First year nursing students’ evaluation of Kahoot! to facilitate learning and testing knowledge. A pilot study in Ireland and Italy

•There is a paucity of evidence about nursing students’ evaluation of using Kahoot! both for learning and testing knowledge.•Findings show that students find Kahoot easy to use, helpful for learning especially in relation to formative assessment and impactful in preparing them for the practical element of their course.•University nursing lecturers internationally can creatively adapt game-based learning such as Kahoot! to engage students in a meaningful way.