When I first found out that we were going to engage in debates, I felt nervous at the same time confused. I always thought of formal debates being done on a podium. I hate engaging in debates as I always seem to lose in arguments at home with my children! Then I realized this is different as we don’t have to debate each other in front of the class. I felt some relief when I realized that this is not a spontaneous debate and that I have time to prepare my arguments. This feeling did not last as I was one of the first ones to present! Panic started to creep in as I have never done this before. I had to learn how to present a debate topic and once I had the idea of how debates were presented, I was faced with the daunting task of preparing for the debate! After watching the movie “Great Debater” I came to the realization that I did not have much time left to research for the topic (considering I have full time work). 
     “How are we going to debate on line?” I asked myself. This presented another challenge! I have never done this before and neither the rest of the class. The challenge of putting the arguments together in a coherent manner using the PowerPoint slides was stressful.  Professor Virginia has been very helpful in the formatting of my debate. I was a bit resentful in the beginning because I had to present early (on the second week) but ultimately glad that I helped “paved the way”, as one of my classmates put it, for others. 
     When I finally posted my debate, I felt relieved that the comments I received were generally positive. I learned where my presentation fell short. I also found that it would be a challenge to try to win a debate if facts are missing. It’s also easy to get emotionally attached to your topic. 
     Preparing the rebuttal was another daunting task for me. How do I do it? Do I address my opponent’s arguments one at a time? Do I cluster them together? These were the questions I needed answered before I could prepare my rebuttal. I finally decided to use the long version; address each argument in my rebuttal. Again, the process was stressful. I found myself scrambling to find all possible data to validate my position. When data is lacking one seemed to resort to using fallacies to try to prove one’s point and position on the debate. I found myself trapped into using the fallacy of emotions, the most common one used that is rather effective. I must admit that I was somewhat frustrated when I found out that I was unsuccessful in convincing everyone to agree with me. Upon reflection using my classmates’ comments and advice, I realized where I could have made my arguments stronger. 
     Completing the self-evaluation was the ‘icing on the cake’ for me. This phase of the process put everything in perspective; I learned from everyone many ways to improve my presentation. Researching on a topic or an issue is an essential component of a successful debate. This also helps one to view a topic from two opposing sides. The nursing profession has always been confronted with many issues and nurses must be able to view them from different perspectives in order to appropriately address them. I found that one will fail in arguments and debates about an issue if that person is not armed with data and other tools to validate his position. 
     This whole process has provided me an effective way of presenting an issue.  For me, this has been an effective and enjoyable teaching and learning strategy not only on issues but also on other topics of interest. The only thing I would have preferred was a sample PowerPoint debate at the beginning that could have helped in the organization of my debate. 
Cheers!