Anyone here teach university and try something like Kahoots or similar programs to get some engagement in large lecture courses? I have a couple larger courses and I’m trying to find new ways to wake them up and keep checking in on comprehension.
I know some of my colleagues use these programs in the US for quizzes/polls during class, but I haven’t seen it used in a Japan yet.
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I teach smaller classes, but yes, I use Kahoot and also Quizlet. There are quite a few similar programs.
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Do you have any specific questions about using these?
I’ve never used it as I’m not confident it will work in my type of classes. But in a low of call-and-response type classrooms, I’ve heard of it being used a bit in Japan.
https://jalt-publications.org/articles/24341-using-kahoot-gamify-your-classroom
https://www.academia.edu/37225615/Tap_Your_Way_to_Increased_Student_Engagement_Kahoot_in_the_EFL_Classroom
I’ve never used (nor heard of) Kahoots, but I will sometimes use Google forms to spice up class–anything from comprehension questions to live opinion polls.
I also use Google forms to post “participation check” questions immediately after class in which students must answer a quick question or two about the class content, or produce language using the pattern from class. Not only does it give them incentive to pay attention in class, it also makes it easy for me to check whether I need to review a particular part of a lesson the following week. Oh, and to further incentivize participation, I give a few points to students for the “participation check” submissions and set a short time-limit (usually by the end the day).
Also, as a general rule, I try to never spend more than 20 minutes on any one particular task. Keeping things moving is the key to keeping students awake and engaged, especially in lecture halls of 50 or 100+ students.
I had to sub for a TOEIC class at the nearby university and used kahoots. It was a class of 46 with very low English level. They loved it. It worked a lot better if they worked in teams (they already had teams for an upcoming project so did them in those). I just used them to test new vocab words. So things like fill in the blank with the correct word, or guess the word from a picture, etc.
Not university, but senior high school English Communication lessons.
We use Kahoot sparingly in two ways – teach with slides and quizzes usually at the beginning or end of terms or units. The lessons are focused on using conversation strategies/gambits and paragraph composition. We use it as a “blind Kahoot” or review activity.
I also used it as a substitute for the typical jikoshokai first lesson, asking students to respond to questions such as “Where are you from?” (in – City, outside -City, in – Prefecture, in a different prefecture) which led to a brief interaction about where we are all from.
Another open question was “Do you have an Eiken score?” (3 Kyu, Pre 2 kyu, 2 kyu, no) which gave me some data on the English language achievement of my learners.
Our class sizes are 20-40.
I got some tips from YouTube videos. One I recommend is titled Deeper Uses of Kahoot with ESL Focus.
Yes, I sometimes use Kahoot in class. I think a good way to use it is get the students in teams with one person in each group in charge of inputting answers, and give the students time to discuss possible answers amongst themselves (in English, of course).
I use Kahoot in elementary school English classes as a fun way to review phonics lessons with the upper grades. The kids enjoy the fact that it is competitive and that they get to use technology. If you get a paid subscription you can also do listening questions and questions with a typed response.
Quizziz. Nearpod.
Anyone tried Padlet? My friend used to use it, and I tried it recently. It’s like a whiteboard and students could write their stuff there, even share pics or links. Not revolutionary, but could be used as starter or plenary.
Every time I’ve done Kahoot with my university students, they get quite competitive and enjoy it a lot.
I think it can be a great way to get students engaged and help identify if there’s specific types of questions or points the class struggles with as a whole.
I use Kahoots for review activities and as a treat after tests. Students really enjoy it. I have had students make their own Kahoot questions using specific grammar points (passive voice, etc) and then doing a big quiz.
I like to refer to specific pages of the textbook in questions so that students have to go back through the book to find the correct responses. It adds a scavenger hunt element to the whole affair.
I am the only teacher at my school who uses Kahoot, even though I have offered to help others get started using it. There is an odd attitude among the Japanese staff here where they ask me to prepare Kahoots for our recruiting events (private JHS/HS) but won’t even consider trying to incorporate it into their own lessons.