enough on understanding. Nonetheless, Quizlet will randomly generate a quiz made up of multiple choice, true false, matching, and written answers (they give you the definition you write in the word). This can be useful for students and teachers as well (though for teachers why not try a more creative quiz)


GAMES!

Scatter!

Gamification is AWESOME and a great incentive for many students. Quizlet has many different options.One is called "Scatter." Essentially the definitions and terms are both scattered randomly on the screen. Your students can click and drag the terms / definitions to their corresponding term. Quizlet times you, so your students can try to make their best times. 

Can you guess the answer?

Word Clue!

The other game is space race! The definition (or term depending on your preference) will scroll from the left side to the right side of the screen. Before it gets to the right side you need to write the term (or definition). Scoring? Each time you guess incorrectly you lose 10 points. If you guess correctly, you get 100 points. By the time it gets to the right you will be given the definition and answer and asked to correctly type the answer. Repetition is key!

Phone / Tablet

Students can search for lists

Here's the most recent list

There's also a free App for the iPhone or iPad as well as Androids. Your students do need an account, but it is free to create an account and their terms of use are pretty standard. The app they can download is also free, so the price is right! 

Once they log in they can access lists that you have made (or other users have made) as well as few different ways to study.

The first perk of the app is it includes access to a list of all the terms and definitions.

Definition

Word

From here, the students  have the same flashcard function under "cards," as the website with some more options.

You can start with the terms, definitions, or both sides.
Another option is to shuffle the cards or keep them in the same order.

Once more, for the auditory students, there's the option for the text to be spoken.

Swiping up and down lets you switch in between terms and swiping to the right shows you the definition.  

"Learn"

Another section is "Learn," this shows the definition and students type the word, so more involved than just a flashcard. Plus it helps them with spelling.

All in all though, not the most exciting function.

Luckily though the app also has a game!

Match

This matching game is more organized than the scattered version for computers, but has essentially the same rules. Students match definitions to terms and race against a clock to score their best time.

Now, do I think that teachers should depend exclusively on sites like Quizlet for students to learn words? No! I believe there are many dynamic ways to really help students learn words. However, this can be a great supplementary tool to help the students get additional help the best way possible for them!

 As a class? You can also use it in class as a review tool! Put one of the games like "Match" or "Scatter" on the white board and have students get into teams. They can take turns buzzing in (raising their hand) to answer a review question. If they get it right, they can try to match the vocabulary words for an additional point (or to make the point valid).

UPDATE as of April 2016 there's a new way to use Quizlet in the classroom. Check it out here

I know there are many other sites like this on the web, but this is my favorite! Do you prefer another site or love Quizlet as much as I do? I'd love to hear from you!

Drop a comment here, tweet me @mELTingTeacher or comment at The Melting Teacher' facebook page.