Tech Tool for Flowing?

I came across this high tech pen over at think:lab and immediately thought of uses for it in debate.  Imagine being able to tap your flow and not only rehear what the speaker had said, but even play it back at a lower speed.  As a judge, I see this coming in mighty handy on those high [...]

The Great Debaters – A Great Opportunity

If you are in the debate community and you have not yet heard about the movie The Great Debaters, you must have been living in a cave recently!  I am excited to see the movie as it looks like a great story and an inspiration, but I am even more excited to have this opportunity [...]

Directors of Forensics – Making it all look easy

I just want to take this opportunity to give a “I’m not worthy” bow down to all the DOFs out there who make it look easy.  It is months like these that make me realize how difficult this job is.  There is so much to do just in managing a team, but the DOF has [...]

Economist online debates

Looking for a way to get your debaters and/or argumentation students involved in a debate outside the walls of the classroom or tournament setting?  The Economist is hosting a series of online debates between experts and inviting online readers to participate in the debates as well as the evaluations of those debates.  The current debate [...]

Rookies – The stuff of dreams

I don’t know how many of you can remember back to your first speech and debate tournament, but the follow-up from the Rookie Tournament this weekend has really taken me back.  Seeing the excitement on the students’ faces, hearing the absolute thrill in their voices as they talk about joining the team, seeing their pride [...]

End of semester stuff for DOFs…

Once tournaments end in the fall (usually around early December), it may seem like a time to coast, but resist the temptation!  This is a good time to do a few housekeeping chores that you probably won’t want to deal with (won’t have time to deal with) once you return in the Spring.  Here is [...]

Importance of research on forensics – A DOF Perspective

A few posts ago, I posted the link to an article discussing the importance of research to the graduate student assistants who work with forensics teams.  In that same issue of the National Forensic Journal, an article discussed the importance of research from a Director of Forensics perspective.  Robert C. Aden, former Director at University of Wisconsin-Eau [...]