Category: Files

Prepd’s Virtual Extemp Challenge is Gauging Interest!

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On April 29, 2020

In Files

Since the coronavirus pandemic took off in the United States, most speech and debate tournaments have been cancelled. However, the Tournament of Champions recently ran as a virtual competition, and NSDA Nationals is planning to do so as well.

Prepd is considering launching its own virtual tournament specifically for Extemporaneous speaking (link to https://prepd.in/VirtualExtemp/). Prepd wants to reimagine a speech and debate tournament from scratch as a digitally native offering, which would include:

· A massive, open, online competition

· Scholarship prizes for winners

· A dashboard for virtual audience engagement

· Digital certificates of accomplishment

· Separate pools for varsity and novice extempers

Learn more about Prepd’s vision for the Virtual Extemp Challenge by visiting https://prepd.in/VirtualExtemp/.

Prepd is still gauging interest from the broader community. Anyone who is interested in participating as a competitor, judge, or coach is encouraged to fill out this brief form: https://forms.gle/HPYpDYBqVhdbSoM18

Prepd Updates Mobile Apps, Offers FREE Access Through the Summer

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On June 9, 2018

In Files

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l_2Prepd – the software startup behind popular applications for Extemp and Congress – released a major update this week. New versions of Prepd’s iPhone and Android applications are now available. With Version 1.2.0, you can save articles directly to Extemp folders and Congress bills from your phone. Also, the app supports dedicated news reading apps, like Apple News.

Prepd’s blog provides additional details about the mobile app update. Prepd’s mobile initiative is a major focus for the company. Prepd coaches and debaters can expect to see new mobile features soon.

Perhaps of greater interest to those competing at NSDA Nationals or attending a summer camp, Prepd will be entirely free to use from now until September. Although Prepd has offered free membership options in the past (Free Team accounts for groups of students that want to collaborate, and Free One accounts for those who file and compete independently), the free accounts were limited to saving 100 total articles. Now, those restrictions have been removed. You can create a Free Team or a Free One account and save up to 250,000 articles, which is the same article limit enjoyed by Premium (paid) accounts.

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

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Prepd launches the News Feed, an auto-filing solution for Extemp news articles

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On January 1, 2017

In Files

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l_2Prepd is determined to finish 2016 with a bang. The Prepd Team just released several major new features. The most notable among them, at least from Extemp Central’s perspective, is the News Feed – an auto-filing solution that automatically pulls articles from 21 different news sources.

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Q&A With Ian Panchevre, The Founder of Prepd

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On November 11, 2016

In Files

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l_2If you’re a regular reader of Extemp Central, chances are you’re familiar with Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). The startup that has built popular apps for Extemp and Congress recently launched Generation 3, a brand new version of its debate technology. I caught up with Ian Panchevre, the founder of Prepd. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

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Prepd Unveils Generation 3, The Next Version of its Debate Technology

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On June 11, 2016

In Files

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Prepd – the startup behind popular Extemp and Congress software – has just unveiled the next version of its debate technology: Generation 3.

“Prepd Generation 3 is a complete rebuild of our technology,” Prepd founder, Ian Panchèvre, explains. “We’ve completely reimagined what debate software should be.”

Since graduating from Yale last spring, Panchèvre has visited dozens of schools to see how students and teachers were using Prepd in a live classroom environment, embarking on what he describes as “a customer empathy journey.”

“Instead of thinking about Prepd as a former debater, building what I would have wanted to use, I wanted to understand and channel the needs of the community directly into our product.”

Ultimately, he and his team arrived at a number of key insights that informed their thinking. In true Extemp fashion, Panchèvre lists three points:

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Prepd Finishes Year 2, Launches Software for Congressional Debate

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On June 3, 2015

In Files

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l_2Prepd – software that helps extemporaneous speakers research, practice, and compete –  was founded in April, 2013. Thus far, nearly 300 debate programs have adopted the application. Over 1 million articles have been uploaded. With all of Prepd’s progress, it seems fitting that Prepd is now supporting a second debate event. I caught up with Prepd’s founder, Ian Panchèvre, to learn more about Prepd’s new product for Congressional Debate.

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Prepd Goes Mobile!: Prepd releases an iPad App, Prepares to Launch a Free Smartphone App for Student Congress

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On January 23, 2015

In Files

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l_2Prepd is software for Extemp. Prepd helps extempers research, practice, and compete. For coaches, Prepd makes it easy to manage and monitor their team. Learn more about Prepd by visiting www.prepd.in

Prepd is proud to announce the launch of its first mobile product! Prepd for iPad is an application that replicates the experience of Prepd’s Offline App. Prepd’s mobile app runs on iPad devices using iOS 8.0 and higher.

To download Prepd for iPad, simply search “Prepd – Extemp” in the App Store or open the following link on your iPad: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prepd-extemp/id949527116

Prepd’s iPad app synchronizes articles from the Dashboard. Users can go offline and open folders and articles while in competition. The iPad app is free to download, but requires a Prepd account in order to log in.

Moreover, Prepd is weeks away from releasing a new product for Student Congress. Precedence is a mobile app that will run on iPhone and Android devices. As the name implies, Precedence makes it easy for debaters to keep track of precedence and recency in a Student Congress round. Precedence will be available for free to any person who would like to use the app, even if their team does not use Prepd’s Extemp software.

Learn more about Precedence: http://prepd.in/precedence/

If you submit your email through the website, you will be among the first to know when Precedence is available for free download.

Filing Technology: Extemp Central Chats With Prepd!

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On October 3, 2014

In Files

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l_2Prepd is software for Extemp. Prepd helps extempers research, practice, and compete. For coaches, Prepd makes it easy to manage and monitor their team. Learn more about Prepd by visiting www.prepd.in

The following is an excerpted conversation between Extemp Central’s Logan Scisco and Ian Panchèvre, the founder of Prepd. You can reach Ian by emailing [email protected].

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Plug: Prepd Extemp Filing Software

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On August 30, 2013

In Files

1238112_499167350177246_728795908_nSan Antonio, TX, August 28th, 2013 – Prepd, dedicated software for Extemp, launched today in public beta. Prepd has already been working with about a dozen, private beta partners. As of today, any high school or college debate team, or individual competitor, can join Prepd.

Extemporaneous Speaking (or “Extemp”) is a speech and debate event that requires competitors to give speeches on current event topics, with limited preparation.

In the past, extempers would prepare by printing out and filing thousands of news articles from the Internet. However, rule changes by the National Forensic League and many local circuits now allow students to use laptops and tablets to access articles in competition.

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R&D: Majority Favor Government Shutdown, Ireland’s New Election Could Lead to EU Battle, and Palin’s Numbers Fall in Iowa

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On February 28, 2011

In Files

Here is your R&D for February 28th:

58% Favor Government Shutdown Until Spending Cuts Are Agreed Upon from Rasmussen Reports
Polling service Rasmussen, which leans right, has just released a poll which shows that 58% of Americans favor a government shutdown until spending cuts are agreed upon.  Republicans are likely to seize on the data to press Democrats for spending cuts.

With New Government, EU Could Become Next Battleground from Der Spiegel
Ireland’s recent elections have ushered in a new government and voters expect it to renegotiate the terms of the country’s bailout with the European Union and that could create a bloodbath in Brussels.

Palin’s Numbers Dip in Iowa from the Atlantic
If Sarah Palin wants to mount a presidential bid, she needs to do more to win over primary voters as a new poll among likely Republican voters in Iowa conducted by the Des Moines Register shows that the number of voters who have a favorable opinion of her have declined since 2009.

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Five Sources You Should Consider Cutting

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On October 8, 2010

In Files

Extempers usually cut newspapers and magazines for their files.  However, there are some critical resources that could help you in a round or help you find the answers to some of the most pressing issues facing the world today.  Extemp Central has assembled a list of five sources that you should consider cutting for your file box.

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Strategy: Five Ways to Improve the Organization of Your File Boxes

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On September 24, 2010

In Files, Strategy

Since extemporaneous speaking is a limited preparation event, it is crucial that extempers be as organized as possible.  This is very crucial when it comes to filing.  Extemp files that are unorganized are not useful and greatly hamper the chances of an extemper to do well at a tournament.

To help novice and veteran extempers alike, Extemp Central presents five tips that can make your file boxes more organized and effective.

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Extemp Central’s Twitter Lists Will Help You File Smarter

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On November 5, 2009

In Files

Extemp Central on Twitter

Extemp Central on Twitter

by Corey Alderdice

If you haven’t heard, Twitter is kind of a big deal.  With an estimated 18 million active users by the end of the 2009, it seems safe to say that the Tweet Machine is no passing fad.

Last week, Twitter began rolling out the wide release of its new Lists function.  The Twitter Blog describes the feature in short:

The idea is to allow people to curate lists of Twitter accounts. For example, you could create a list of the funniest Twitter accounts of all time, athletes, local businesses, friends, or any compilation that makes sense.

Lists are public by default (but can be made private) and the lists you’ve created are linked from your profile. Other Twitter users can then subscribe to your lists. This means lists have the potential to be an important new discovery mechanism for great tweets and accounts.

Your friends at Extemp Central have encouraged you to both become our Fan on Facebook and follow our tweets.  The lists capability provides an even better reason to join us on Twitter: keeping up on news and cultivating your files.  Currently, Extemp Central is following nearly 70 magazines, websites, policy journals, think tanks and institutions to help you better understand the news of the world each day.  The lists are subdivided in specific areas to better address your needs:

@extemp/politics

@extemp/education

@extemp/entertainment

@extemp/policy-journals

@extemp/think-tanks

@extemp/science-and-tech

@extemp/sports

@extemp/international

@extemp/united-states

We really, really want your help in making this an outstanding utility for extempers.  Have a look at the sources Extemp Central is currently following.  From there, send us an email or leave a comment on this post on any additional websites, individuals, publications or organizations that would be useful to add to the list.  You are even welcome to suggest any additional lists that we should create or follow from other users.

If you are new to Twitter or just thinking about joining (which you should!), Mashable (@mashable) has an excellent online guide to using Twitter.

The Right Way to File

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On September 15, 2008

In Files, Strategy

by Mark Royce

Many extempers become slaves to their tubs, rather than letting the files serve them.

The file boxes perennially transported by extemporaneous speakers to tournaments across the country perform a variety of functions.  The most important, obviously, is the assistance they provide to the competitor’s memory: facts, figures, dates, locations, and other very precise pieces of information are quickly accessible in an organized system, such that no precious prep time need be wasted in their retrieval.  Furthermore, most extempers either modify an inherited set of tubs or design their own, which teaches them to organize foreign and domestic issues in meaningful categories.  All the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, would be grouped together, as would intertwined economic issues back home.  I might also add in jest that traversing the country with such ponderous luggage as extemp tubs teaches patience and improves physical stamina, while providing a constant reminder of how technologically antiquated the NFL’s procedures are.  But there is another role which extemp files frequently play that they certainly should not, and the purpose of this article is to warn of the dangers of relating to the tubs in this manner.

Do not the files often assume a kind of idolatrous affection in the minds of those who maintain them?  Do not many extempers, usually of at least intermediate skill, lavish a sort of narcissistic attention on their tubs, taking care to highlight in a favorite color, to ensure that each folder contains a certain number of articles, or to resolve to file for a certain number of hours each day?  Granted, such habits may be the honest manifestations of the quest for excellence: order, method, clarity, and daily attention to the headlines are essential; and a committed extemper is by all means entitled to customize the portable library on which he perpetually relies.  But extempers, as a whole, devote too much time and attention to the files, striving to meet some self-imposed standard of aesthetic perfection as librarians rather than remaining focused on winning tournaments as public speakers.

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