Today we launched CreateDebate in the Classroom, which is a culmination of months of hard work put in by the CreateDebate team.  Now, teachers can leverage all of the features and functionality of CreateDebate in a private setting specifically designed for a classroom. We have worked with several teachers to understand what’s important to them and their students, and have built the site accordingly. We are giving away a free 30-day trial to all teachers who sign up for a private site.

CreateDebate in the Classroom enables teachers to customize and build an online debate community that can be easily incorporated into almost any lesson plan. Typically, teachers will create debates around questions that will build on the current course of study. The goal is to engage students and enrich the classroom conversation through peer collaboration. Debates can be conducted in the classroom “real-time” (if computers with Internet access are available) or participation can be assigned as homework and reviewed in class.

Students love CreateDebate because it brings the power of the Internet into the classroom. For instance, the debate scoring mechanism allows students to vote on the arguments written by their peers. As a result, the most compelling arguments are voted to the top of each debate. The net effect is a competition where students are striving to craft well-written, logical arguments. In addition, the CreateDebate platform includes a host of social networking features that allow students to build their own profile and make connections with their classmates.

Teachers love CreateDebate in the Classroom because it’s simple to configure and administer. It typically takes about 15 minutes to create and personalize a new debate community. The admin panel guides the teacher through set up and offers access to a wide array of features that make teaching easier. Teachers can make announcements, see who is online, track and evaluate participation, give private feedback, filter inappropriate content and more!

CreateDebate allows students to practice their persuasive writing, critical thinking, and constructive reasoning skills in a modern online environment.   Know a teacher who could use CreateDebate?  Help us to spread the word about CreateDebate in the Classroom!