Today, games as pedagogical platforms are becoming more popular in nursing education. As the eLearning merits of student engagement and immediate feedback are recognized within higher education instructional games are gaining acceptance in the classroom (Plump & Rose, 2017).
Instructional games as strategies to engage the learner in a stimulating manner, appeal to many, and support learning in the classroom. Additionally, games have the potential to increase engagement using real-time feedback on learning activities. Kahoot! and similar web-based applications can help educators quickly gauge the class’s grasp of concepts and fluidly adjust to include a review of what is not understood.
Kahoot! is a web-based technology that is free. The free game-based response system can be played by the whole class in real time (https://kahoot.com). Educators can register on the site and begin designing their own Kahoot! quizzes. Quizzes can have music, pictures and videos added to the background. The quizzes are saved and retrieved with internet access. The questions of a quiz are displayed on a screen and students can respond using any web-enabled device such as smartphones, tablets, and computers to connect to the game using a unique code.
A kahoot! review session was developed for students in an undergraduate senior seminar nursing course. The purpose of the review was to reinforce information presented previously in the Pediatrics course in the nursing program.
Methods:
A three-hour review session consisting of a total of 50 questions was developed. The 50 questions were divided into 5 separate learning areas with 10 questions per section. This was done to keep the game short and stimulate learning in a fun way. Each question was discussed in detail. The answers from one question was used to transition to the next question. Prizes were awarded to the winners with the highest score after each session. At the end of the review a 5-item Likert scale questionnaire was given to the students to evaluate the Kahoot! review.
Results:
The results of the Kahoot! review was very positive. Feedback from students (100%) suggested that the Kahoot! review format was extremely helpful. All students (100%) reported that the Kahoot! platform was easy to use. All students (100%) communicated that the Kahoot! review was fun, interactive, and kept them engaged in the classroom. All students (100%) would recommend using the Kahoot! review with future nursing students. In addition, the students enjoyed the competitive nature of the Kahoot review.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, gaming technologies are becoming effective learning tools within nursing education. Game-based student response systems have been found to foster students’ engagement, enhance classroom dynamics and improve the overall students’ learning experience Licorish, Owen, Daniel, & George (2018). Instructional gaming such as Kahoot! have the potential to innovate, accelerate, enrich and deepen skills, and to motivate and engage students. TheKahoot! review provided an alternative form of classroom learning engagement through which all students were able to actively participate, enhance the classroom dynamics, and overall improved the students learning experience.