Rock On! Debate is your source for quick tips, hacks, resources, and rocking support to help inspire and assist Debaters.
Your instructor for the very first Rock On! Debate series is Jeff Pope, Cheyenne East High School Policy Debate Coach. In part five of a nine part Into to Policy series, Jeff discusses five keys to digital debate in the laptop age.
These are the five keys to digital debate that Jeff explores on the episode:
1. Don't overthink the technology. You don't necessarily need fancy tools. Sometimes very simple tools will do the trick (like Word or Google Documents).
2. If you do want a special digital tool, there's a free one that is pretty handy called Verbatim. Check it out here: https://paperlessdebate.com/verbatim/
3. Make sure you have flash drives, so you can easily share you evidence with competitors.
4. Use dropbox (or Google Drive could be a good option as well). You could get a free (2G) Dropbox basic account here: https://www.dropbox.com/basic
5. Learn how to use the Table of Contents feature in Microsoft Word (or Google Drive has a similar feature too).
To hear about more about these digital tips, check out the podcast!
In part six of Jeff's Introduction to Policy Debate series, he tackles Stock Issues - what they are and why they matter. The five stock issues that Jeff explains in episode six are: Significance, Harms, Inherency, Topicality, and Solvency. Be sure to check out the episode to hear Jeff's clear discussion of the Stock Issues.
The Wyoming Policy Debate Guide would be a great place to explore Policy Debate if you'd like to learn more.
Look for part seven of the series next, in which Jeff discusses ways to make the most of Cross-Examination in Policy Debate.
If you have an idea for Rock On Debate, shoot me an email at lylewiley@gmail.com.