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To try out Kialo Edu for the first time, we recommend starting with a classroom debate. Having a classroom debate with students is the simplest and easiest way to see Kialo Edu in action, and requires very minimal preparation and planning.

There are two ways to set up the classroom debate: either by using a pre-built Kialo Topic Templates, which is quicker; or by creating your own discussion.

Step 1: Create your own account on Kialo Edu

If you haven’t yet signed up for Kialo Edu:

1. Open the Sign Up page by clicking the blue Sign Up button on Kialo Edu.
2. Sign up with your Google, Microsoft, or Clever account, or your email address.

If you have any issues, see Creating an Account for more information.

Step 2: Create a discussion on Kialo Edu

If you’re looking for inspiration, the Kialo Edu Topic Library contains hundreds of ready-to-go discussions searchable by age range and subject. Alternatively, you can create your own discussion on any topic you choose.

To use a pre-built Kialo Template

1. Open the Topic Library and find the Kialo Template to use in your class discussion.

Tips:

There’s a ‘Just for Fun / Icebreakers’ category — great for quick discussions to help students familiarize themselves with Kialo.

2. Click a Template to preview it. 
3. Click the blue Use Template button at the top of the discussion to make a copy of the template you want to use in your class.
4. Choose to Include starter claims to give your students a prompt, or start with a blank discussion.
5. Click Skip rest and create in the bottom-right of the window.
6. Welcome to your Kialo discussion!

To create your own discussion

1. Think of the thesis you’d like your students to discuss. A good thesis for a Kialo discussion is debatable, with plenty of room to argue for or against different positions. See Writing an Effective Thesis for Student Discussions for more information.
2. On the My Kialo page, click the Create Discussion button in the top-right corner.
3. Select a single-thesis discussion. Multi-thesis discussions can quickly become complicated for students not familiar with Kialo. 
4. Choose a name for your discussion. Usually, the name is the question students should tackle, like “Does pineapple belong on pizza?” or “Does free will exist?”
5. Write a thesis for your discussion. A good thesis is often just an affirmative answer to the question, like “Pineapple belongs on pizza” or “Free will exists.” The key is that it’s a statement students can agree or disagree with.
6. Click Skip rest and create, unless you have specific settings you want to configure for the discussion.
7. Welcome to your Kialo discussion! 

Tips:

If you’d like, you can now add some ‘starter claims’ that will help spark the discussion. A good starter claim is a very basic, general argument that supports or refutes the thesis. It should act like an effective “umbrella” for supporting arguments.

Step 3: Share the discussion with students

Kialo Edu’s Instant Access feature allows students to immediately enter a discussion with no need for sign ups or logins.

1. In your discussion, click the Share button in the top-right corner.
2. Check the box to enable Instant Access.  
3. Share the newly generated sharing link and/or the QR code with your students.

Tips:

Be careful sharing the sharing link and QR code! Anyone with the link or code can use them to access the discussion.

4. That’s it! Let the discussion begin!

Like Kialo Edu? Have students register for future discussions

If you plan on using Kialo Edu in the future, students should ideally have their own accounts and be part of the same Kialo Team, making it easier for you to invite them to more discussions. You can use any of the below methods:

Have students create their own accounts

The easiest way to organize new student accounts is to invite your students by email to a Team. When your students sign up, their accounts will be automatically added to the team.

To create a team:

1. On the My Kialo page, click the Teams tab at the top.
2. Click the blue New Team button.
3. On the new team’s page, select the Members tab.
4. At the top, click the button to enable the Team Invite Link.
5. Share the newly generated Team Invite Link and/or QR code with the class.
6. Repeat this process for all your classes.

Once students are in a team together, you can invite an entire team to a discussion the same way you would an individual user.

Import a Google Classroom

You can import a Google Classroom roster directly into a Team on Kialo Edu. This will automatically create accounts for students using their Google Classroom email addresses. Students can then log into Kialo Edu using the Continue with Google button.

Managed Accounts

If you’d like to maximize control over your students’ Kialo Edu accounts (or skip the hassle of students creating their own), you can create accounts through Managed Accounts. This way, you create and manage students’ usernames, passwords, and associated emails for them.

Further Reading

If you like Kialo Edu and want to learn more, we’ve written educator-specific articles which you may find helpful on how to best get to grips with, and utilize, Kialo Edu:

• Getting Started with Kialo for Educators
• Important Tools and Features for Educators
• Small Group Mode
• Using Kialo with Large Groups of Students

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or feedback. Your feedback is extremely valuable and helps us develop the right features and documentation to improve your experience using Kialo Edu.