Kahoot a platform where schools and workplaces can find or create quizzes.
In game mode, the teacher projects the questions on a screen, while the students submit their answers from their individual devices. Students are rewarded for speed and accuracy. After each questions, they can see their place on the leader board. Assigning a quiz removes the element of competition.
Kahoot comes with many features that allow flexibility in the types of quizzes and learning resources you can create, and the overall level of control you have. It operates on a freemium model, so you will need to upgrade to paid in order to access more features.
The free version is enough for simply finding and reusing quizzes. You can edit some quizzes depending on what templates and features are used. You can both play live gains as well as assign games for students to play at their own pace.
How much does Kahoot cost for teachers?
Kahoot costs $5.99 for the first tier, $11.99 for the second tier and $19 for the third tier. From time to time there is a sale, with prices cut in around half.
Is premium Kahoot worth it?
I paid for the first tier access to just not have to deal with the “Requires an upgrade” . It’s worth it for me because I use it enough to benefit from the extra control over the Kahoots I create.
If you only use Kahoot occasionally, then the free version is enough. You can have 40 students on at any one time, I think it’s highly unusual to have more than 40 students in a class but I could be wrong.
If your students don’t have regular access to a device, then Kahoot premium isn’t for you. In prior years when I shared a computer cart with a whole division, it wasn’t worth it. This year when I have a cart in my room and each student has a dedicated computer, I can use Kahoot whenever I want
Alternatives to Kahoot
My school board pays for Knowledge Hook which is similar to Kahoot in some respects. Knowledge Hook has a live-game component, complete with a leaderboard. It’s also similarly gamified with rewards when students achieve certain missions. Knowledge Hook’s question bank is superior; there is some quality control, where anyone can create a Kahoot. I’ve never found an error on the Knowledge Hook platform, but I’ve found many in Kahoot premade questions. In terms of quality content, Kahoot is lacking. But as an infrastructure on which to do things, it’s very flexible and lots of fun to use.
Blooket is another alternative to Kahoot. It’s a similar platform that has a bank of questions and allows teachers to create their own questions. It has a greater variety of game modes and is completely free. I think maybe its ecoystem of contributors is not as vibrant as Kahoot, maybe because it’s newer or not as well funded. I’m not sure on that.
Conclusion
If you are a teacher looking to gamify learning, before you buy, consider
- your students’ access to a device,
- how often you’ll use the platform
- how involved you will be in creating resources
If your students have ready access to a device, if you plan on making a lot of your own teaching resources then it might be worth an upgrade. If not, then it’s just a nice to have, save your money.
