Would you like to organise a class debate? But you're not sure how to go about it? Kialo Edu could be THE solution.

Several discussion tools are available. I have mentioned Tricidersome time ago. It has the advantage of being a collective decision-making tool.

Organising a debate in class or remotely

The benefits of Kialo-Edu

This application offers a number of significant advantages:

• Kialo-Edu is published by a German non-profit association. I got in touch with one of its representatives, who assured me that the application would remain free forever.
• It's an application can be used online, remotely or in the classroom. I have personally used it for workshops on European city citizenship. It can therefore be an ideal tool for blended learning on site and remotely.
• The application allows respondents to be identified anonymously This makes it easier for shyer students to speak up. It also minimises the risk of a group effect (copying the leader's answers).
• The interface works in several languages French, English, German, Portuguese and Spanish. In my example, the interface is in French, but I have allowed participants to reply in their own language (English, French or Portuguese).
• You can export all arguments as a text file This feature allows you to rework the data in other formats (to produce a report or a Genially presentation, for example).

Viewing responses in Kialo-Edu

Kialo-Edu displays responses in two ways :

Visualisation in the form of pie chart

• a disc-shaped diagram with three colours, each representing a different type of topic:
  • the blue colour represents a argumentIn the case of the Kialo-Edu I proposed on European citizenship, it's a statement about the advantages of this citizenship.
  • the green colour represents a argument in favour of my first argument.
  • the colour orange colour represents a argument against it.
  • participants can add one or more arguments against or in favour of the first argument, but then for each new argument added to the whole. This can make for a rich and intense debate.
  • Clicking on one of the sections of the disc displays the corresponding argument, as well as the one to which it relates.

Visualisation in the form of argument maps

These maps are used to teach students reason logically.

Argumentative maps are tree-like structures that help students construct logical reasoning by articulating arguments (assertions, theses, antitheses).

In this view, clicking on the branch of an argument displays it and the argument to which it relates. And you can add others to continue the debate.

This form of visualisation is particularly effective for understanding the structure of reasoning.

Analytics

Kialo-Edu allows you to view the statistics on your students' work:

• arguments You can see straight away how many arguments your students have added to the debate. Click on the number to display the arguments.
• contributions This gives the number of actions completed by each student during the debate.
• votes Likewise, it is possible to display the number of votes cast.
• tasks The same applies to tasks.
• You can also have a discussion on the debate How did you find the debate went?
• You can make a note of each contributions of participants.

Kialo-Edu for organising a classroom debate: THE solution?

I've seen quite a few solutions for organising classroom debates: some simple, some cool, some complex and some aesthetically stunning. I've rarely seen one as complete and intuitive as Kialo-Edu.

For me, who uses it regularly in debates, particularly on Europe and its institutions, it really is THE solution.

Link vers Kialo-Edu.

Link to the debate I used as an example.

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