When Kahoot Meets Google Hangout

Kids yelped with joy when they got the correct answer on the Kahoot game about Dr. Seuss  For Read Across America. Mrs. Brown from Fairview Elementary joined a group of educators across Nebraska and Iowa to participate in a Google Hangout that used a Kahoot.it game using Dr. Seuss trivia with questions for their second graders.  

Mrs. Brown had actually never tried a Google Hangout or Kahoot, so she was really stepping outside her comfort zone.  When she heard about the opportunity, however, she did not hesitate to sign up!  Along came two tech trainers to provide a little support and she was off and running.  Four first grade classrooms joined the hangout and one of the tech coaches, Josh Allen (@j_allen), shared his screen with everyone so that all the kids could see the game from Kahoot!.   

Students paired up or made table teams to answer each question while Josh moved the game along via the Google Hangout.  But what was even better was that Steph (@KahootSteph), the Community & Events Evangelist for @GetKahoot!,  joined the hangout and played the game with all of the students.  

She was joining the Kahoot fun from London, UK and the kids got to ask her questions like, “Is it cold in London?”, and “Have you ever been to America?”  Students enjoyed her British accent and sweet demeanor.  Students pinpointed on a map how far London was from Nebraska, and they were all amazed at how they could be connected with a Google hangout to places so far away.  Students had even more questions about maps, distances, and time zones.

The students loved playing the Kahoot game, getting their answers correct, and competing a bit as the watched the leaderboard change throughout the game.  At the end of the game, students said goodbye to their new friends and pulled out another map to analyze the locations of their schools.  What a great way to create a global experience for kids that is meaningful and engaging!

How have you used technology to create global experiences for your students?

Resources:  https://getkahoot.com/

Kahoot website Video on how to use Kahoot.

Written by, Jenny Krzystowczyk & Ann Feldmann