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Elevate Debate: Build Critical Thinking with Engaging, Inclusive Class Discussions
Monday, June 9, 2025 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
Presented by Ian Montgomery, Former International Educator, Current Partnerships Coordinator, Kialo
Moderated by Joyce Whitby, CEO and Co-Founder, Innovations4Education
Sponsored by Kialo Edu
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
Every educator knows that engaging students in class discussions can be difficult. Making them inclusive for all students isn’t any easier, and teaching critical thinking is one of the greatest challenges in education.
That’s why this interactive edWebinar workshop is delighted to introduce educators to Kialo: a completely free tool for visual, inclusive discussion that trains students in critical thinking and lets everyone have their say. Kialo is a Germany-based nonprofit that aims to make the world a more thoughtful place. In this edWebinar workshop, viewers learn:
- Strategies for engaging learners in thoughtful debate—from upper elementary to higher education
- The science of argument mapping
- How debate skills actively support language development and critical thinking
- New ways to ensure that all students are included in class discussions
Viewers also experience the fun of a Kialo discussion for themselves! Education technology leaders, curriculum specialists, librarians, and educators from third grade to graduate studies will all be interested to hear how this digital discussion tool can make the classroom a more thoughtful place. And it’s just in time for summer programs!
About the Presenter
Ian Montgomery is a former international educator turned Partnerships Coordinator at Kialo. His academic and professional formation comprises five countries and classrooms from middle grades to university. A specialist in English language teaching and linguistics, Ian is a passionate advocate for discourse as a means of broadening students’ intellectual and emotional horizons.
About the Moderator
Joyce Whitby is a lifelong EdTechKnowLedgist who started off as a special ed educator in NYC and then taught graduate-level EdTech courses at Long Island University. Since then, Joyce has been in the business of educational technology and has held key leadership roles in sales leadership, professional development, and marketing with organizations like Apple Computer, Scientific Learning, and SchoolMessenger. She also has extensive experience working with startup EdTech ventures. In 2017, Joyce and her husband (aka @tomwhitby, co-founder of #edchat) launched their consulting business working with emerging and growing EdTech companies, helping to bring instructional technology solutions to schools, Innovations4Education.com.
Join the Inspire Learning & Engagement community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
Kialo was founded in 2011 to offer an alternative to the often toxic, confrontational, and intellectually isolating state of online discourse. In 2019, we launched Kialo Edu as a platform designed to teach students how to discuss issues with logic, self-reflection, and civility. Since then, over 1 million users have engaged in deeper discussions on Kialo. We’ve also been honored with several prestigious awards, including the 2025 BETT Award for Best Free App, a place in the HundrED Global Collection 2025, and a Common Sense Selection for Learning, among others. Kialo strives to foster reasoned, inclusive discussions that students are genuinely interested in having. In this way, we ultimately hope to make the world a more thoughtful place. That is why Kialo is free and always will be.
