The goal of this article is to illuminate the ways technology can make debate easier and more efficient. The tips range from basic (but absolutely essential) like using Verbatim, to advanced and creative tips like our suggestions vis-à-vis spell check. If you’re new to debate, haven’t put a lot of time into thinking about tech and debate, or feel overwhelmed, I suggest you check out just tips (1) on Verbatim, and (10) on timers. Everything else ranges from intermediate to advanced, and you can come back to check it out when you’re more comfortable. Below the fold are all 10 tech tips to improve your debating.
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Author: Tyler Thur, Michigan State University
Editor's note: Tyler Thur was a semi-finalist at the 70th NDT (2016) for Michigan State University. Tyler works for Michigan State University's Office of K-12 Outreach as their Assistant Director of Data and Evaluation. He has coached debate at Michigan State University, Homestead High School (WI), and Glenbrook South High School (IL). This guest post is also a breakout feature: it addresses an advanced topic that is also a national circuit trend. Breakout features like these are designed to make sure that you know how to beat any debater, anywhere. For our breakout features, we especially encourage asking questions about the content in the comments. As a debate competitor, judge, and coach, I went for, voted for, and encouraged students to introduce a litany of process counterplans. Along the way, I was fascinated by the disdain for these arguments. Whenever I told students about a new process strategy, I received looks as if I was openly backing cheating and saying something like “I love the New England Patriots; they would never spy on their opponents and deflate footballs to get a competitive advantage.” Similarly, if I expressed excitement about process debates to others, peers would look at me like I had no appreciation for what debate offered to participants and had just said something like “the Beatles are cool, but have you all ever heard of Nickelback?” I am sympathetic to some of these reactions. That said, I think that too often students adopt this communal disgust for process counterplans without ever delving into the strategy behind them, thinking about why these debates often result in teams going for theoretical objections or permutations, and considering how to insulate their affirmatives on a substantive level. Consequently, they are left unprepared when negative teams inevitably unleash these strategies at year-end tournaments and in the face of topic expansion. I hope that by talking through the strategic utility of process counterplans and how to answer them substantively (i.e. not with permutations and theory arguments), students can better engage and defeat these strategies – even if they are near and dear to my debate heart. |
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