Abstract:

According to Sarkar et. al. (2015): "our society is extending from the Information Age to the Interaction Age. In the Interaction Age, the role of digital content has broadened to something around which people engage and interact. Twenty-first century teaching practices have been influenced to a large degree by the Interaction Age." In addition, as Fotaris, et.al. (2016) report, the new millennium saw the introduction of the terms “ludic engagement”, “ludic design”, and “ludic activities” to describe “activities motivated by curiosity, exploration, and reflection” as well as the emergence of a new field called “ ’funology’ – the science of enjoyable technology” which was inspired by game design”.

Kahoot is an example of these ludic activities since it is a game based classroom response system played by the whole class in real time. It is a tool which allows to administer quizzes, discussions or surveys in an interactive way.

Researchers have reported the relationship between game playing and increased motivation:
Zarzycka-Piskorz (2016) and between engaging students in the learning process and increasing their attention and focus therefore motivating them to practice higher-level critical thinking skills (Kuhet. Al. 2008). Kahoot has gained great popularity among children, adolescents and adults as a teaching/learning tool which allows to increase students' attention and motivates them to learn.

The aim of the study was to investigate students' opinion on the effect of the application "Kahoot" on their learning. Fifty two students (studying English in 3 different classes) at the Academic College of Tel Aviv Yaffo participated in this study. The students' answers to twelve statements were grouped into four categories on a scale from 1 (Completely disagree) to 5 (Completely agree). In the four categories the students held very high opinions on Kahoot: 1. Concentration (4.4), 2. Learning Assessment (4.12), 3. Enjoyment and Engagement (4.53) and 4. Motivation (3.65).

In addition, the students answered two open questions. Although 58.8% chose Kahoot as the preferred means of evaluating their learning, 65.38% wrote they wouldn't play Kahoot at home. Students' answers to the open questions are reported and limitations and suggestions for future research are presented.

Keywords:

Gamification, funology.