nOObish Asked AI: What is the best platform or application for an online forum focused on one question?
Kialo Edu is a free online platform designed to facilitate thoughtful and engaging class discussions and debates. Kialo is designed to be a powerful tool for fostering thoughtful, inclusive, and productive class discussions. By providing a structured environment for debate and collaboration, it helps students develop essential 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, digital literacy, and effective communication. Here are the key features and benefits of using Kialo Edu:
Details - Kialo Features
Enhancing Student Engagement and Participation
Kialo Edu significantly increases student participation in class discussions1. The platform allows students to contribute instantly and simultaneously, eliminating the need to wait for turns to speak. This feature is particularly beneficial for:
- Shy or introverted students who may feel more comfortable expressing their ideas in writing
- Remote or asynchronous learning environments
- Large classes where not everyone can speak during a traditional discussion
The platform also offers an Anonymous Discussion mode, which helps build student confidence by allowing them to contribute at their own pace without fear of judgment.
Promoting Critical Thinking and Reasoning Skills
Kialo Edu is designed to enhance students’ critical thinking and reasoning abilities. Its key features include:
- Visual argument mapping: The platform presents discussions in a clear, visually compelling format that makes it easy to follow the logical structure of arguments.
- Pro/con layout: This encourages students to consider multiple perspectives and develop well-rounded arguments.
- Evidence-based claims: Students are prompted to back up their arguments with evidence, fostering digital literacy and research skills.
Versatile Applications in Education
Educators can use Kialo Edu for various purposes:
- Literature discussions
- Debates on contentious topics
- Philosophical explorations
- Consolidating understanding of recently covered material
- Teaching logical fallacies and rational argumentation
- Improving media literacy
The platform is used by teachers and professors at various levels, including high schools and prestigious universities like Harvard and Princeton.
User-Friendly Features for Educators
Kialo Edu offers several features that make it easy for teachers to manage and assess discussions:
- Automatic saving: Discussions are automatically recorded, allowing for easy grading and review.
- Integration with Learning Management Systems: Kialo Edu is compatible with popular LMSs like Google Classroom, Microsoft, Moodle, Blackboard, and Canvas.
- Participation tracking: Teachers can view overall participation statistics for the class and individual students
- Feedback tools: Educators can provide feedback on students’ ideas, argument structure, and research quality.
nOObish Asked AI: How does Kialo compare to Discourse?
Details - Kialo vs Discourse
Discussion Structure
Kialo-Edu:
- Utilizes a structured debate format with argument maps in the form of debate trees
- Organizes discussions into theses or questions with supporting and opposing arguments
- Allows for nested arguments, creating a hierarchical structure
- Focuses on logical reasoning and argument visualization
Discourse:
- Uses a more traditional forum-style discussion format
- Organizes content into topics and replies
- Offers a flat, linear conversation flow
- Supports threaded replies for nested discussions, but not in a tree structure
User Interface
Kialo-Edu:
- Presents arguments in a visual tree structure
- Offers a clean, minimalist interface focused on the debate structure
- Provides tools for expanding and collapsing argument branches
Discourse:
- Features a more conventional forum-like interface
- Offers a customizable sidebar and user preferences
- Supports infinite scrolling for continuous reading of discussions
Voting and Rating
Kialo-Edu:
- Allows voting on individual claims and the overall thesis
- Offers a Guided Voting wizard for systematic evaluation of arguments
- Provides teachers with options to view votes for the whole class, individuals, or specific perspectives
Discourse:
- Supports liking and bookmarking of posts
- Offers built-in polls for community voting on topics
- Does not have a structured voting system for individual arguments
Anonymity
Kialo-Edu:
- Offers an Anonymous Discussion mode to encourage participation from shy students
- Assigns colorful animal avatars to anonymous users while maintaining teacher oversight
Discourse:
- Supports anonymous posting as a feature
- Does not offer a specific anonymity mode for educational purposes
Educational Tools
Kialo-Edu:
- Provides task-setting features for student objectives
- Offers grading and feedback tools directly on student claims
- Supports small group mode for dividing large classes
- Includes a discussion activity list for monitoring student participation
Discourse:
- Does not have built-in educational-specific features
- Offers general moderation tools that can be adapted for educational use
Integration
Kialo-Edu:
- Supports LTI integration with learning management systems
- Offers specific integration with Google Classroom
- Provides managed accounts for easier student management
Discourse:
- Supports single sign-on (SSO) integration
- Offers API access for custom integrations
- Does not have education-specific integrations out of the box
Mobile Access
Kialo-Edu:
- Does not currently offer a mobile app
- Web interface is responsive for mobile use
Discourse:
- Offers dedicated iOS and Android mobile apps
- Provides a mobile-optimized web interface
AI Integration
Kialo-Edu:
- No specific AI features mentioned in the provided information
Discourse:
- Offers AI integration for community management and moderation
Customization
Kialo-Edu:
- Limited customization options, focused on educational settings
Discourse:
- Highly customizable with themes and plugins
- Supports community-developed add-ons and modifications
Content Expansion
Kialo-Edu:
- Focuses on internal debate structure and arguments
Discourse:
- Automatically expands links to provide additional context
- Supports rich media embeds from various platforms
In summary, Kialo-Edu is specifically designed for structured educational debates and argument mapping, with features tailored to classroom use. Discourse, on the other hand, is a more general-purpose discussion platform with greater customization options and a traditional forum-like structure. While both can be used in educational settings, Kialo-Edu offers more specialized tools for teaching critical thinking and argumentation, whereas Discourse provides a broader platform for community discussions and engagement.
Is Kialo open source?
Kialo is a proprietary platform run by Kialo Inc., a for-profit company founded in 2011. As of now, the core Kialo platform is not open source software.
Kialo is an online structured debate platform that facilitates collaborative reasoning and thoughtful discussion. While Kialo itself is not currently open source, there are some related open source projects and discussions around potentially open sourcing Kialo in the future:
There has been some discussion and interest in potentially open sourcing Kialo:
- In a Twitter exchange, Kialo indicated they were considering making the platform open source, but had not made a final decision.
- Some advocates have argued that open sourcing Kialo could increase its positive impact by enabling wider adoption, transparency, and community contributions.
- Comparisons have been made to Wikipedia’s open model as an example of the potential benefits of open sourcing such a collaborative platform.
Related/Alternative Open Source Projects
Some open source alternatives to Kialo that offer similar structured debate functionality include:
- Loomio: An open source discussion and decision-making platform
- Discourse: A popular open source discussion forum platform
- Argüman: An open source argument mapping tool
Future Possibilities
While Kialo remains proprietary for now, the company has shown openness to considering open sourcing in the future. Continued community interest and advocacy may influence their decision-making on this front. In the meantime, educators and others can still use the free Kialo Edu platform for classroom discussions and exercises in critical thinking.