During COVID, Kahoot! has become a community affair

Class Dismissed

Over the past eight years Kahoot! has taken classrooms by storm. The learning software allows educators to create, share, and play learning games that drive effective engagement. The company debuted at SXSW in 2012, and in just five short years, they watched their platform grow to a billion players. By the start of 2021 they were up to a staggering 5 billion players. In Episode 181 of Class Dismissed, we caught up with Sean D'Arcy, VP of Kahoot! school and work, and ask him about how the Norway based company has been navigating COVID-19. Coincidently, in early February of 2020, Kahoot! launched a new asynchronous gameplay called Kahoot! challenges. For many teachers, it was the right fit when educators were forced into remote learning. "Teachers can basically assign a Kahoot to students to play on their own," says D'Arcy. The new tool was essential to their growth in the first part of COVID. Bringing communities together D'Arcy says some of the best examples of people using Kahoot! during the COVID-19 pandemic come from the educators that use it to connect their communities. He highlights one educator in the Manitoba Province of Canada that streams his Kahoots! and turns them into substantial online digital events. He says another educator in Indiana plays Kahoot with his community on Friday nights. "So he's just doing community-level games 1000 participants playing a game of Kahoot," says D'Arcy To hear our full discussion with D'Arcy, you can listen to Class Dismissed Podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcasting app. All Rights Reserved. Class Dismissed Podcast 2017-2021