Recently, CHS administration made the decision to block the website Kahoot on school wifi networks, making it impossible for teachers and students to use the site as a learning and review tool during class as they have in the past. Problems arose with the game as students chose inappropriate  names or shared the quiz code with friends outside of the class. While there should be consequences for students’ behavioral problems, CHS administration should unblock the Kahoot website from school wifi.

Firstly, teachers use Kahoot ultimately for a good purpose. Kahoot is a valuable tool for teachers and students because it turns schoolwork, which can be tedious, into something enjoyable. Competitive but low-pressure quiz games provide an alternative to traditional teaching and review methods. Kahoot gives classrooms efficient access to this alternative without the need for extensive planning: it’s simple, it’s accessible, it requires little setup and it engages students.

Blocking Kahoot schoolwide is not an effective solution. Teachers, or any other administrators of Kahoot, are able to remove users from the quiz before it begins. If students choose inappropriate names, teachers can choose to remove them. If the issue persists, and a class should continue to be unable to use the game appropriately, the clear solution is the individual teacher should cease to use Kahoot as a tool in that individual class.

While it is true the administration has proposed alternatives, even a surface-level glance of the list of alternatives reveals that they do not accomplish the same thing Kahoot does. Quizlet is an app in which users can share decks flashcards, not a game activity. Socratic is overall a less competitive alternative. While Quizizz is certainly a more true-to-the-original alternative, students and teachers are simply not familiar with it.

The heart of the issue is there are better ways to address the problem other than to take it away from all students and teachers. While what is effectively a school-wide ban of the game seems like a simple and effectual solution, the reality of the situation is these problems do not occur in all classrooms. Many classrooms at CHS use Kahoot purely as a positive learning tool.