Prepd is partnering with the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky to power a virtual Extemp draw. If you haven’t already, please read this announcement post which introduces the virtual Extemp draw. Answers to frequently asked questions are found below.

How do I draw questions for each round?

Prepd launched a new feature within its Extemp app (extemp.prepd.in). On the left-hand side of the Extemp app, there’s a vertical navigation menu. The bottom icon is for the Extemp TOC 2020 page. This page is where topic questions will be distributed. You do not need to do anything except have the Extemp TOC 2020 page open before each scheduled draw. Remember: Prepd runs exclusively on the Google Chrome browser.

What happens when my draw starts?

When you are scheduled to draw, Prepd will update to reveal three cards. When you click on each card, it will turn over to reveal one random question from the round. Once you have selected a question, you must click the orange “Select Question” button beneath the card. You have three minutes to select a question. Once you have selected a question, the two other cards will disappear.

How does Prepd know my room assignment or speaker number?

Prepd has worked with the TOC to pre-program the schedule for all 5 preliminary rounds. Your questions will be distributed according to your speaker number in each round. Prepd will program the schedule for the out rounds in real-time, as the tournament progresses.

When will Prepd communicate the next round?

Three hours before the first round is scheduled to begin, the Extemp TOC 2020 page will update. It will no longer display the tournament countdown clock. Instead, it will communicate your specific room and speaker number for Round 1.

If the first round is starting within three hours and you do not see your room and speaker number, please contact Prepd immediately by emailing hello@prepd.in. It is possible that your name in Tabroom was not successfully matched to a user name in Prepd. We can address this disconnect, but only if we are given sufficient notice.

One hour after you draw your questions, the round will reset to reveal information for the next round. You will, once again, see your room and speaker number for the subsequent round.

What happens if I am eliminated?

The Extemp TOC 2020 page will update one last time. You will see a congratulations message and a request to email feedback about the Virtual Extemp draw to hello@prepd.in.

What should I do if I experience a software glitch?

The easiest thing to try is refreshing the Extemp app a couple of times. You won’t lose your selected question, but it may clear things up.

How do I contact Prepd if I have any issues?

Please email hello@prepd.in. We will be monitoring our mailbox throughout the weekend and will respond promptly.

TOC Virtual Extemp Draw — FAQs was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

But how will the Extemp draw be administered? That’s where Prepd comes in.

Prepd is excited to partner with the TOC at the University of Kentucky to power a virtual Extemp draw, which will work as follows:

1. A new feature has been introduced in Prepd. When you log into extemp.prepd.in on the Google Chrome browser, you will notice that at the bottom of the vertical, left navigation menu is a new icon that reads Extemp TOC 2020 when your cursor hovers over it. This page is where the TOC Extemp draw will be administered.

2. For now, there is a clock counting down to the tournament kick off. However, the page will update the day of the tournament to reveal the Extemp draw. Every preliminary round, including room assignments and topic questions, have been pre-scheduled into Prepd. The outrounds will be scheduled as the tournament progresses. Those competing at the TOC simply have to log into extemp.prepd.in on the Google Chrome browser before each scheduled round and follow the instructions on the Extemp TOC 2020 page.

3. The overall Extemp draw experience will be similar to Prepd’s practice questions feature, with a few modifications. For one, Prepd will communicate the exact time that you are scheduled to draw, given your speaker position in a particular round.

4. When it is time to draw topic questions, the page will update to display three blank cards. Extempers will click on each card to reveal a random question. As a competitor, it is very important that you press the orange “Select Question” button beneath one of the cards, to indicate to the software which question you intend to speak on.

5. Once you select a question, you can either continue to prepare through Prepd or use an alternative software or method. If you’re using Prepd, you’ll notice that a “Round” was created so you can easily organize your news articles as you prepare your speech. Moreover, you’ll see a timer in the top right corner that counts down from 30 minutes.

Because the TOC Extemp draw is being administered through Prepd’s Extemp application, it is required that every TOC Extemp competitor create a Prepd account. You may create a free Prepd account for individual competition (i.e., a “Free One” account) by visiting https://signup.prepd.in on the Google Chrome browser.

With a free account, you will have full access to the TOC Extemp draw functionality. However, you will be limited to 150 research articles in Prepd. If you want access to hundreds of thousands of news articles, including over 150,000 auto-filed articles in the News Feed, you will need to upgrade to a Premium account. A Premium One account costs $25 for an annual membership.

If you have any questions about the virtual Extemp draw in Prepd, please email hello@prepd.in. We are working hard to build this new product functionality, and will respond to your inquiries in a timely fashion. We will also generate an FAQ and a tutorial video prior to the tournament, so that you may be more comfortable with the virtual Extemp draw before the tournament kicks off.

The coronavirus pandemic has upended daily routines around the world. And certainly, the speech and debate community has not been spared, with tournaments across the country having been cancelled. Prepd applauds the TOC for pressing forward and experimenting with a new type of virtual tournament. Prepd is doing its part to make sure that the Extemp competition at the TOC is a roaring success.

Extemp on!

- Ian and the Prepd Team

Prepd partners with the TOC at the University of Kentucky to power a virtual Extemp draw was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Good news! Prepd’s Free Trial period has been extended by two weeks. From now until October 15, teams can use Prepd for free and without any restrictions. You can save up to 250,000 articles in Prepd, over 100,000 of which are auto-filed in the News Feed.

We ask that you please encourage other debaters or coaches to try Prepd for free. They can create a Free One or Free Team account by visiting signup.prepd.in on the Google Chrome browser.

On October 15, all Free Teams will face a 100 article limit. This article limit still allows teams to try Prepd and get a feel for the software, but they won’t have enough articles to compete successfully.

If you are currently using a Free Team membership and would like to purchase a Premium Team (so you can keep the 250,000 article limit once the trial period ends), please do so by upgrading your membership in the Classroom:

1. Using Chrome, log into classroom.prepd.in
2. Navigate to the Billing page (second icon from the bottom, on the left)
3. From the Billing page, select the purple “Upgrade to Premium Team” button (bottom right)

Upgrading from a Free Team to a Premium Team will not cause you to lose any files or face an interruption in service. The only change is that you will continue to enjoy a 250,000 article limit for a full year.

Prepd Free Trial was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Prepd is excited to reveal brand new versions of its mobile applications for iPhone and Android devices. In addition to saving articles on the go, the Prepd Library app now allows you to search and read your articles.

Update your apps today! More updates will be released later in the fall, as we continue expanding the scope of Prepd’s mobile offerings.

New iPhone and Android applications was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

When I reflect upon my debate career, the first thing that comes to mind is the great coaches I was fortunate to work with. My coach at Tom C Clark HS, in San Antonio, TX was Cassandra Zuniga, and she was amazingly supportive. Outside of Clark, there were several other coaches who supported me as well, including Kandi King, Jason Warren, Steve Moss, and Chris Palmer.

Although I started debate a bit late (I joined my team as a sophomore) by my senior year I was winning national tournaments in Extemp: St. Marks, the Glenbrooks, and the University of Texas. I was also a finalist at the 2008 Tournament of Champions and placing 11th at NFL (now NSDA) Nationals.

When it was all over, I felt I had “succeeded” as an Extemper. I had a pretty nice collection of trophies, after all. But today, as a 28 year old who is a decade removed from the activity, I must confess: I don’t remember where the trophies are. I’ve moved away from home, and my belongings have been shuffled through various storage units. I know the trophies are somewhere, just not sure where, exactly.

At any rate, it’s all good. Because in retrospect, one thing is absolutely clear: succeeding as a debater has little to do with tournament results. Yes, placing well at tournaments is great, because it validates your work and efforts. But tournament success is an output of a much more meaningful sort of success. Namely, developing critical thinking skills, improving public speaking abilities, learning more about the world, and growing as a young adult through the adversities of the activity. Learning and growing, that’s what it’s all about. The lessons I got as an Extemper (and occasional Congressional Debater, Orator, and LDer) have carried with me into college and my professional career.

The magical sort of growth that debate unlocks can manifest in many forms. I remember a friend of mine from high school, Danny. He had immigrated from South Korea in middle school and his English was still a bit broken by the time we were in high school. He joined the debate team not with dreams of winning a bunch of tournaments, but to improve his English. And boy, did he achieve just that! I witnessed first hand his transformation from sophomore to senior year, and it was incredible. If we measure success in terms of personal growth and progress, Danny certainly got more out of the activity than I did. And I couldn’t be more proud of him for it.

Years later, I started Prepd. I had experience with software development and technology startups, and I wanted to give back to the community that had given so much to me. But I didn’t want to build tools that only served to improve tournament outcomes. I want Prepd teams to have competitive success, of course. But I don’t believe that success is measured in trophies, points, or rankings. Instead, I believe that debaters succeed whenever they learn and grow. That’s why the Prepd Team is building an education technology that helps coaches coach and helps debaters learn.

We’re focused on building great instructional tools for coaches (e.g., analytics and activity reports in the Classroom, or the Challenges feature to assign tasks). And for students, we want to empower them with engaging educational experiences (e.g., the Memory Bank and Vocabulary List help you learn more while you read, the Mark as Read feature allows you to track reading activity, Practice Questions in Extemp make it easy for you to give practice speeches, etc.).

We’re also committed to quality engineering and business practices. Our applications are beautiful and easy to use. Prepd performs quickly and reliably. On the business front, if you have questions or difficulties, we work hard to answer your questions or resolve your issue.

Last year, over 600 teams actively used Prepd. This year, we’d love to break 1,000. If you already use Prepd, please encourage other students or coaches to check us out. And if you haven’t yet joined Prepd, please create an account by visiting signup.prepd.in on the Chrome browser. You can use Prepd for free, and without restrictions, from now until October 1.

All the Best,

- Ian Panchevre, Prepd Founder

P.S. Have you downloaded our mobile apps yet? Install Prepd from the Apple App Store or Google Play and save/read articles on the go!

Prepare for success with Prepd was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Today, we are announcing a new program for the summer. We’ve raised the article limit for Free Team and Free One accounts. Previously, these accounts served as trial accounts and were limited to 100 caught articles. From now until September, these accounts will have the same article limit as a Premium (paid) membership — 250,000 total articles. In Congress, you can save an unlimited number of dockets and upload as many arguments and speeches as you’d like.

To join Prepd for free, visit https://signup.prepd.in/. You will first create an individual user account.

Once you’ve confirmed your email, you will be asked to identify yourself as a coach (so you can create a Team account that allows you to collaborate with multiple members) or a debater (so you can create a One account for independent use of Prepd).

If you purchase a Premium membership, you will have access to up to 250,000 articles for a full year. If you create a Free membership, you will have access to 250,000 articles from now until September, at which point you will be asked to upgrade to a Premium membership if you wish to continue using Prepd without restrictions.

If you have any questions about joining Prepd, please email hello@prepd.in.

Free and unlimited access to Prepd, from now until September was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Download the latest version of Prepd’s iPhone app (V 1.2.0) and Android app (V 1.2.0). This update allows you to save articles to Extemp folders and Congress bills. Once you’ve caught an article, click on “Save to Extemp” or “Save to Congress.” You will be redirected to the mobile app where you’ll be able to select folders or bills.

Moreover, this update supports various news reading apps, like Apple News and the native apps from different publications. If there is a news app you regularly use that Prepd does not support, please email us and we will look into adding support.

Please note that due to content restrictions, you can’t save articles on your phone from the New York Times or Washington Post. To save articles from those sources, please log into the news site from your laptop or computer.

We will continue to update the mobile apps over the course of the summer. You can expect new features and performance improvements soon.

Onwards!

Updated iPhone and Android apps! was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Are you competing at an upcoming national tournament in Extemp? If so, we want to make sure you get the most out of Prepd’s Extemp software so you can best the competition. Here are three tips:

Read, read, read!

It goes without saying that the most successful extempers also happen to actively read the most news articles. When reading in Prepd, make sure to track your reading activity by clicking on the “Mark as Read” button in the bottom of the article view. Completing a quick comprehension exercise forces you to pause, internalize what you just read, think critically about it, and then articulate an insight.

The comprehension exercises help you learn more while you read. Moreover, tracking your reading activity allows you and your coach to set reading goals and stick to them. Anyone on your team can log into the Classroom, navigate to your user profile, and see your reading activity.

Give practice speeches

Prepd provides hundred of quality Practice Questions in Extemp. Students are encouraged to submit their own questions, which Logan Scisco of ExtempCentral.com actively moderates. Currently, there are over 800 questions in 14 different topic areas for both novice and varsity students.

When you’re giving a practice speech, start by clicking on the “Practice Question” icon located in the bottom of the lefthand navigation bar. Select a difficulty level, a topic area (e.g., Domestic or Foreign) and a subtopic area (e.g., Law and Courts, or Global Economy) — then click “Draw!” You’ll be presented with three practice questions. Select a question and your round will immediately begin.

Memorize Important Facts

Perhaps one of Prepd’s best educational tools is the Memory Bank, which helps you learn more while you read. Prepd empowers you to extract “Memories” from article content and review them at a later time.

To create a memory, simply highlight the article content that you would like to memorize. From the highlighter menu, click on the brain icon. You’ll be prompted to type in a question. The content you selected serves as the answer. Finally, select a topic area to categorize the memory, and you’re done!

Later, when you want to review your memories, simply open the Library and click on the brain icon in the left navigation bar. You can review memories from a list, or click on the “Change to flashcard view” button to view your memories as flashcards.

Be sure to click on the filter icon at the top to open filter settings. Finally, once you’ve learned a memory, click on the brain icon on or near the memory card to mark the memory as “Mastered.” From the filter menu, you can filter out memories that you’ve mastered to review only the ones that you are still studying.

Log into the Library and start saving Memories today!

We hope you find these tips and tricks useful. The formula for success in Extemp is actually quite simple: Read as much as you can, learn as much as you can, and give practice speeches as often as you can.

Best of luck competing at Best of luck competing at Nationals, whether it be NCFL, Stoa, NCFCA, or NSDA!

Preparing for Nationals in Extemp was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

With the Congress app, you can highlight article content and create an “Argument” — a claim, a warrant (pulled directly from the source), and an impact. Based on student feedback, we recently redesigned the Congress Arguments feature. Now you can edit the warrant and you can also add authors to the citation.

Editing a warrant

In some cases, you may want to truncate the text of the warrant. Now you can easily edit the warrant by selecting the “Edit Warrant” button. The warrant’s text will now become editable.

Arguments with edited warrants will be marked as such; a yellow edit icon will appear next to the warrant. Moreover, you can still revert back to the original warrant by clicking on the “Show Original Warrant” button.

Adding Authors

Citations for Arguments have been redesigned to make it easier to identify key information. Also, if Fast Catch identified the article’s authors, their names will automatically be added to the citation. If not, you can manually add the authors (as well as their qualifications) by clicking on the “Edit Author” button.

That’s it! We think Arguments is a really great feature in the Congress app. We hope this redesign will make the feature even more helpful and easy to use.

Redesigned Congress Arguments was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Quick update from the Prepd Team, over the past few months we’ve been busy improving Prepd’s performance across all of its products.

Most notably, we have released iPhone and Android applications. “Prepd — Library” makes it easy to save articles from your mobile browser to Prepd. In future updates, we will allow you to save articles to Extemp folders and Congress bills. We will also enable support for dedicated news reader apps, like Apple News.

Beyond our mobile initiatives, and in addition to general performance and usability improvements, we’ve addressed the following:

Congress

• You can now copy speeches and articles from one bill to another. Hit the “multi-select” button above the article list and you’ll be able to copy or cut the articles saved to a docket, which can then be pasted to another docket. Arguments will move along with the articles. You can do the same with speeches.
• Improved the docket request experience. You can now upload a file directly to the Request Docket modal.
• Save precedence lists in the Precedence Tracker. When you want to save a precedence list, click on the “Settings” icon in the top right corner and select “export session.” This will download a file to your computer. Later on, you can resume the session by selecting the “import session” button available through the settings. This way, if you are participating in a multi-round chamber, you don’t have to lose your precedence list from one chamber to another. You can also share the precedence file with your teammates or coaches. This feature works both online and offline.

Classroom

• New notifications. We enhanced the range of notification messages that appear in the bottom of the Classroom.
• Team details page. You can now edit the team details page.

Miscellaneous

• Improved search functionality within Extemp folders. We’ve addressed inconsistent search results in both online and offline apps.
• Updated News Feed sources. We’ve removed some sources and added a few others to Prepd’s auto-filer. There are now 54 total sources in the News Feed.
• Improved PDF experience. We refactored the PDF uploader so it’s more performant.
• Improved Prepd Offline. We’ve refactored some of Prepd offline to improve synchronization speed and general performance. Make sure you are using the latest and greatest version of Prepd Offline (V 1.0.51)

What’s next? In the near term, our big focus is Prepd’s mobile experience. We have an ambitious vision for how Prepd’s mobile offerings can supplement the desktop based web apps.

Beyond that, we’d love to hear from you. If you have any other suggestions as to how we can improve Prepd, please email hello@prepd.in.

Prepd updates was originally published in Prepd on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.