What is SEEdebate?
What SEEdebate is NOT...
Who can use SEEdebate?
What does SEEdebate offer to Educators?
What does SEEdebate offer to Students?
I am an elementary/middle school educator. Can my students use SEEdebate?
Are my students safe at SEEdebate?
How do Educators use SEEdebate?
How do Students use SEEdebate?
Why is SEEdebate Free?
How do Educators register to use SEEdebate (create an account)?
How do Students register to use SEEdebate (create an account)?
My Educator account is created, now what?
My Student account is created, now what?
How do I create a class?
How do I join a class?
Why should I create a class?
How do I create an assignment?
Why do they play "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park in Boston in the 8th inning?
How do I view my classes, assignments and student lists?
What is an RSS Feed?
When should I use the Search function?
What is SEEdebate?
SEEdebate is an online current events discussion site. Students ranging from grades 5 - 12 participate in engaging online discussion with their peers surrounding diverse news articles from around the world. SEEdebate gives educators an opportunity to create dynamic, challenging and engaging homework and/or classwork assignments to students. The site is designed for teachers to use however it best suits their curriculum.
What SEEdebate is NOT
SEEdebate is NOT a static or redundant repository of curriculum hand-outs or lesson plans.
SEEdebate is NOT a publishing-house add-on designed to convince educators to buy certain products or use certain teaching materials. We also are completely free from advertising.
Why is SEEdebate Free?
SEEdebate is free because we feel it is an important resource and we don’t want to charge for the service. Instead, we are working for grant funding and contributions from individuals and foundations. We are a non-profit public charity. All contributions are tax deductible so feel free to make a donation!
Who can use SEEdebate?
Any educator can sign up for a free SEEdebate account and create a class as long as they provide a valid school address that we can verify. Students can only create a SEEdebate account when given their teachers’ unique class code and then approved by their teacher. This makes it easier for teachers to track their students’ comments as well as providing additional safety.
The content on SEEdebate is geared toward a variety of learning levels for middle- and high-school age students.
SEEdebate can be incorporated into any middle- and high-school level curriculum. Educators in public schools, private schools, charter schools, alternative schools and homeschool educators can use SEEdebate.
If you are an educator who is interested in the site but you are not affiliated with a school, please contact us.
I am an elementary/middle school educator. Can my students use SEEdebate?
We have had so much interest from Middle School educators that we have created a special area where we post articles that are reader-friendly and articles that are appropriate in content under a specific Middle School forum (click on forums).
We have also created a "class" for all Middle School educators and students to join. By joining the class, your students will still have access to all of the content on SEEdebate, but we will post specific articles only for the SEEdebate Middle School class that will EXCLUDE the high school students.
Go to the class named SEEdebate Middle School(you can type it into search), and click to subscribe to it. When we receive notification that a teacher has subscribed, we will add your students to the class for you and contact you when you are ready to go. Any article that is posted to that class specifically will be only offered to the SEEdebate Middle School class only and the title of the article will begin with MIDDLE SCHOOL:. That way, your students will be discussing articles with other students their age.
You can use your best judgement as to what your students can handle. If you
have fourth graders that are high achievers, they may be able to participate. Similarly, you may find that your 7th or 8th graders are ready for the regular high school forum. Remember, all posts are moderated.
What does SEEdebate offer to Educators?
First and foremost, SEEdebate debate offers an easy way for teachers to simultaneously incorporate technology, current global events, and 21st century skills into their curriculum. More specifically, SEEdebate offers a collection of current and archived news articles from all over the world - each with a unique set of discussion questions and relevant links to help the students understand and discuss topics in the article. The articles are placed in categories that best describe their subject matter (i.e US History, Economics, Science, etc.). There are teacher tools such as rubrics and assignment suggestions.
Ultimately, the sky is the limit on how you use SEEdebate. There are teachers using SEEdebate as a blog, a wiki, for simulations, for in-class assignments, homework and sub plans. SEEdebate is also a simple way to offer enrichment for those students who are interested in current world events and debate.
SEEdebate is a safe environment for your students. You may have to ask your IT Computer tech people to unblock the site, but once they have done so, your students will not have to go to different sites to view the articles. They are all right there within SEEdebate.org.
What does SEEdebate offer to Students?
SEEdebate is fun, social, and has been described as “addictive” by several different students. The discussions are with peers, and students can add certain information about themselves to their profiles as well as a picture approved by their teachers. Students benefit from perspectives from different regions of the country, different socio-economic levels and different cultural backgrounds.
Are my students safe at SEEdebate?
Great question! Yes, your students are safe. The only person who can see your students' names and locations is you. All the rest of the students and educators only have access to the students' screenames and the profile questions that we designed for them. In addition, all comments are read by moderators who will remove offensive language, violent or discriminatory ideas, and anything that we deem "cyber-bullying". Students are expected to treat each other with respect. If you have any other concerns with regard to student safety, please let us know!
How do Educators use SEEdebate?
Educators have used SEEdebate in a variety of ways: as the basis for a course, as a weekly or bi-weekly assignment, as an in-class assignment, homework, enrichment, extra credit. Teachers also have used the site for closed discussions within their own class or school only, as a place to post other assignments, as a blog assignment, wiki assignment, etc. Educators can also collaborate with a specific class in another location. We just want to help teachers – the sky is the limit!
How do Students use SEEdebate?
Students go to their class to view assignments. Assignments will tell students which article(s) or subject area to post comments in, and whether there is any particular format to follow when posting comments. Students then go to the forums to discuss articles with other students from around the world.
Students enjoy debating topics with their friends, as well as peers from around the country. They also participate in our weekly polls.
How do Educators register to use SEEdebate (create an account)?
Educators need to go to the create a new account page and fill in the requested information fields. SEE requires your legal name and educational institution information in order to maintain the integrity and safety of our site. An email will be sent to the email address you provide and you will be asked to sign in using the provided temporary password. Click EDUCATOR REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS for step by step directions to set up an account.
How do Students register to use SEEdebate (create an account)?
Students can only create a SEEdebate account if a class code is provided for sign-up. Students do not need an email address in order to create a SEEdebate account. If you have no class code, badger your teachers to sign up!! If you are really interested, however, and have no teacher/class code, contact us and we may be able to give you a code for our “orphan” class – if you promise us your first-born that is….......joking!
My Educator account is created, now what?
Log in and click on the "My Classes" link if you are not automatically sent there at log in. Click on the "Create Class" link and fill out the form for details for your class. Once your class is created, you will be able to instruct your students how to join your SEE class, create assignments and follow your students' progress. Also, explore the teacher tools and resources available to you as a registered user. If you need more instructions on creating a class, CLICK HERE
My Student account is created, now what?
Log in and click on the "My Classes" link if you are not automatically sent there at log in. You should see the class that you joined when you created your account. Click on the "Class Home" link to view any assignments and announcements from your teacher.
If your assignment is broad in scope (like being able to choose any articles to discuss), you can begin browsing the SEE site to discover what interests you most. The "Forums" link will take you to the Forum area where all the articles are organized by Subject Area. The "Articles" link will take you to a specialized search page where you can browse the articles by Subject without leaving the page. The "Browse Articles" link at the top of the SEE site will take you to a list of articles, with the most recently posted articles on top.
How do I create a class?
Click on the "Create Class" link and fill out the form for details for your class. You can also find a link to create a class under "Create Content" on the left sidebar. SEE requires a class name and description. You don't have to allow other SEE educators to view your classes. The "Class Page Content" is a new feature where educators are able to post announcements or any other type of temporary or permanent description about the class or vision for students using SEE.
How do I join a class?
When you first create your student account at SEE, you are required to enter a registration code for a class. This means you have "joined" this class. In order to join other classes, you will need the registration code for that class, or permission from the class's Manager (usually the Educator who created the class)to join.
Why should I create a class?
The Class Home is where you'll post any announcements you want your students to know about, as well as where the assignments that you create are displayed. Your students won’t be able to discuss articles without a class code from you!
How do I create an assignment?
Click on the "Create Content" link on the left-side menu, or, if you're in a class home, click directly on the "Create Assignment" link on the left-side menu.
Give the assignment a title. An assignment can be formed to have students post to a single article (the articles are listed in alphabetical order in the list on the assignments page), a set of articles, choose from a single forum or a set of forums.
Assignments are listed by date, with the most recent listed on top, in the Class Home view.
Why do they play "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park in Boston in the 8th inning?
I have no idea, but it really is a FAQ around here.
How do I view my classes, assignments and student lists?
After logging on, click on the "My Classes" link. If you've created a class or more, your students have joined the class(es), and you've created assignments, you'll be able to see the assignments and students by class.
What is an RSS Feed?
A "feed" is a summary of Web content that is updated on a regular basis. It allows users to keep informed of a Web site's latest changes. The feed format that eBay uses is Really Simple Syndication (RSS) 2.0.
When should I use the Search function?
If you are looking for a specific topic, person, place etc., the search function will bring up all articles associated with that keyword. For example, you can search Dalai Lama, Hillary Clinton, oil, climate change, vacation destinations...…
