Want to run a quiz online? Try Kahoot

Recently, a friend of ours was supporting the Auckland Coastguard by getting people to sign up to an online virtual quiz.

Having been a fan of the odd pub quiz over the years, and for the giant price of $6 a person, it seemed like a fun and meaningful way to support an organisation that is struggling during Covid-19.

Even though the idea sounded interesting and exciting, I had my doubts:

• How well could you run a quiz online?
• If it was run through Zoom, would people not just talk over each other creating confusion and chaos?
• What if we wanted to form a team with people in another household?

Sceptical would be my middle name on this one. Nonetheless, I still dived in and fed my curiosity, while keeping an open mind.

The result amazed me.

Let me break down the technology we used to make this virtual quiz happening and work well.

Kahoot.com

Kahoot is a smart piece of software that allows you to run a virtual quiz. It was originally set up for schools, but it has found its way into the Lockdown Quiz world.

At Virtual Innovation, we are huge fans of explainer videos. Take a look at this quick explainer video below that Kahoot put together to explain how the platform works.

I personally thought that the platform was incredibly spot on. This is what I loved the most about it:

1. All players log in on a different device (1 device per team).
2. It is colourful, simple and hard to get lost on.
3. It creates a leader board that is shared to build on the competition.

What I found most interesting, was that you are not just judged on getting the answer right. The time that it takes you to submit your answer plays an important part. Imagine what could happen during a virtual quiz if people did not know the answer. They would most likely ask Google!

Judging the time is a fantastic way to stop people cheating and find the answers on Google. It is a simple but brilliant idea that keeps the playing ground fair.

Twitch.com

The other platform we used was Twitch.com.

You could use streamyard.com to stream directly to your Facebook, YouTube or other social channels to end up with the same result, but on this occasion, Twitch did the job.

The quizmaster was a real juggler and an excellent entertainer. He shared the questions, talked to the teams and did his best to keep all participants entertained by wearing funny hats and wigs throughout the entire game. We watched the Twitch stream first and then answered the questions on Kahoot.

Zoom

There were 6 people in my team. We got everyone on board through a Zoom video call and then we shared the Twitch screen to show the questions.

The activity was fantastic; we all laughed, joked and had fun while one of the team members inputted the answers into the device. It was a great moment of togetherness and team bonding even if we were apart.

Eventbrite

Auckland Coastguard used Eventbrite to collect the money paid for the quiz and to manage the time and event. The whole process could be done on a Facebook event (if it was free). If I was to run one such event myself, I would probably use Streamyard.

Summary

The activity was incredibly successful, considering that the Coastguard looked like they were doing this for the first time.

There were a few important learning outcomes that we will keep in mind for next time were:

1. Have a short time limit for questions – They set the time at 2 minutes, which in the online world is a very long time. Setting the limit to 60 seconds to get your answers is a much more reasonable time. Less time brings enthusiasm and stamina up and makes the game more challenging.

2. If you are running a Zoom call, it is probably best to mute the host so that you can hear your friends screaming horrendous guesses (and sometimes even getting them right).

In these challenging times, we need to remember the importance of connecting and having fun with each other.

If you are looking to fundraise, do something fun with your community or even for an online office get together, it could be a great activity to have some fun and bring people together!