There is an interesting discussion over at Wisconsin Forensics Daily concerning whether or not laptops should be allowed in high school debate rounds.
In college debate, laptops are common place. Debaters use them for research, brief writing, flowing, etc. Most colleges have wifi that competitors can access during the tournament, but I suspect that wifi, let alone open wifi, is rare in high schools.
What do you think? You can view in our new online poll on the lower right hand side of the page. You can also explain your position in the comments.
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tons of people had laptops at nationals, since there was wifi
Yes, but under the current rules, you cannot use a computer during a debate round. Should debaters be allowed to use computers during debate rounds?
If we wish to make debate even more elitist and less accessible to disadvantaged students, we should push for laptops in rounds.
they should be allowed, they offer no unfair advantage.
Noah, how do they not offer an unfair advantage?
Many people can’t afford to buy laptops to use in a debate round. Saying there’s no unfair advantage assumes that every debater would be able to get one.
Another reason we shouldn’t be able to use them is because they’re fairly disruptive to a person giving the speech. Imagine a judge trying to hear you while three people are typing quickly on their keyboards.
The two minutes prep time available for each team also doesn’t allow much time to make much use out of the laptops.
And lastly, why are we given a month to research if we’re just going to find all our research during the round?
Computer are definitely a common place in our society, and quite frankly the standard debate format needs to be updated.
Overall, they are no doubt a very useful tool, but on the flip side I don’t approve of the notion of researching during a round. Just some thoughts…
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