Category / Social Media

by Champions for Change

Understanding Conversation: The Difference Between Dialogue and Debate

“Dialogue is like teamwork in conversation where everyone feels heard and valued, while debate is like a friendly competition in speaking where each side wants to show their idea is the best.”

Today we are going to talk about how we talk to each other! Sometimes we have a friendly chat to understand someone better, and sometimes we might argue to show our point. We call these two styles dialogue and debate. Let’s discover what they are and when we use them!

What is Dialogue?

Imagine you are sharing a story or a problem with your friend. You both listen to each other, share your thoughts, and nobody is trying to win the talk. This is called a dialogue. It’s like teamwork in conversation where everyone feels heard and valued.

In dialogue, we:

  • Listen carefully because we care about what the other person feels and thinks.
  • Talk openly about our thoughts without trying to win.
  • Are ready to think differently based on what we learn from each other.
  • Ask questions to understand more, not to challenge.

What is Debate?

Now think about a time when you were in a class discussion where you had to prove your point. This is called a debate. It’s like a friendly competition in speaking where each side wants to show their idea is the best.

In debate, we:

  • Listen to find ways to make our argument stronger.
  • Speak to convince others that our idea is right.
  • Stick to our opinion and try to defend it.
  • Focus on winning the argument.

Why is this Important?

Knowing if we are having a dialogue or a debate can make our talks more interesting and helpful. Dialogues are great for making friends and solving problems together. Debates help us become better at supporting our ideas and understanding different opinions.

When to Use Dialogue and When to Use Debate?

  • Use dialogue when you want to understand someone or need help solving a problem together.
  • Use debate when you need to show why your idea is good in a class project or a competition.

Curriculum Links:

This lesson aligns with the Australian Curriculum:

  • English (Year 3-4) – ACELY1699: Participate in and contribute to discussions, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions.
  • English (Year 3-4) – ACELY1700: Plan and deliver short presentations, providing some key details in logical sequence.

For Teachers: Reference Texts

Here are some helpful Australian books for teachers to use:

These books can help you create interesting lessons on dialogue and debate, fitting perfectly with our curriculum goals.

Understanding the difference between dialogue and debate is crucial for fostering healthier and more productive conversations. Dialogue involves open, respectful exchanges where the goal is mutual understanding, while debate is more about persuading others and defending one’s point of view. By recognising the context and choosing the appropriate method of communication, we can improve how we interact with others in both personal and professional settings. Employing dialogue can lead to deeper relationships and better problem-solving, whereas debate can sharpen our argumentative skills and help us clearly define our positions on various issues.

So, let’s start chatting and debating, everyone! What will you choose to do today?

See our post on Using Social Media for Good here 

You can find all our resources on Digital Literacy here 

#DialogueVsDebate #EffectiveCommunication #HealthyConversations #UnderstandingNotArguing #CommunicationSkills #PersonalDevelopment #ProfessionalGrowth

by Champions for Change

How Can Social Media Be a Force for Good?

Lets all think about how we can use social media to make the world a nicer place to chat and share ideas! What do you think you can do to make your online conversations more positive?

Today we’re going to talk about how we can use social media in a positive way!

Social media lets people from all over the world share their ideas, feelings, and experiences. It’s like a giant schoolyard where everyone gets to talk. But sometimes, people use it to say unkind things instead of discussing their ideas properly.

Understanding Social Media

Social media is like a powerful tool that gives everyone a voice. People can talk about things that matter to them and share their achievements with a big audience. But it’s also important to use it responsibly.

Turning Negatives into Positives

Sometimes, instead of having nice chats, people might start arguing and say mean things. We can change this by learning how to talk about problems without being mean. Here are some ways to make our social media conversations better:

  1. Educational Campaigns: Schools and websites can teach us how to talk nicely and respectfully on social media. We can learn how to explain our ideas without being hurtful.
  2. Rules on Social Media: The places where we chat online, like social media platforms, can make rules to stop people from being mean. They can help show the good conversations more and hide the mean ones.
  3. Role Models: Some people are really good at having nice conversations online. Social media can show us more from these people, so we can learn to be like them!
  4. Group Discussions: Sometimes, special talks are set up where everyone sticks to the topic and discusses it nicely. This helps us learn how to chat without arguing.
  5. Tools for Users: Social media can give us tools to block mean comments or to not see them at all. This helps us focus on having good chats.

By learning to use social media this way, it becomes a place where we can learn, share, and grow, not argue and fight.

Curriculum Alignment

Here’s how this topic connects to our school lessons:

Subject Area Alignment Number Descriptors
English ACELY1699 Participate in discussions, sharing and evaluating information.
English ACELY1700 Plan and deliver short presentations in logical sequence.

For Teachers: Reference Texts

Teachers can use these books to help us learn more about how to communicate better:

These books offer great ideas on how to use social media in educational and positive ways.

#PositiveSocialMedia #DigitalCitizenship #RespectfulConversations #SocialMediaForGood #StudentEngagement #OnlineEtiquette #Champions4Change

See our blog post on Understanding the Difference between Dialogue and Debate here 

You can find all our resources on Digital Literacy here 

by Lynne Strong

Lessons Learnt Number Four – Using Social Media to Amplify Youth Voices

Social media is all around us. Facebook pops up onto our screens with notifications, we spend hours admiring Instagram images and we check in with the twitter-verse. In the ten years since Picture You in Agriculture (PYiA) was born we’ve used social media to share our stories, create conversations and build relationships over countless interactions. In this edition of our Lesson Learnt series we talk to Young Farming Champions Bessie Thomas and Anika Molesworth to find out how social media can be used to amplify youth voices.

Bessie Thomas uses Facebook as her social media platform of choice to share her life on Burragan Station in western NSW. “I like Facebook for its ability to be short or long form,” she says. “I’m primarily a long-form writer and enjoy Facebook’s ability to allow me to explore my thoughts thoroughly, use language as it pleases me (especially for writing with comedic affect) and then add visuals to suit.”

Bessie at Burragan.JPG

Bessie.JPG

Just as Bessie enjoys Facebook for its long-form option Anika prefers the brevity of Twitter. “Twitter demands less wordiness and is relatively easy to use,” she says, “and I can use short sentences and one link or a picture.”

Whatever the choice of platform both girls agree it is connecting to your audience that is most important. “Having a public Facebook page is like creating my own little community,” Bessie says of her audience who come to her to experience real-life on a sheep property. “The one aim of my Facebook page has always been to show the human side of farming, show that I/my husband/our family/farmers in general are real people with the same everyday hopes, dreams, problems, desires, challenges, illnesses, brain-farts, morals, ethics and ideals as everyone else. I want to show that we are individuals who care, not just mass production food factories. We are not perfect; we are just as human as everyone else.”

For Anika using social media is about connecting with people who can spread her environmental and climate change messages. “I think Twitter is well used by farmers, researchers and politicians who are connected to the topics I am talking about,” she says, “and I like you can tag anyone, no matter who they are. For example I sometimes engage in a Twitter conversation with policy makers and where else could I do this?”

Anika Twitter

Using images and video is a trademark of many social media platforms and both Bessie and Anika use these to great effect. Bessie recently created a video after drought-breaking rain fell at Burragan. The video reached over 20,000 people and was picked up by the Sky News Weather Channel. See footnote

Anika has recently compiled short videos to share on Twitter where she talks about such subjects as renewable energy and climate change. “I am really interested in amplifying the voice of rural Australia, so I asked myself, how can I project my story further and raise awareness of topics I believe are important? I decided to make a series of short videos of me on my family’s farm. Walking around my paddocks I try to give observation and insight on my life in Far West NSW around a central theme of climate change – both its impacts and how it can be addressed.”

Anika admits, that although she is familiar and comfortable with Twitter and has built up an engaged audience and has being identified as the most influential agriculturalist on Twitter , there is always more to learn. Bessie too, finds it a continuous learning process but has these tips for creating successful posts:

  • Create authentic content. Don’t use give-aways or ask for likes and don’t post just for the sake of posting. Amplify your voice in a curated way.
  • Respond to comments and private messages and, in doing so, build trusted relationships.
  • Know your purpose, or aim, and stick to it.
  • Create an emotional connection. My best posts are the honest ones where I am celebrating the highs and also admitting vulnerability. Whinging and complaining posts tend not to do so well.
  • Spell-check! See footnote

Picture You in Agriculture provides all Young Farming Champions with training in social media skills during their immersion workshops and encourages them to share their experiences. Young Farming Champion Alana Black has recently contributed to this by creating a social media strategy document, sharing with YFC how to create engaging content. Just like Bessie and Anika, Alana’s believes it is about connecting with an audience to start a conversation and deliver a positive message about agriculture.

Footnote

That moment when Sky News wants to put your video on national TV and your dad rings to remind you of the ” i” before “e” rule except after “c”

A reminder we should all aim for progress not perfection