Kahoot - Quizzes that Motivate!

Kahoot is an online quiz generator which allows you to formatively test your class on a range of subjects.

It is easy to used and the process of making quizzes is easy and fast which is why I find this programme more user-friendly than other similar tools.  

You simply make a new quiz and add each question one at a time.  You must generate at least two possible answers but you can have up to four.  These are presented to children as multichoice.  

When making each question you can add pictures, photographs, youtube or video content which can simply be uploaded or taken from a URL.  

When your quiz is ready the teacher logs on and starts the quiz.  This generates a class code which students use to log onto their own device.  This can be a smartphone, ipod, ipad, tablet, chrome, laptop...the compatibility is pretty far and wide! 

Once students have joined the quiz the question will be displayed on a large screen or projector.  Children read the question and then choose the responding colour on their own device to submit their answer.  

There are opportunities to play this as a competitive challenge where the student earn points and complete on a leaderboard.  You can however adjust the game options to suit your group or class.

One of the best things about Kahoot is the shared resource quiz bank which contains quizzes from other teachers on a very large range of topics.  You are able to make a copy really easily and then either use as it or adapt the questions slightly to suit your own context.  You can also link with other teachers in your school to form a community of learners which allows teachers to share resources and assessment tools easily and efficiently.

Personally I think this is a highly motivational tool which lets children understand how a basic game works along with providing them a relevant test or quiz content.  I go on and make quizzes for a fun Friday activity or to consolidate learning on a particular concept.  

Maths Taster Menu's

I came up with these to help learner's self direct their follow up learning based on their individual needs.  Each of the following Google Drawings has links to both games and how to videos to support learning in a variety of Maths concepts.

The following are two examples of taster menu's which students use to fill their gaps in knowledge.  This has been a really good way to motivate students to understand their own learning.  Students access these 'Taster Menu's' from our team site and can use them as part of their individualised follow up programmes in Maths.  

Some of my more able students are now going on to make their own personalised Google Drawings of Maths Maps with links to specific tasks, games and learning tutorials that support their individual programmes.

Student Motivation and Learning through Google Sites

This year my team and I have utilised Google Sites to give our students the opportunity to view and be more actively involved in our planning.  

Up until recent years Teacher planning was exactly that... a plan that the teacher primarily used to guide their daily lessons.  It is slowly changing and becoming more relevant to share that documentation with students so that they have increased ownership in what they are learning and also gain understanding into what goes into planning and assessment of the content they are being delivered.

Enter Google Sites... The Mighty Kauri Team

At May Road School we have a team site which has an interface which shows 'buttons' which lead to other curriculum pages.  These buttons were simply made in Google Draw and connected to the relevant hyperlink.  

From this page students can go to the curriculum area they are working on and access their class pages.  These are designed to suit each class and will link to their group docs and planning for the week.  

Maths, Reading and Writing pages all link to classes and then onto groups within classes.  As teachers we are tailoring our pages to suit our students.  This might include specific websites, follow up tasks, reading logs, student voice forms, homework links etc.  

Our planning is kept very simple and I spend time making the docs that the students will utilise rather than working on a single doc that it just to inform me.  Teachers are intelligent people and it often baffles me how much work we are expected to put in to writing down what we will teach.  

Planning smarter for and with students is the way to go.  It gives them ownership and understanding of what they are learning.  It also builds their digital capabilities using tools such as sites and it becomes a working document that is integrates curriculum for enhanced digital learning.

Student voice is possibly the best way to see if what we implemented made any difference.  Through administering my class a Google Form survey there were able to share their reflections about Google Sites and sharing their learning. (excuse some of the spelling)

Padlet - An Oldie but a Goodie!

Padlet - An Oldie but a Goodie! 

Recently I have been using this tool so much in class to grab student voice quickly and also encourage collaboration between my students.  

This is also a tool I used frequently when presenting at conferences or running staff meetings as it lets people collaborate and share ideas in real time.  It is easy and accessible and generally adults love this way of brainstorming or contributing to a professional discussion or planning session.  

Below is an awesome example of how I recently incorporated this tool into my classroom programme! The answers are cute and well worth a read! 

COPIED FROM Room 15's 2017 Class Blog


Room 15 have been looking at what makes a good ROLE MODEL.  We think that people who do the following make good role models...

- Inspire us to try new things
- Be the best we can
- Do the right thing at the right time
- Follow their dreams
- Do good things for other people and not just for their own interests

We talked about how role models can come in different forms.  They can be people who are close to you such as family and friends.  They can also be people that you admire but have not personally met, like celebrities.  Role models can also show up in many different areas of your life from school, to home, to other activities such as church, sports, after school activities...

This padlet shows some of our thoughts! It is an amazing read and I loved seeing who was named as being a role model within our class and school!