For varsity students only:
Occasionally during practice, students will need a laptop or device with wireless capabilities and word processing for research purposes. Additionally, students will need a Google account to access the club’s Google Drive where our collective research is stored and organized. Although we may not always have time for research during practice, students should bring their devices in case we find ourselves in need of answers from the internet. If our technology policy presents a hardship or a concern for parents, please discuss the specific issues with the class leader (Margie for speech, April for debate). Most concerns are easily remedied and should not interfere with a student’s ability to participate in practice.
Additionally, our club uses GroupMe as our primary form of communication between students and with club leaders. It is a free app that provides us with a secure communication platform and can easily be installed on a mobile device or accessed on the internet. Although most discussions are between the class leaders and students, some parents also opt to join our GroupMe conversations so they can stay informed.
Speech and Debate require quite a lot of research and we want all students to learn to research well. However, we realize students in our club lead active and busy lives and may not have much extra time to pour into their research. Therefore, we recommend optional research products such as:
Monument Publishing (http://monumentpublishing.com)
NIHD Casebooks (https://www.nihdprocoach.com/casebook)
Speaking with Grace (https://www.speakingwithgrace.com/sourcebook/)
Kairos Coaching (https://www.kairoscoachingservices.com/casebooks/)
Ethos Publications (http://ethosdebate.com) *may not have current casebooks but the blog is helpful
Each requires a paid subscription but are well worth the cost and will save your students time particularly with debate. Extemp Genie (http://extempgenie.com) is another option particularly useful for students who wish to compete in Extemporaneous speech. It curates articles on any topic from all of the most reputable sources.
Reading professionally researched cases and briefs will help your student learn their topics and what reputable sources look like. Again, this is an optional purchase and will not completely replace personal research, but it will provide students with something to rely on should they have an inadequate amount of research time. If you have questions, please ask a seasoned debate parent or a club leader for thoughts and suggestions.