Glenbrooks Speech and Debate Tournament
2020 — Classrooms.Cloud, IL/US
FAQs and Tech
FAQ
Q: What platform is the tournament on, and how do I access that platform?
A: The tournament is using the classrooms.cloud platform. Go to tournaments.classrooms.cloud to make sure that you can log in with your Tabroom.com account information. A few days before the tournament, there will be test rooms available.
In order to access your rooms on the day of the tournament, first look up which room you are supposed to be in on tabroom.com. Then, heads to tournaments.classrooms.cloud. Go to tournaments, and then go to the Glenbrooks tournament. From there you should be able to locate your room.
Q: How do I get tech/day of tournament help?
A: Please use the help function in Classrooms.Cloud (either the live chat or the contact us section.) Please DO NOT email us individually - receiving help will go much more efficiently if you use the streamlined feature. Each Classrooms.Cloud room will have an internal help function. If you absolutely need to email and can't use the help feature integrated into Classrooms.Cloud, please use the below email addresses (not our individual emails)
Tech help email is classroom function is not working: help@classrooms.cloud
If you need help from a specific event tabroom email:
glenbrookshelp2020+con@gmail.
glenbrookshelp2020+jvncx@
glenbrookshelp2020+vcx@gmail.
glenbrookshelp2020+jvld@gmail.
glenbrookshelp2020+vld@gmail.
glenbrookshelp2020+npf@gmail.
glenbrookshelp2020+vpf@gmail.com
glenbrookshelp2020+ie@gmail.
Reg help - glenbrookshelp2020+reg@gmail.com
A: Yes. There is a 10 minute tech time rule for all events. Judges will need to enforce this rule to make sure that the tournament runs on time.
Nobody should be prepping for their debates/events during tech time. Tech time is only to be used for emergency situations where sound, wifi, etc. cut out.
Q: Are coin flips done on Tabroom.com?
A. Yes. Coin flip times etc. can be found on the schedule.
Q: Can I come late to my tech check-in time if I want to coach my team over Zoom?
A: No. Everyone is responsible for working out their coaching/team systems so that they can be at tech check in on time. All participants (STUDENTS AND JUDGES) will be required to virtually “check in” to their Classroms.Cloud rooms prior to the start of every round at the tournament. These times are listed on schedules. Failure to check in may result in disqualification from the round at the discretion of the tournament. Check-in is where disclosure will also take place. If judges do not check in by the check in time for each round, we may have to remove a judge and fine the school and/or drop the judge's school from the competition. PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR STUDENTS AND JUDGES.
Q: What do I do if one of my teams does not show up in the morning?
A: We hope that you can ensure that all of your students are present. If there is an emergency drop, please use the help feature on Classrooms.Cloud to let us know. Due to the size of the tournament, we will not be using a Digital Bus form.
Q: What naming conventions should I use?
A: You should rename yourself on Zoom to include your role in the tournament (student or judge), your name and the school you attend. Optionally, you can add pronouns.For example -
Judge - Ferris Bueller - Glenbrook North - he/him/his
Debater - Patrick Stump - Glenbrook South
Q: Should judges/students have their cameras on during debates?
A: Yes. Judges and students should have their cameras on during all speeches and cross-examinations.
Q: If there's a problem with the platform, can we just switch to a different platform before the round?
A: No. You must use classrooms.cloud. Contact us if there are issues but please do not switch platforms.
Q: Do I really need to go to the judges' lounge if I'm not assigned a debate?
A. YES! Please do this. All judges in a pool but not judging a particular round must wait in the judge lounge for their event on standby until a member of the tabroom room lets all judges know they are not needed for that round. If we call a judge to fill in and the judge is not present in the lounge, we will fine the school as if the judge missed the round. PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR JUDGES.
Q: Are observers allowed?
A: Unfortunately, in order to keep the tournament running smoothly, we can not allow observers. This is also for safety and security reasons.HOWEVER, we will live stream some of the most competitive debates/chambers/IEs throughout the tournament. There is a tab to the right on the website that contains spreadsheets with links. We are trying to strike a balance - we know some tournaments have not had observers at all and we are trying to facilitate the community experience that livestreaming on YouTube provides.
Tech Resources
Here are some additional resources for getting comfortable with the technology prior to and during the tournament:
1) The most important thing you can do the week before the tournament is to make sure that you can log into tournaments.classrooms.cloud. This may require you resetting your tabroom.com password. Please do this BEFORE the tournament.
Thanks to the University of Kentucky/Lincoln for these following resources:
2) Here is a video about accessing classrooms.cloud rooms
3) Here is a video about navigating online tournaments
4) Here is a video about the basics of Zoom
5) Here is a video about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-sYLWUknkY
If you still have questions about the technology side of the tournament, please email acorrigan@glenbrook225.org (preferably at least 48 hours before the tournament starts.)