For the past week students have been debating whether the Khmer Rouge and the U.S. committed acts of terrorism between 1969-1975 in Cambodia. The location and facts are not the key point here as students could just as easily discuss the legality of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan although Cambodia is the focus of the book they just finished call Never Fall down. The skill I want them to practice is the act of developing a complex argument.
In class, students wrote out charts explaining their thinking and then wrote reports that put their thoughts in paragraph form. While essay writing is not as sexy as tweeting, I believe the act of writing is deeply linked to the act of thinking, and students benefit from the practice of putting their words on the page. The final step in this process was to vlog their opinion, something I learned about during a session at the Schools of the Future Conference.
"Vlogging" stands for video blogging and it involves students filming themselves or something they draw while they explain their point. It is an excellent practice in delivery, as many students may have job interviews in the future via skype. The recording also provides a format for students to view one another's work and comment on it, providing an excellent feedback loop.
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