The game concept used in Kahoot! originated in a series of prototypes called "Lecture Quiz" that were developed by Alf Inge Wang atNorwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 2006.[4] Lecture Quiz 1.0 was developed in 2006. The server was implemented inJava andMySQL, integrated with anApache Web server. The teacher client was implemented as aJava application, in combination withOpenGL for graphics, while the student clients were implemented onJava 2 Micro Edition. This made it possible to run the client on both mobile phones and laptops.[5]
Lecture Quiz 2.0, developed in 2011, was the first prototype where both teacher and student clients hadweb-interfaces.[6] The last version of Lecture Quiz was version 3.0 in 2012, with improved user-interface implemented usingHTML 5 andCSS3, avatars, and multiple game/team modes.[7]
Company history
Kahoot! was founded as a company in 2012 by Morten Versvik, one of Wang's students. Johan Brand, Jamie Brooker and Asmund Furuseth later joined the company as cofounders to develop its user interface and design.[8] Abeta version of the platform was launched in September 2013.[9]
In March 2017, Kahoot! reached one billion cumulative participating players.[10] In September 2017, Kahoot! launched a mobile application for homework.[11]
In 2019, Kahoot! acquired the Scandinavian education company Poio.[12] It also acquiredDragonBox, an educational games developer, for $18 million.[13]
In 2020, Kahoot! was valued at $1.5 billion and achievedunicorn status.[14] As of 2021, the company was valued at USD$7 billion.[15]
In 2020 acquiredDrops, which was focused on teaching languages, for $50 million.[16] This was followed by Whiteboard.fi, which develops software for digital, online whiteboards.[17] Kahoot! also acquired the Danish startup Actimo, which developed employee training software, for $33 million.[18] It was acquired to expand Kahoot's features for business users.[18] In March 2021, the company went public on the Oslo stock exchange.[19] In April 2021, Kahoot! acquired Motimate, a corporate learning company based in Norway, for $25 million.[20] In 2021, Kahoot! announced that it would acquireSSO digital learning platform Clever, Inc. for $500 million.[21]
In 2016, an evaluation of Kahoot!'spedagogical quality by Education Alliance Finland (formerly Kokoa Standard) suggested that Kahoot!'s educational value was highest when students are creating quizzes of relevant topics themselves, because it usescreativity and practices21st-century skills.[23]
A literature review containing 93 studies on the effect of using Kahoot! for learning was published in the journalComputers & Education in 2020, it found that using the platform had an overall positive effect on classroom dynamics, learning and anxiety.[4]
^Wang, Alf Inge; Øfsdahl, Terje; Mørch-Storstein, Ole Kristian (2007)."Lecture quiz-a mobile game concept for lectures".International Conference on Software Engineering and Application.11. IASTED:305–310 – via Google Scholar.
