I think I had an advantage with this course because my close friend just finished it last spring. She provided positive reviews and described her experiences with the Trends paper and the Debate. I felt prepared for the class and assignment expectations.

Although I realize that debates do not usually involve collaboration with the opponent, I found this aspect of our debate essential to creating a comprehensive debate. Collaborating with my opponent also reduced workload and stress associated with creating such a large project. I think I would have struggled more with the preparation and feedback sections of the debate if we had not worked as a team. 

When posting the presentations, I worried the internet links would not work once posted (a common fear when relying on technology). I felt proud of our preparation and creativity. Without it, I do not feel our debate would have been as successful. 

In reading others’ debates and participating in the discussions, I found it difficult to follow the multiple discussions in the one forum. Previous courses use one forum per topic and this course used one forum per debate, so the discussion ebbed and flowed from that topic as others provided thoughts and insights. I may be the only one with this opinion and I do not yet have any suggestions on how to make the debate discussions more streamlined.

The self-evaluation assisted in preparing for future debates. Reviewing the debate process made me realize how important facilitation and communication is during the discussions. It is a skill that requires practice. This debate assignment certainly provided it. Therefore, it was an effective teaching strategy. I learned from it. 

I do not currently feel prepared for debating ‘on the fly’. It requires a significant amount of preparation and thought. I do not feel my thought systems are organized enough to logically employ an argument for my viewpoint without considerable research and planning