Dutchess BOCES

Two instructors from different BOCES have come together to have some fun while helping students retain information they have learned in class.

Students in Stephen Lawson’s morning graphic design class at the Career and Technical Institute have been using the Kahoot! learning platform along with a class instructed by Patrick Mitrione, a graphics instructor at the Rockland BOCES Career and Technical Education program. The two classes started playing on October 9.

The online multiple-choice quiz allows educators to generate their own questions about a topic. Students are then given a code to enter with their cell phones or a computer to answer a question that pops up, Lawson said.

“A lot of elementary schools are using this now; it’s been around a while,” he said. “They make it fun so that you can quiz things.”

Kahoot! is customizable and the past two quizzes have focused on the Adobe Illustrator software students use in their classes, Lawson said, adding he and Mitrione are brainstorming ideas for subsequent quizzes.

The program generates a report of who is in first place during the game and Lawson’s second year senior students have enjoyed competing against each other as they test their knowledge.

“There’s a certain competition level to a degree,” he said. “They are general knowledge questions that if you’ve been using Illustrator for a year, you should know.”

Mitrione reached out to Lawson and all the other BOCES graphics instructors to ask about collaborating with the quiz. What Lawson likes about the program is that all students, remote or in-person, can participate.

Moving forward, Lawson and Mitrione hope to have more graphics classes from other area BOCES join in the endeavor. “We really hope to expand it,” Lawson said.