Learning and Control Platform “Kahoot!”: Theory and Usage Features in ASIPCS

The study examined the place of modern information technologies in education and the importance of “gamification” technology in the organization of secondary and higher education. It was revealed that the most common educational monitoring platform, “Kahoot,” has significant advantages compared to traditional approaches to organizing the educational process. The use of this platform in the process of training bachelors and masters, as well as in advanced training courses for coaches at the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport (ASIPCS), showed great interest among students in the “Kahoot” service, a high assessment of the capabilities of this platform in training, consolidation, and control of theoretical knowledge.

Introduction

The socio-economic transformations taking place in Armenia require the implementation of deep and lasting reforms in many areas of public life, including higher education.

In the educational process of many domestic universities, a number of problems have arisen related to the modernization and improvement of the teaching and learning process, the use of active methods, forms of teaching, and modern methods of acquiring, consolidating, and monitoring knowledge and skills in the educational process.

In this regard, research aimed at studying the possibilities of modern forms of organizing the educational process, aimed at active assimilation, individualization of the learning process, and consolidation of the necessary knowledge, as well as the use of modern information and communication technologies, electronic resources for monitoring students’ knowledge, is of scientific and applied significance and relevance. Unfortunately, there is very little experience of using the “Kahoot” platform in the Republic of Armenia ( https://www.facebook.com/TM.RMHV/?locale=hy_AM; Abrahamyan, 2023), and it is not related to physical education and sports education.

The problem of using the “Kahoot” platform is particularly relevant in a physical education and sports university due to the specific nature of the study of students-athletes, for whom training, camps, and participation in competitions are often a serious reason for missing academic classes, leading to problems in organizing the learning process. Studying the possibilities of introducing and using modern information technologies in the educational process of sports university students can help to increase the volume and degree of assimilation of theoretical knowledge and the development of many individual and collective qualities.

The present study aimed to understand the role of modern information technologies used in higher education and identify the characteristics of the practical application of the “Kahoot” platform in ASIPCS.

Method

The study used the method of studying and analyzing scientific literature, the practical use of the “Kahoot” platform in the educational process, and a survey.

The study was organized in the 2023–2024 academic year at the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport (ASIPCS) in preparation for bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as in training courses for coaches in various types of wrestling. To investigate the effectiveness of using the “Kahoot” learning and control platform in educational processes, 35 “Kahoots” were created and used, containing a total of 525 tasks. The tasks were used for formative assessment of student knowledge.

The study involved 136 second- and third-year students (age range: 19–20), 35 ASIPCS Master’s students (age range: 24–45), and 25 coaches with an average of 12 years of professional experience. Approximately 92% of respondents were male. In order to consolidate and control students’ theoretical knowledge, 23 “Kahoots” were created, with a total of 351 questions included in the tasks. 4 created “Kahoots” with 59 tasks were used in the educational process of master’s students. Subsequently, this platform was used at the Department of “Sports Management and Journalism” in the educational process by a bachelor during the course of the subject “Economics,” using 5 “Kahoots,” including 56 tasks. When testing the knowledge of trainers, 3 “Kahoots” were created with 59 tasks. Master’s students and trainers were included in the study to reveal students’ opinions about the gamification of seminar classes, its effect on increasing motivation, ease of use, and the advantages and disadvantages of this form of knowledge verification.

Results and Discussion

Theoretical Findings

Nowadays, the educational process is inconceivable without the use of modern information technologies, which make it possible to increase the motivation and effectiveness of learning, the intellectual level of students, improve methods of conducting classes, contribute to the prompt and objective control of knowledge, and thus open up new possibilities in teaching.

In the contemporary world, technology has become an indispensable component of educational processes. It has the potential to enhance the learning experience, making it more engaging, interactive, and accessible. Modern classrooms and auditoriums are commonly equipped with digital devices, interactive whiteboards, and online platforms that facilitate virtual discussions, quizzes, polls, and games. These tools facilitate not only enjoyable learning but also enhance students’ capacity to retain information, develop critical thinking and effective problem-solving skills, foster creative thinking, and improve communication abilities (Dadoboeva & Yusupova, 2023; Icard, 2014; Matibaeva, 2023). It is also important to consider that for today’s schoolchildren and students. Technology has become an integral part of their everyday lives, given that they are a generation that has grown up with digital technologies.

Integrating technology into learning and teaching allows the learning process to be personalized to suit students’ needs. Teachers can better interact with students by using technology to provide them with feedback and suggestions throughout the learning process. Zakharova (2013) states that the introduction of new technologies often creates additional advantages for the most successful, active, and capable students without affecting the level of training of the majority.

Information technologies are a set of tools and techniques used to collect, process, store, and transmit primary information, allowing users to gain insight into the state of an object, process, or phenomenon. These technologies are often referred to as computer technologies, given that a variety of computer types serve as the foundation for information technology technical means (Information technologies: basic concepts and definitions; Computer information technologies).

The education system, including higher education, must utilize and develop new gaming technologies for the purposes of teaching and monitoring knowledge and skills. The active use of these technologies in education, and in particular through the gamification method, is due to the rapid development of communication technologies and the positive aspects of this approach (Licharginet al., 2014; Tsarevet al., 2016).

The incorporation of gamification-based activities into English language classrooms can provide teachers with a more fulfilling and engaging learning environment. Consequently, the teaching and learning process becomes more dynamic, and students are able to acquire the knowledge and skills that are necessary in the modern world (Kaur & Nadarajan, 2020).

Gamification of the educational process is the concept of introducing gaming technologies into the learning and control process (Tsarev, 2017). It involves the application of approaches typical of computer games to non-game processes and has enormous potential (Zichermann & Linder, 2013). The incorporation of game elements into the educational process has been demonstrated to enhance the efficiency of learning, facilitate the development of practical competencies, and maintain a high level of student engagement in the learning process. This approach facilitates the educational process, mitigating the potential for tension that can arise when using traditional forms of teaching and monitoring student knowledge. Gamification makes problems and tasks more interesting and exciting. This makes it a useful tool for modern education (Deterdinget al., 2011).

Emelianenko notes that “Gamification is not a general trend, but only one of the forms of the educational process.” It directs learning towards personal development and makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of gaming technologies in the educational process (Emelyanenko, 2018). A fun and enjoyable gaming environment increases student participation in the learning process, thereby positively influencing learning outcomes (Dellos, 2015). According to research by Livingston (2015), gamification-based teaching and learning activities allow students to engage in meaningful communication and take an active role in their own learning. Kozlova (2022) identifies several advantages associated with the integration of gamification in the educational context. However, she also highlights potential drawbacks, particularly noting that gamification can influence behavioral change, reduce the sense of responsibility, and shift the focus of the teacher from the outcomes of learning to the points and bonuses accrued.

Many researchers note that gamification in education motivates and engages students in the learning process, contributes to their personal development, and helps to reveal abilities even in areas previously unknown to them (Zarzycka-Piskorz, 2016; Zikaset al., 2016). Various educational programs and platforms have been specially designed to assist teachers, schoolchildren, lecturers, and students (Chunet al., 2016). A number of digital tools are available for the purpose of gamification and the acquisition of immediate information. These include Canva, Slido, Quizizz, Mentimeter, Formative, Socrative, Kahoot and others. “Kahoot” is one of the most prevalent and popular learning gaming platforms utilized to assess students’ knowledge.

Research conducted among schoolchildren has revealed many positive results from the introduction of gamification technology based on the “Kahoot” platform into the educational process. In particular, class attendance improved, the dynamics of grades in the class improved, and the final grade rose (61% were in favor of gamification, 53% voted for the traditional approach; Wang & Tahir, 2020).

“Kahoot” was founded in 2012 by students and teachers of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. As one of the most common learning and testing gaming platforms, it makes it easy to create, publish, and play educational games, quizzes, and various interactive tests and surveys to test your knowledge, making the learning process fun and dynamic. As of 2019, “Kahoot” is distributed in over 200 countries and is used by over 2.5 billion people, with 70 million new monthly active users (Bakeret al., 2010).

“Kahoot” creates an effective interactive learning environment as the software can engage students, provide feedback, and structure course participation (Tsarev, 2017).

Today, users are offered two versions of the platform: free (basic) and paid. To participate in it, students can use any device to enter the game using a PIN that is unique for each new game. There is an opinion that “Kahoot” is best suited for repetition and reinforcement of knowledge rather than for in-depth learning. It is not ideal for teaching complex or subtle concepts that require deep understanding (OnlineExamMaker.com, 2024).

One of the important features of “Kahoot” is the ability to create your own tasks by entering a series of questions and answer options. They can also include images and videos to make the quiz more interesting and informative, as well as duplicate and edit tests, which can save the teacher a lot of time. (Use of the Kahoot platform when organizing work in the lesson). Other significant advantages of utilizing this service include the flexibility to use any internet-enabled device, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops. All students can participate in knowledge control simultaneously, with the option to engage either individually or in teams (although restrictions apply in the free version). The pace of task completion is determined by the teacher, and the platform incorporates elements of play and competition. Additionally, it offers instant test results, straightforward registration, an accessible interface, and the ability to develop tests in native languages (Tsarev, 2017).

It is important to know that the “Kahoot” database has a large number of ready-made free quizzes on various topics, including sports, the number of which exceeds 1000 “Kahoots.” Concurrently, the utilization of this platform may result in the exclusion of the student from the control process in the event of an internet connectivity issue. Additionally, the individual pace at which students process information may impede their ability to respond to the presented queries in a timely manner (Pilot Language School, n.d.).

This service can be used at different stages of the lesson: updating knowledge, problem statement, initial consolidation, and independent work with the self-test of repetition. At the same time, its use can be a good way to quickly obtain feedback from students in mathematics lessons (Akhmetzyanova, 2020). We can conclude that there are many more positive aspects to using “Kahoot” than negative ones. Moreover, the competitive moment makes this process more interesting and motivated.

A study of the opinions of 50 schoolchildren in grades 9, 10, and 11 and their teachers about the use of Kahoot! in the educational process revealed that the vast majority of respondents expressed support for the integration of “Kahoot”! in language learning (Kaur & Nadarajan, 2020).

Another study found that students had positive opinions about using the Kahoot platform in their classes, which made their learning more fun and the learning process more interesting (Bicen & Kocakoyun, 2018). According to Tsarev (2017), introducing gamification technology into the educational process of first-and second-year students through the “Kahoot” platform when taking the disciplines of computer science and information technology showed the positive effect of using this resource. 82% of students had a positive attitude towards the use, 88% noted that it was exciting, and only 8% were against its use.

At Yerevan State Medical University in 2023, “Kahoot” was used for formative assessment of students’ knowledge while passing the academic subject “Physiology.” Each Kahoot contained 40 questions, with one correct answer out of 4 possible. Depending on the complexity of the task, the time allotted for answers ranged from 30–120 sec. It was found that in the group that used this platform, the average score for knowledge of the subject was 7.02 out of 10, while in the groups that did not use Kahoot, the average score was 6.58. The author believes that this tool is useful for motivating students, engaging them in the process of learning, and helping improve academic performance by providing the necessary and effective communication throughout the semester (Abrahamyan, 2023).

Empirical Findings

In ASIPCS, the free (basic) version of the platform was initially employed at the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology of Sports. Later, it was utilized for the subjects “General Pedagogy” and “Pedagogy of Sports” at the bachelor’s level as well as the educational subject “Pedagogy of Higher Education” at the master’s level. It should be mentioned that “Kahoot” provides six different modes of learning and testing knowledge. The following modes of learning and testing knowledge are available: “cards,” “practice,” “regular” (classic), “treasure chest,” “art activities,” “relaxing,” and “tallest tower.” In the present study, the “regular” game mode was used.

Two types of tasks were developed and used: text tasks with an alternative choice of “true” or “false” and also tasks with the choice of one correct answer out of four possible. Of course, the free version of the platform somewhat limited the possibilities of developing and using tasks with the choice of not one but a larger number of correct answers, but this did not greatly limit the capabilities of this service in consolidating and objectively assessing students’ knowledge. The tasks were projected on the screen, which allowed everyone to see the progress of testing, the dynamics of points scored, and the change in student ratings, which made it possible to introduce an element of play into the educational process and introduce a competitive nature into the lesson.

The experience of using Kahoot in seminar classes of the above-mentioned subjects in the 2023–2024 academic year showed that from the first use of this platform, students were involved in the process of knowledge control with interest and great desire. Having familiarized themselves with and tested this service, both bachelor and master students no longer wanted to return to the classical form of conducting seminar classes, when only one student was involved in the process of questioning and testing knowledge, and the rest, in general, remained in the role of listeners.

The survey we conducted among second-and third-year students at the end of the academic year showed that the vast majority of them (more than 92%) highly appreciate the use of the “Kahoot” platform in the educational process and are actively and happily involved in the process of testing their own knowledge. In a single seminar session, the students indicated their desire to undergo the testing process once more, with the objective of evaluating their existing knowledge, clarifying any ambiguities, and consolidating their understanding. A similar picture emerged from a survey of both master students and trainers, with over 95% of respondents indicating a need for the utilization and high efficiency of this platform. As the experience of its use has shown, one of the important aspects of using “Kahoot” is that it allows you not only to control the level of knowledge acquisition but also to identify erroneous or inaccurate answers, correct them, develop the necessary theoretical competencies, as well as the analytical abilities of students, and even group communication skills. Repeated testing is also important since teachers consolidate refined knowledge, and after repeated testing of knowledge on the same topic, the percentage of incorrect answers decreases significantly.

As one example of the positive attitude of students towards the use of the Kahoot platform in the educational process, we cite the opinion of one of the second-year ASIPCS students: “Through “Kahoot,” electronic seminars conducted are more effective, since they provide an opportunity during sports training camps for athletes participating in competitions in other countries, also participate in these seminars in order to increase the level of knowledge and their objective assessment.”

One of the positive aspects of using this platform is the opportunity, upon completion of testing, to become familiar with the percentage of correct and incorrect answers for the entire group, as well as for each student, separately for each question. Through “Kahoot,” at the end of the test, the teacher receives a detailed report of the students’ work after completing a specific task. This allows the teacher to identify the difficulties that students encounter when passing a certain topic and to further work on these topics or subsections.

For more effective and efficient control and consolidation, and, at the same time, increasing the objectivity of knowledge assessment, students were informed about the knowledge assessment system before the start of testing procedures. The experience of using Kahoot introduced the following changes to the assessment process: if, at the beginning of using this platform, the place occupied by the student and the corresponding points scored were taken into account, then in the future, it was no longer the points or the place taken that were taken into account, but primarily the percentage of correct answers. ASIPCS has adopted a 100-point multi-component system for assessing student performance, of which 10 points are provided for assessing knowledge in seminar classes. Taking this into account, as well as the fact that the minimum positive assessment for mastering the subject is 60 points, a system for assessing student knowledge was developed. In particular, students were awarded a positive grade only if they achieved at least 55% correct answers (rounded to 60%). For responses between 55% and 64% correct, the resulting number was divided by 10, resulting in a score of 6 out of 10. For responses between 65% and 74% correct, the score was 7 out of 10, and so on. As “Kahoot” enables the presentation of each student’s individual percentage of correct answers, this did not present a significant challenge.

In order to eliminate the student’s random selection of the correct answers and, at the same time, consolidate knowledge, the following methodological approach was used: To identify the validity of choosing the correct answer option, the student or undergraduate was asked to explain the error in the unselected (incorrect) answer option. In some cases, the student could not correctly justify the choice of the correct answer, thereby indicating that his/her answer was random. In this case, after completing the knowledge testing process, the student or undergraduate’s percentage of correct answers decreased by a certain amount. For example, if there are 10 tasks in Kahoot, and the sum of all correct answers is 100%, then the “price” of a correct or incorrect answer is 10% (1 point). For each random correct but unfounded answer, 10% (1 point) was subtracted from 100%. In particular, if a student, after completing “Kahoot,” had 75% correct answers but did not justify 1 correct answer during the test, then 10% was subtracted from 75%. As a result, the student already had 65% of correct answers, which was equivalent to 6.5 points, which was rounded up to 7 points. Since students were informed about this approach at the beginning of Kahoot, they took the testing process more seriously.

If it was impossible for one student to justify the correct answer, the teacher was asked to give a justification to another student who also gave the correct answer. If the second student’s justification for choosing the correct answer option was incomplete or inaccurate, the teacher could supplement the student’s answer, offering everyone present the full version of the correct answer and the fallacy of the incorrect option or answer options. All this together made it possible not only to objectively assess the degree to which students have acquired knowledge on the topic being studied but also to consolidate the acquired knowledge, developing the students’ analytical abilities.

It is important that in those cases when, due to the impossibility of the “live” presence of student-athletes at seminar classes, according to Pin’s fellow students, they had the opportunity to connect to Kahoot through smartphones to participate in the educational process.

It should be added that the platform creates the opportunity for group work and group control of knowledge through the use of the “Tallest Tower” game mode, which, along with all the functions inherent in this service, also allows you to develop group interaction skills. The positive Kahoot experience among students, masters, and trainers at ASIPCS can also be used in the teaching process of other subjects at the university. Along with that, in the training courses of school physical culture teachers and coaches of various sports, the Kahoot platform can be used as a modern and interesting approach to evaluating acquired knowledge. It should also be taken into account that modern learners are representatives of the age of digital technologies and easily and effectively participate in a gamified approach to knowledge verification, reinforcement, and correction.

Conclusion

The use of the “Kahoot” platform in the process of monitoring the knowledge of students in the subjects “General Pedagogy” and “Pedagogy of Sports,” “Economics” and master’s students in the subject “Pedagogy of Higher Education,” trainers of advanced training courses showed that more than 92% of students of the second-and third-year students, 95% of master’s students and trainers highly appreciate the use of this information and communication platform in the educational process. The platform enables the resolution of issues pertaining to formative control, assimilation, clarification, and consolidation of theoretical knowledge. Additionally, through the utilization of specific variants of this platform, the opportunity arises to cultivate the abilities associated with group thinking and group decision-making. A survey of students and undergraduates revealed that they were eager to participate in seminar classes utilizing “Kahoot,” citing the competitive aspects as a key motivator.

In our further research, we plan to identify the impact of using “Kahoot” on the average assessment of the group’s academic performance and conduct a more in-depth questionnaire survey to outline ways to improve the efficiency of using the “Kahoot” educational monitoring platform at the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport.