Video resources

Resources for managers, judges, coaches and students on virtual tournaments

SpeechWire founder and creator Ben Stewart has created a series of videos below that delve into SpeechWire and virtual tournaments. These cover using SpeechWire with a variety of different platforms and tournament approaches, as well as some other topics that you may find useful or even interesting!

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FOR COACHES: Creating student accounts in SpeechWire

SpeechWire now offers student accounts, which are created by head coaches so that their students can compete in live synchronous tournaments on some video platforms, and so that students can review feedback from their electronic ballots after any tournament that used electronic ballots. This video details how head coaches create student accounts as part of their overall school account, and what student accounts can be used for. Watch 'Creating student accounts in SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR JUDGES: Judging tournaments using SpeechWire's electronic ballots

Are you a judge who is set to judge a tournament on SpeechWire soon using electronic ballots? If you are judging a virtual tournament - it is definitely going to be using electronic ballots. Or are you a coach who wants to share some more information with your judges about SpeechWire's electronic ballots? Send this video their way. The video talks about speech, debate and congress e-ballots, as well as how they integrate with various asynchronous/synchronous tournament approaches. Watch 'Judging Speech and Debate on SpeechWire with Electronic Ballots' on YouTube

FOR STUDENTS: Competing in live online tournaments at live.speechwire.com

Students can participate in tournaments being run in conjunction with SpeechWire on a variety of synchronous platforms via their live.speechwire.com student accounts (once their coach has created their account). This video details using live.speechwire.com to participate in live online tournaments on a variety of platforms. Watch 'Competing in Virtual Tournaments on SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR MANAGERS: Running asynchronous speech tournaments on SpeechWire

In an asynchronous speech tournament, students or coaches upload student performances to a video platform of their choosing and register links to those videos in SpeechWire's online registration. The tournament manager then launches judging, and the judges view videos of the performances of the students in their sections and make their assessments based on those recorded performances. Watch 'Asynchronous Tournaments on SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR MANAGERS: Running synchronous tournaments with NSDA Campus and SpeechWire

NSDA Campus, offered by the National Speech and Debate Association, is a live synchronous video platform hosted by the NSDA that provides video competition rooms for speech and debate contests. The system is fully integrated into SpeechWire's e-balloting and student account system, allowing judges secure, direct access to the rounds they are judging from their e-ballots, and students secure, direct access to their rounds from their student accounts. This video details setting up a tournament for NSDA Campus, scheduling and launching rounds, and how judges and students access Campus rooms in SpeechWire. View the NSDA's advice for ensuring Campus will work with your school's technology Watch 'Virtual Tournaments with NSDA Campus and SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR MANAGERS: Running synchronous tournaments with Yaatly and SpeechWire

Yaatly.com is a website and video platform that strives to provide the experience of a common virtual space and live synchronous video competition rooms oriented specifically to speech and debate tournaments. SpeechWire offers the ability to export speech schematics and debate pairings for direct import into Yaatly as round postings, which immediately become live so that students and judges logged into their Yaatly accounts can locate and enter their competition rooms. This video details setting up a Yaatly tournament in SpeechWire, exporting schematics/pairings and loading them into Yaatly to start rounds. Watch 'Virtual Tournaments with Yaatly and SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR MANAGERS: Running synchronous tournaments with Zoom and SpeechWire

It is possible to run speech and debate tournaments on Zoom, it just takes perhaps a bit to a large bit more coordination and management than some other synchronous video options. SpeechWire does offer some capabilities to try and streamline the experience for students and judges of participating in a tournament that may be taking place across multiple Zoom calls, with a proctor running each call, placing students and judges into appropriate breakout rooms. This video details preparing a tournament to run on Zoom with SpeechWire, strategies for streamlining breakout rooms, and how SpeechWire can improve the student/judge experience in a Zoom tournament. Watch 'Virtual Tournaments with Zoom and SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR MANAGERS: Running synchronous tournaments with Jitsi Meet/8x8 and SpeechWire

Jitsi Meet and 8x8.vc offer free videoconferencing services, and it is possible to request a meeting by providing a unique URL. SpeechWire incorporates this to create unique competition rooms for speech and debate rounds during a tournament that runs on the free platform. This video details how to prepare for a tournament on this free videoconferencing platform, the possible tradeoffs that come with using a free platform, and what the student and judge experience is like using SpeechWire accounts that link directly to the video rooms. Watch 'Virtual Tournaments with Jitsi Meet/8x8 and SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR MANAGERS: Running hybrid asynchronous/synchronous tournaments on SpeechWire

Managers can elect to combine multiple approaches or platforms in a single tournament; for instance, they could run speech asynchronous and debate synchronous, or run prep/draw events synchronous and other speech events asynchronous, or even run prelims on one synchronous platform and finals on another. This video details how to configure your tournament to run both asynchronous and synchronous depending on the event, and/or how to configure your tournament to use more than one synchronous platform. Watch 'Hybrid Tournaments on SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR MANAGERS: Running live online draw events on SpeechWire

SpeechWire offers a new capability to administer Extemporaneous Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, and other draw events directly through the SpeechWire platform. Managers can prepare questions and/or prompts ahead of the tournament, and then either a draw proctor (Extemp, Radio, etc.) or the judge (Impromptu, etc.) opens draw for a student, who draws and selects a topic in their SpeechWire student account. The judge can then see the selected prompt on their e-ballot. This video details setting up and running draw events on SpeechWire with this new feature. View PDF documentation on SpeechWire's live online draws Watch 'Online Draw Events on SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR COACHES: Managing your team's electronic ballots on SpeechWire

After a tournament, you can view your team's electronic ballots in PDF form via your SpeechWire coach account. You can also choose to screen the electronic ballots before they are released to your students; you can choose which tournaments' ballots to release to your students; and you can block or 'lose' individual electronic ballots if you see fit. This video details how to configure how electronic ballots are handled for your team and how to view your students' e-ballots after a tournament. Watch 'Managing your team's electronic ballots on SpeechWire' on YouTube

FOR STUDENTS: Viewing electronic ballots after a tournament

Following completion of a tournament, students can view feedback from judges by viewing electronic ballots in their student account. This video details how to view the electronic ballots in a student account and the process by which the electronic ballots are released and arrive in the student accounts so that students can see them. Watch 'Viewing your electronic ballots on SpeechWire' on YouTube

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