| The COVID-19 pandemic was an example of how teachers and students had to adapt to new situations quickly. Teachers had to find ways to keep their students engaged and make learning happen, and gamification was one of the solutions to that challenge. Gamification itself refers to applying game elements in non-game contexts. Previous studies have attempted to determine how gamification affects students' motivations in learning. However, limited studies have explained how gamification is implemented within an online learning context and elaborated on teachers' and students' perceptions of it. This study would attempt to describe how Kahoot! is used for gamification in Indonesian EFL lower secondary online classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic and teachers' and students' thoughts and feelings about their experience with Kahoot! in their online classrooms. The study involved participants from three Indonesian EFL lower secondary online classrooms with a total of three teachers and ninety students. The data were collected through open-ended questionnaires as primary data, supported by observation, and interviews as secondary data. The study found that the limitations that teachers and students have in online learning classrooms, such as the absence of face-to-face interactions, make it crucial to find learning strategies to engage students in learning, and Kahoot! was seen as one of the most user-friendly gamification platforms that could help engage students and make learning happen. The teachers also made adjustments in implementing gamification elements in their online classrooms. Teachers and students generally have positive perceptions of Kahoot! in their online classrooms. However, with online learning limitations, some students and teachers shared negative perceptions and concerns about Kahoot! and gamification. Finally, this study would provide teachers and students with the best practice for implementing Kahoot! in online classrooms and share their perceptions based on their experiences, which would benefit the effective implementation of Kahoot! in any online learning classroom. |