Kahoot Game – Common or Proper Nouns
Using Educational Technology
One artifact that demonstrates my competency in using educational technology to engage learners was a Kahoot! game that I created for a lesson on common and proper nouns. This was an interactive game for the entire class that was projected onto the board. Each slide had a picture of a noun (either person, place, or thing), and the students had to consider if the noun was common or proper. Some examples were picture of boy (common) and then later in the game a picture of Harry Potter (proper). The pictures were not labeled and required the students to listen to my dictation of each noun (this way the use of capitalized letters wouldn’t give away the answer). I gathered all the students onto the front carpet. If a noun was proper, they were instructed to stand tall like an uppercase letter would. If it was common, they should sit down.
This artifact demonstrates my competency with educational technology because I was able to successfully navigate my way around the web application Kahoot in order to complete this game. I was proficient enough with the technology to include pictures as well. It demonstrates my competency because it shows I understand that technology in education can be used to enhance a lesson but doesn’t take the place of the teacher. Using this electronic format allowed me to present the material and assess student learning in a way that was fun and engaging for the students. This type of game with changing slides and a countdown counter, as well as instant feedback on if a selection was correct or not, would not have been possible without the use of technology. On the SAMR model it is an augmentation, because the same activity could have been presented with printed pictures on a worksheet where students write common or proper, but it also had the functional improvement of being interactive so the entire class could participate together.
Impact on Student Learning
The Kahoot! activity had a positive impact on student learning because it was an ideal formative assessment to determine student comprehension. I could see at a glance the students that understood proper nouns based on which ones were standing or sitting. This would benefit the students because I could plan for addition reteaching if needed. It also made an impact on student learning because they could learn from their peers based on seeing whether the others were standing or sitting. It helped the students learn because it was a fun activity that interested them and kept them engaged, especially because I personalized it with places from our own community. For example, for one of the places I used Ole Towne Pharmacy as a proper noun. This pharmacy is owned by one of my students’ parents, so the children were excited to see a place they knew about and recognized. I also made an intentional effort to include a diverse group of people pictures so that the students might feel someone they identified with. For example, I used a picture of a woman in a wheelchair for the common noun woman.
Future Modifications
Based on the impact on student learning, one thing I might modify about the activity in the future is making a second series available for them to also practice with at home as a competitive Kahoot. While using it in the classroom was helpful for the students to learn from each other, I also would want to make sure that they were not just waiting to watch the other students stand or sit, and then copying what the other students did. By also making a second series available it would be an additional way to assess how students do on their own without peer influence. The friendly competition aspect of the Kahoot game from home would also be fun for the students, and there could even be an incentive award for the top winners to encourage them to practice.
