Kialo Edu is an innovative online platform that facilitates structured and productive discussions and debates on complex topics. This version is dedicated to educational users. It employs a unique argument mapping system that organizes debates into a hierarchical tree structure, clearly separating supporting (pros) and opposing (cons) viewpoints.
This visual approach allows you to easily follow the argument flow and understand the relationships between different points. Kialo Edu encourages collaborative engagement, enabling multiple participants to contribute their perspectives, vote on arguments, and build upon others’ ideas. The platform’s user-friendly interface and moderation tools help maintain the quality of discussions, making it particularly valuable in educational settings for developing critical thinking skills.
By providing a framework for organized debate, Kialo aims to elevate online discourse beyond the often chaotic nature of traditional forums, fostering more thoughtful and nuanced conversations on a wide range of subjects. It also encourages you to consider multiple perspectives and engage in more intelligent, evidence-based argumentation. Questions can be made private or public, and others can be invited to contribute. View the site’s introductory video to learn about its features and to find sample classroom activities.
Applying the Triple E Framework
The Triple E Framework, created by Dr. Liz Kolb, states that “effective technology integration begins with good instructional strategies and not fancy tools” (tripleeframework.com). Dr. Kolb wrote a book, Learning First, Technology Second (ISTE, 2017), which lays out the three main uses of technology in education: to Engage, Enhance, or Extend learning goals. We can use this framework to decipher why we use specific classroom tools. Here is a rubric based on the Triple E Framework you can use to evaluate whether Kialo Edu (or any other technology) is a good fit with your learning goals and whether you should use it in your lesson.
- Engage in learning goals: The students can focus on the content and questions as there are no advertisements or other distractions. Also, the students are active rather than passive learners, answering questions, adding comments to other students’ responses, and debating the topic.
- Enhance learning goals: Kialo Edu creates pathways for students to demonstrate their understanding of the learning goals in a way they cannot do without technology. Students can easily (and even anonymously) add comments to other students’ responses. Kialo Edu also lets you choose how to visualize a discussion as either a hierarchy tree or a “sunburst” of claims radiating outward. This would not be possible without technology.
- Extend learning goals: Dr. Kolb describes extended learning as an opportunity for students to learn, connect, and collaborate outside the regular school day and as a way to create a bridge between school learning and everyday life experiences. Kialo Edu can easily be used during a remote learning day. Kialo Edu equips students with valuable skills for their academic and professional futures. By engaging in structured debates and discussions, students learn to articulate their viewpoints clearly, analyzing and responding to different perspectives while practicing respectful and constructive dialogue.
SAMR Connection
The SAMR Model, by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, suggests that technology implementation has four levels. Therefore, we can use this model as a guideline to analyze how we use technology tools in the classroom. For example, Kialo Edu could be used at all four levels of SAMR.
- Substitution: The substitution level is the most basic level of SAMR and refers to when technology acts as a direct substitute without any functional improvements. A few examples of the substitution level include using Kialo Edu to replace paper-based pro/con lists for a topic or substituting in-class verbal debates using the Kialo Edu discussion platforms.
- Augmentation: At the augmentation level, the technology acts as a direct substitute and includes some functional improvements. Kialo Edu enhances debates by including voting features to gauge the strength of an argument. It also uses the hierarchy structure to organize arguments more clearly than is possible on paper without technology.
- Modification: The level of modification is when the technology allows for significant task redesign. For example, Kialo Edu enables asynchronous participation, allowing debates to continue beyond class time. Educators also have many moderation tools available to guide discussion more effectively.
- Redefinition: At the redefinition level, technology allows for creating previously inconceivable new tasks. We reach this level using Kialo Edu, which enables you to conduct large-scale debates involving multiple classes or schools. Kialo Edu also allows teachers to comment individually (and virtually) as they scaffold students’ learning.
Take advantage of Part 2 of the Tech Tool of the Month: Kialo Edu, where we’ll discuss using the tool and classroom ideas. In the meantime, let us know how you have used Kialo Edu in your education setting in the comment section below.