Technology Tools & Learning: Mobile Learning, Multimedia, Games & Gamification

Gamified learning in higher institutions improve student engagement, motivation, and performance (Subhash & Cudney, 2018). The universal presence of technology in classrooms has inspired a shift from traditional classroom lectures to integrated digital learning environments. These interactive learning environments present the opportunity to evolve the teaching process through the incorporation of game elements that have been shown to capture user attention, motivate towards goals, and promote competition, effective teamwork, and communication. Gamification and game-based learning systems aim to bring these benefits into the learning and teaching process.

Gaming strategies in Nursing Education improves final exam scores for nursing students who used it compared to others who did not use Kahoot.it game in the same required course (Kinder & Kurz, 2018). The investigated effects of implementing an online instant response system “Kahoot!” can enhance learning motivation, facilitate better learning achievement, create incentives for the students to do previews and reviews, and can create teachable moments (Lee, Hao, Lee, Sim, & Huang, 2019). Kahoot is a platform for creating and playing learning games. Kahoot is a free, online quiz platform and instant feedback system that helps teachers create a fun competitive-gaming environment (Kuo & Chuang, 2018). Learners can access the Kahoot platform (Kahoot.it) using a mobile phone or tablet to answer multiple choice questions. Kahoot incorporates the community of inquiry framework; teacher presence, cognitive presence and social presence. Kahoot brings all together in a social environment to play, have fun and collaborate with the learning in it (Bristol, 2019). The revised community of inquiry model includes ‘learner presence’ and how the use of technology can include all elements in which Kahoot makes use of all; teacher presence, social presence, learner presence and cognitive presence (Shea & Bidjerano, 2010).

Other benefits or advantages of using Kahoot (web-based) is that the review games are fun tools to review course content and can serve as an effective method to determine student understanding, progression, and knowledge (Dell & Chudow, 2019). It can also be used to introduce new concept or review a lesson topic. It can also be used as a formative assessment tool because gamification affected academic achievement and student engagement in learning environments(Orhan Göksün & Gürsoy, 2019). Students will come to class prepared since they knew pre-quizzes motivated for course. Kahoot helps the teacher identify where students need support within a large multidisciplinary clinical therapeutics unit (Gardiner, McCourt, Porter, & Santos, 2019).

 

Kahoot has user feedback ratings and teachers can save time on correcting tests but it is mainly for online users or blended learning. Other limitations include competition in time and learners have to work fast to answer the question within a given time frame. An educator is challenged to master the skill of using this platform to interact with this generation of digital users. Otherwise, this platform is much easier to use compare to other platforms. But teachers need to project a larger screen so students can follow using their mobile phones or laptops or desktops like a remote control to answer the questions projected on larger screen in the classroom. It would be easier for online learners to use mobile phones to answer the multiple-choice questions or quizz while the Blackboard Collaboration session is displaying the teacher’s large screen of displayed questions. It would be better to use a computer lab for this type of session if students do not have mobile devices. The competitive nature of Kahoot keeps the students motivated and engaged in the teaching learning process (Wang, 2015).

A video about Kahoot demo for teachers. Hope it will guide you on getting started to using it! 

References

Bristol, T. J. (2019). Building Community in the Online Course. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 14(1), 72–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TELN.2018.11.004

Dell, K. A., & Chudow, M. B. (2019). A web-based review game as a measure of overall course knowledge in pharmacotherapeutics. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 11(8), 838–842. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CPTL.2019.04.012

Gardiner, K. M., McCourt, L., Porter, K., & Santos, M. S. (2019). Kahoot! Identifying where students need support within a large multidisciplinary clinical therapeutics unit. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 15(5), e25. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SAPHARM.2019.03.143

Kinder, F. D., & Kurz, J. M. (2018). Gaming Strategies in Nursing Education. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 13(4), 212–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TELN.2018.05.001

Kuo, C.-L., & Chuang, Y.-H. (2018). [Kahoot: Applications and Effects in Education]. Hu Li Za Zhi The Journal of Nursing, 65(6), 13–19. https://doi.org/10.6224/JN.201812_65(6).03

Lee, C.-C., Hao, Y., Lee, K. S., Sim, S. C., & Huang, C.-C. (2019). Investigation of the effects of an online instant response system on students in a middle school of a rural area. Computers in Human Behavior, 95, 217–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CHB.2018.11.034

Orhan Göksün, D., & Gürsoy, G. (2019). Comparing success and engagement in gamified learning experiences via Kahoot and Quizizz. Computers & Education, 135, 15–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COMPEDU.2019.02.015

Shea, P., & Bidjerano, T. (2010). Learning presence: Towards a theory of self-efficacy, self-regulation, and the development of a communities of inquiry in online and blended learning environments. Computers & Education, 55(4), 1721–1731. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COMPEDU.2010.07.017

Subhash, S., & Cudney, E. A. (2018). Gamified learning in higher education: A systematic review of the literature. Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 192–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CHB.2018.05.028

Wang, A. I. (2015). The wear out effect of a game-based student response system. Computers & Education, 82, 217–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COMPEDU.2014.11.004