Designing interactive quizzes for remote learning

Teaching online presents a real challenge when it comes to keeping students’ attention. It’s easy for them to get distracted or switch to other activities, so it’s crucial to engage them and make lessons truly interesting. 

Quizzes encourage students to participate actively, and teachers can instantly see who has grasped the material and where further explanation is needed. The key is to carefully plan how to integrate quizzes into the learning process. 

In this article, you’ll discover how to design quizzes that are not only easy to prepare but also engaging and effective for student learning.

Interactive quizzes can serve different purposes depending on when and how they are used. Clearly defining the goal helps ensure the quiz is effective and meaningful, rather than just a way to pass the time. Here are some typical goals a teacher might pursue:

Check understanding of the material

After explaining a new topic, it’s important to find out how well students have grasped it. Compared to a test, a quiz is often perceived as lighter and less formal, so students are more willing to take part.

Review what has been covered

Regular revision is key to long-term memory. A short quiz at the beginning or end of a lesson is a way to quickly go over the essentials without unnecessary overload.

Create interactivity during the lesson

Incorporating interaction makes learning more engaging and dynamic. Interactivity helps maintain the flow and energy of the lesson, especially during the middle part when students’ attention often wanes.

Activate passive students

Some students tend to stay in the background — they avoid raising their hands, keeping their microphones off, and rarely writing in the chat. Quizzes, often framed as games or friendly competitions, encourage these quieter students to join in. 

Because quizzes typically involve less pressure than speaking aloud, participation feels safer and more inviting. Moreover, each small success or correct answer boosts their confidence and motivates them to engage more actively.

There are many easy-to-use online tools that help you quickly create interactive quizzes for your lessons.

Kahoot!

Kahoot! is one of the most popular services for creating quizzes. It’s great for quick reviews, competitions between students, or even warm-ups. The interface is colourful and easy to use, and students join from their own devices using a code.

Quizizz

Quizizz offers a similar experience to Kahoot but includes some additional benefits. Students can complete quizzes at their own pace instead of answering simultaneously. 

Wordwall

Wordwall allows you to create a variety of interactive activities, not just quizzes. You can design matching games, anagrams, true/false questions and more, making it an excellent tool to diversify your lessons. The platform offers many customisable templates that you can adapt to your material, or you can use ready-made quizzes shared by other teachers.

Mentimeter

Mentimeter is an online platform for creating interactive presentations that provide instant feedback from students. It’s especially useful for English teachers aiming to make lessons more dynamic and engaging.

Poll results are displayed in real time, which encourages active discussion and immediate analysis during the lesson.

Define your goal

Before creating questions, consider what exactly you want to check or activate. This might be: mastering new vocabulary, understanding grammar, revising a topic before a test and encouraging participation from silent students. A clear goal helps you choose the right types of questions and prevents overwhelming your students.

Choose a tool suited to your goal

Not every platform fits every situation. We’ve reviewed popular tools above, so check which ones are best for your next lesson.

Mix different difficulty levels

A common mistake when designing a quiz is making all questions the same level. For example, if you use only multiple-choice questions or only terminology recall, students may quickly lose interest, and you won’t get a full picture of their understanding.

Instead, it’s better to combine easier and harder questions. This gradually leads students to deeper thinking and maintains engagement (because varying format and difficulty helps keep attention).
 

For example, your structure could look like this:

This mix creates balance and helps you better understand students’ current  level.

Consider the time and pace of your lesson

A quiz doesn’t always have to last 15 minutes or more. Sometimes 5–7 minutes is enough to meet your goal (for instance, to activate students at the start or summarise learning at the end). Other times, the quiz might be the main part of the lesson (such as revision before a test).

Use the results for feedback

An interactive quiz shouldn’t just end with the final question. Discussing the answers transforms it from a simple activity into a valuable learning experience.

Focusing on common mistakes is especially helpful, as they indicate areas that may need a different explanation. And don’t forget to praise students for creative or insightful answers, even if they’re not entirely correct.

Interactive quizzes are a powerful tool that can bring an online lesson to life by providing feedback, engaging students, and making learning more immersive. Their effectiveness depends on how and why you use them. 

Over time, you’ll gain a better understanding of which types of quizzes work best for your group.