Balanced discussions on the Hub
Topical Talk Festivals are all about showcasing a diverse range of perspectives from around the world.
If there is an imbalance in perspectives that might affect this diversity, for example, if the discussion is flooded with similar view points, the Topical Talk team might curate the discussion a bit more.
This might mean…
…we introduce a cap on comments for students in some areas.
If you receive a notification saying that we cannot accept your comment because there are too many from your area, this does not mean that your ideas aren’t good – it just means that we want to give other students a chance to be heard as well as you, because you have already contributed to the discussion.
If you see this notification, enjoy spending time reading other student’s opinions and try again the next day.
…we prioritise accepting comments that reply to other students.
Replies are very important for the Festival because they help you to develop the discussions.
…we reject comments with ideas that are very similar to things that have already been said.
We strongly advise you to read the discussion and try to think of something new.
Alternatively, if your ideas are similar to someone else's, reply to them and say why you agree, rather than just repeating the same points again.
How else could we help more people to be heard on the Hub?
For example, how else could we balance discussions to make sure Topical Talkers from every country have a fair say?
Or how could we encourage more countries to join the fun?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
A final tip from the Topical Talk team: to get the most out of the Festival, you should be spending most of your time on the Hub reading other view points and thinking about why there are different opinions about the news. Try to look for opinions that are different from your own!
Comments (29)
Well since the problem is that people make points that are very similar to each other and that is not wanted because you guys want to hear everyone ones comment I proffer this ideas:
1. There should be many discussions about a single topic to enable the users to give their point of views on these topics. As these will make the users points be diverse because of the availability of various discussions.
2. Much hints and outlines should be given so that people will have various points of views about the topic and even though people might still have similar opinions it could still have another meaning when carefully scrutinized and thought over again.
3. Another thing is that topics are not released frequently so that is why you can see about 176 comments in just one discussion so, I think topics should be released frequently and another regarding topics release topics that entail and contain discussions that will make the users have diverse but interesting and amazing perspectives.
You can also re-emphasize on users reading and checking other people's comment before people take their comments which they were ignorant about the fact that their comments were alike to others as plagiarism.
I agree because... Because discussions exchange points of view, opinions and ideas, and discussing ideas is of great importance, as it is one of the most important basic pillars because it develops the mind (mind) and thinking.
I believe you are right congenial_pear, when we have a discussion to talk about, we are having just only 4 or 5 things to talk on the hub, this may cause repetition from the user, how could we balance the discussions to make sure everyone have a fair say, I sincerely agree with you, set up enough discussions on the hub, this will avoid repetition, the topical talk team told us on every hub we should read what other topical talkers said but why did they say so? It is because to enable us to stop repetition of post not only that, but to also get ideas from other topical talkers. To encourage other countries to join the fun, we should give them the were about that the festivals is a place here we share different views about what is in the news, lot of topical talkers have learn't a lot from this festival not only them, but also to the Topical talk team learn't a lot from our views
I agree with you. It is not good for the contestant to repeat the comment as it is. The more the comments are different, the greater the degree of knowledge and benefit from these topics. If I have a similar point of view to an existing comment, I prefer to respond to this comment and clarify what I want to say in my own style. I also expect the reason for repeating the comments. The group participating in the topical talk is somewhat similar in age and intellect.
Dialogue and discussion can only be based on differences of opinion. This makes us expand our thinking and understand more about the subject from different angles and how each person thinks about the subject from his point of view.
This does not mean that the opinions of others should always differ from yours, but in the end the human mind is not the same and everyone sees the subject according to his culture, customs and traditions or according to the environment in which he lives.
And this is what I seek during discussions, to express what is on my mind. If I agree with you, then I agree with you, and if I do not agree with you, then I must clarify my point of view, but regarding the foundations of dialogue and discussion, the most important of which is respect,
All this in order to learn more about the subject and study it from all angles and to increase intellectual awareness.
I think, as the experts said, it's best for us to respond to each other. This is good. As for me, if my thinking is similar to someone's idea, I respond to him, praise him, and adjust my idea.... But if his idea is strange and contradictory to me, then I respond to him, thank him, and say my kindness to him. This is how I learned... But if I don't find an idea like mine, I hang on... Maybe some students will be easier to answer because it doesn't require deep thought. Instead you see the student thread and all you have to do is reply..... I also love replying to experts, so I have gained many skills....
The best, dear students, is to set aside a day for cheering and a day for responding so that you have the opportunity to learn more and see the topic from more than one side, then when you respond to some students with confidence, this develops and develops your future skills.... ⚡⚡
What do you think?
I agree with you, because the points of view from one person to another are different, so we must listen to others in his point of view and think about the points of view of others, and reading their comments develops the mind and occupies the thinking of the positive mind. Many hints regarding the topic in order to get different points of view and also read and verify what other users wrote so that your comment is not similar to others, but rather distinct and different from any other user
As for really, I thank Topical Tolk for the best competition I entered. I feel excited. Our school is considered the fourth in the world and the second in my country, but my first goal is for my school to be the first in the world. And really, thanks to our elite students in my school, we will win first place without any doubt, and frankly, your laws are beautiful and fair. The best solution for balancing opinions in Topical Talk is to choose topics in which opinions are not contradictory and that everyone likes them in order to serve public opinion and serve scientific matters that benefit people. I believe that the topic of Earth Day has influenced a lot in my life. motivating, and valuable prizes, to show people that the competition is for entertainment and education, not for education only, since the competition started and I have been looking forward to new information,
Glad you are enjoying the Festival. But surely opinions are always going to be contradictory? It's the debate that is important, so that we can learn from each other.
What is beautiful in any comment is the contradictory opinions, because he tells his own opinion and information, and this is what makes matters fiery, and this is how we gain new information. Even the principal of our school met with us one day to discuss the developments of the competition and we presented her with new and interesting information about what we gained from the competition. The suspense played a role in the enthusiasm and contradiction of opinions. Getting everyone to write and comment is really fun I hope it goes like this.....
What really makes the discussion more useful is the contradiction.
Everyone has an idea or information that contradicts my opinion. We must respect it and accept the other opinion, no matter how different it is and does not fit my thinking.
Dialogue and discussion is to increase our culture and not for fanaticism.
This is the beauty of the festival. Discussion, dialogue and listening to other people's opinions and points of view.
Yes, sometimes our opinions are always contradictory because of the difference in culture or customs that we coexist with, but we do not want to be silent, but rather we want to learn in depth about the subject through research and recycling
You could encourage more countries to join the fun by making standpoints that concern their country or affects their country through one way or the other.
I agree with you. And making standpoints will surely encourage the students, since standpoints are your final view about a topic, the piece of work will sum up your opinion on a topic. But standpoints aren’t the only ones that can encourage a student, making a more fun and interesting video will also encourage students because by them watching the fun videos they can understand better and would like to contribute more to the conversation since they understand it well
I agree with you because making stand points and videos will make the students to become more interested and motivated. Also having a live zoom discussion about a topic before the topic is released will also go a long way in arousing our interest giving us better understanding of the topic because when we had the previous zoom live sessions after the topic of discussion, it made us understand the topic more. It will make the students understand the topic more and they'll be able to hear other peoples opinion .
A number of suggestions can be developed:
Encourage inclusivity: Promote open and respectful discussions, where everyone's opinions are valued and encouraged.
Offer communication tools: Introduce additional communication channels such as email, chat, or forum categories to facilitate discussions between members.
Create a safe space: Implement measures to prevent trolling, harassment, or other negative behavior that can intimidate users and discourage them from participating.
Improve search functions: Implement powerful search functionality with filters to facilitate the discovery of relevant topics and prevent users from repeating questions or topics previously discussed.
Provide support: Encourage community members to provide support and collaborate with users to address their queries and concerns.
Reach out to diverse groups: Consider marketing initiatives or outreach programs that target underrepresented or marginalized groups.
Celebrate success: Recognize and celebrate members that contribute regularly to the community to inspire more engagement and increase participation.
Facilitate networking opportunities: Provide opportunities for members to connect with one another beyond the community, such as virtual meetups, meet and greets, or conferences.
By incorporating these suggestions, the number of voices represented on the Hub, and the engagement levels will increase, and the community will grow stronger
Showcase the benefits: Highlight the benefits that the HUP can bring to countries that join, such as increased innovation, and better access to resources and technologies.
Address concerns: Address any concerns or misunderstandings that people may have about the HUP.
Build partnerships: Work to build partnerships with other countries, international organizations, and stakeholders to increase credibility and trust in the HUP.
Provide incentives: Offer incentives to countries that join the HUP, such as increased access to funding or assistance with technological development.
Increase awareness: Increase awareness and understanding of the HUP through outreach and education efforts, including conferences, workshops, and online resources.
I think that you should do some things to avoid such things. I have some suggestions that I will present to you, and I hope that you will discuss with me what I say.
I think that you should make more than one topic per week instead of one topic. As a contestant in this competition, I suffer from the idea that I comment every day on the same topic. Sometimes my comments may be similar to those of other colleagues.
I also think that you should make the topics more open so that the contestants can express their points of view more comfortably
I also have a suggestion, but I do not think that everyone will agree with me, as I say that you must make each topic a certain limit of comments, so the competition will intensify and they will rush to win
I think you should put an end to the comments so that we can read all the comments so that you do not fall into the problem of similar opinions and comments
I agree and don't agree with that ,
I agree to put end for comments but not to end the reply for those comments.
I mean that we can share our opinion of the other's view point either by aggreeing or disagreeing by replying to their comment, and this will improve the discussion and enriches the topic.
I thought that you did not accept my comments because my comment is bad, but when looking at these words, I really felt the amount of support they provided us. I will describe my experience with topical talk festival. I really felt that I had ideas and that this competition is like a notebook for blogs and I write all my thoughts on it. I feel that I will come out of this competition with a lot of beautiful meanings and some new discussions and information. It's really a very good experience And the subject of royal rule is very beautiful, as I learned a lot of new information, such as the rules of royal dress, food, and so on... Many thanks to the entire topical talk festival team for this information and support.
To have all countries participate in the conversation and have a balanced discussion since each participant can make at most 3post or comments a day, you can check the posts and comments under a topic to see the countries that have not been active and send a message to the teachers to make them participate more.
Firstly I want to say that when I first attended the global discussion that is topical talk competition last year I didn't contribute so much I just written three or four comments and those comment's have been just approved and didn't get any star or replies from. And I didn't bothered because I wasn't interested as it was my first competition to have a discussion session with other schools through out the globe. And I don't know how to convey my opinions that's going on my head so I didn't perform well. But my school got awards from "The economist" and I felt so happy, at the same time I felt bad for not contributing my part to my school. So this time I really wanted to contribute my part to this global discussion sessions so I reviewed every students comment's and learnt their way of sharing opinions. And when I started to write my first comment I was really careful that time and on the first day I came from my school and viewed my profile, when I saw that I just got a single star for my comment I just jumped like anything and I really got motivated by that single star and from the next day I researched through many websites, news, and even asked my parents ,siblings to share their opinions on the topics and i really got to know other's point of views and perspectives. And ofc, now I have got many stars and atleast doing better than last time. So I think the interest and motivation matters. To have more countries to join the discussion I think taking topics that are related to all the countries around the globe not just relevant to a particular country. And especially giving some hints, like for climate change we had four laws to make a discussion on that. So giving additional subtopics would really make a good discussion. And asking many questions on the topic would be really interesting for us to answer.
Thank you for this feedback- giving structure to the discussions, as you've suggested, is something we're working on!
I agree because Your experience is actually quite similar to mine and what I felt was a change in my personality after I got into the topical speaking project, I became more curious about what was going on around the world in terms of issues etc and I love the spirit of competition and it gave us the confidence to express our opinions in the beginning It used to be difficult for me to formulate my opinions and expressions, but now I do it easily and at ease
Putting more than one question on one topic is a beautiful thing from my point of view, because through this we will avoid falling into similar opinions, and the students will be excited to delve more about the questions that were asked and delve into the same topic
I think that we, as contestants, can find a solution that helps us instead of asking the officials to help us, which is to ask questions about many topics and respond to each other, and here we would have opened deep discussions on many topics instead of always writing about topics without answering a question
Hello!
Well due to the fact there are many similar points on a singular topic and since you want to hear the opinions of everyone I came up with this suggestion:
1. Many sub topics should be opened to ensure that the views of everyone will be heard. This wil enable users be diverse and resourceful with the topics and information they are given rather than everyone commenting on the same topic thereby leading to the reduction of plagiarism which has been a problem of the conversation in the past.
2 .I think more competitions should be held as it gives the users the opportunity to earn more stars thereby boosting their morale and giving them more inspiration to post high quality comments.
3. Encouraging students to research information or get them from credible sources before they post but they should acknowledge the creators of such information to reduce the rejection of high quality comments.
4. More countries and schools should be encouraged to get involved in the competition leading to airing of schools all over the world.
5. More topics that occur in day to day activities should be brought up thereby students participating will have first hand experience of such topics allowing them to talk out of experience and not hypothesis
Since this is a discussion students should be encouraged to converse with each other thereby allowing them to accommodate different people's opinion.
So firstly, I would say that it would be way better and nicer if the tropical talk could establish/add more topics a week because with the knowledge that there are many schools involved in this competition, many students start to post immediately the new topic is out which leads to other student's comments being rejected under the reason that he or she copied another students work which could be very annoying due to the fact that a student may have the same idea as another student who has already commented.
We thank your team for the good follow-up of the comments and giving the evaluations. I suggest that in order to see everyone’s comments, either increase the number of residents for the comments, or allocate a team for each country to read its comments and evaluate them. Encouragement on your part to accept opinions and give them appropriate evaluations encourages participation more. Every participant has his opinions and ideas on the topic that you put forward for discussion. They may be similar. Some words among the participants This does not mean that the one who expressed his opinion transferred the idea of another person despite the similarity of the words. For example, I express my opinion and my answers to the question you ask after that. I follow the comments because if I read the comments first and then I participated, some of the opinions that I read may change From my idea, I prefer my answer and my idea first, then I follow the comments.
Thanks for your valuable feedback!
What is the best advice to students, do you think, to encourage spending most of their time reading the discussion and a bit of time commenting where they want to add something new to the discussion?
We thank the organizers of this valuable competition, which gave us the opportunity to socialize and get acquainted with prominent personalities and their achievements, and benefit from the method of their success and exchange opinions from everyone about these achievements, which gave us experience in the cultural and practical field in our lives, also my participation in discussions about Metaverse, Earth Day, angels, changes Climate made me search and gain new information, as for the exchange of ideas between different age groups, it certainly gave us an opportunity for cognitive expansion.
I agree that knowledge should be spread everywhere, and everyone everywhere should be allowed to participate in expressing their opinions, but rightly, I object to the system of deleting comments for the most interactive region, because I believe that comments should be accepted on the basis of conditions and quality. As for the region, it should not be looked at because it is knowledge Get used to the student himself before the specified area, and also I see that the most interactive area is the area that is most interested in the project and the most demanding for knowledge, so they should not be rejected or rejected, because they will feel neglected by the project leaders, and gradually they will refrain from commenting and holding discussions in the project, and thus it will be reflected On their society, they become less in search of knowledge and interest, so I hope that accepting comments is not related to the region or place
Thank you for your feedback wise_shrimp,
Do you have any suggestions for how to keep the discussion on the Student Hub balanced?
When I was young, I used the method of deprivation of pleasures as an alternative to punishment by beating or other things in order to improve my behavior and behavior, or in case of neglecting my studies, and this makes me feel the amount of grace that I possessed, so I think that the method of deprivation is the best solution. I suggest closing non-interactive accounts for a certain period until he feels His companion with the grace he was in, so he learns the lesson and everyone comments so that they get stars and high ranks on the honor board
I agree with your opinion on that. It is certain that when a student sees that his comments have been rejected, a measure that increasing the number of comments in his region will lose the hope and enthusiasm that he had and he will feel frustrated and he will also neglect and not give importance to the subject. I say if the team of this festival should give it to every school specified number ofComments so that they can read them and not reject comments
I prefer this competition because I feel excited when I share comments. Topical Talk These are great notes. I agree with you. This competition, in my opinion, wants to reveal students' abilities in expressive skills and artistic style.
Also, the views push them to identify new ideas and benefit from the opinions of their colleagues
How can you help Topical talkers to be heard on the hub??
Thank you alot because I was
waiting to answer this question.I am as a student felt excited as soon as I have got my first star and that supported me to share daily and have fun with you,also I started to encourage my colleagues at school to share , really we all feel comfortably and happily to be heard .On the other hand , other students felt pessimistic and stopped comments because they were sharing without any support or stars.
We are young and we need psychological support to continue so please ,you should appreciate our best .
I mean give a star to those who didn't get before and wait the result!!!!!!
Thank you for you feedback! For Festival 2023 we have changed the star system to give more stars. You may have noticed from the leaderboard star numbers!
i feel like the importance of Earth day if really great because a lot of people do not take care of the Earth or their house or just throw trash everywhere and i feel like if they ever got rid of earth day the world would be a mess.
Also the trees and the wildlife would most likely die because their habitats would be a mess and they probably wont be able to find food or water because it would most likely be polluted.
I agree because...together we have to make the world a better place, that's why each year on April 22, more than a billion people celebrate Earth Day to protect the planet from things like pollution and deforestation. By taking part in activities like picking up litter and planting trees, we're making our world a happier, healthier place to live. Personally, I really love Earth day because it celebrates the environmental diversity of Earth and highlights ways of protecting our beloved planet.
Rejection, that's a problem we all have as students participating in the Topical Talk Festival. When I receive a notification that my comment has been rejected due to the large number of comments in my area, I am very sad because I thought, created, came out, and commented, and I was not given any star, and my comment was rejected! Really when I see my comments rejected I feel like I have to give up but I remember that I am strong all the time and no comments can make my effort go. You must give us a chance. via :
1. Read comments before dismissing them
2. When accepting a comment, we would love to see you respond to us, as this makes us think that our comment won your admiration.
3. Reject any similar comment
4. Give the wonderful comments a star
This is my opinion, I hope you will accept it, and I thank the topical talk festival team for your efforts.
Thanks for your feedback fair_tennis,
We've been awarding more stars than ever with a new system on 1, 2 or 3 stars available for comments. It might also be a good idea to stick to weekdays for commenting. We'll review all feedback for future Festivals!
I propose a solution that there are students who must learn hard in order to collect a star and their comment is not rejected, and the referees or presidents should appreciate the effort and effort, and also the students make efforts on this site
Provide Feedback and Evaluation
After the discussion is over, providing feedback and evaluating its success can help in improving moderation techniques and balancing discussions. Feedback can help in identifying areas of strength and areas that require improvement. Evaluation also assists in identifying any biases that may have affected the discussion's outcome, paving the way for better-balanced discussions in the future
Reflecting on the discussions is a great idea!
I think that
Before starting a discussion, it's essential to identify power dynamics, such as different cultural, economic, social, or political backgrounds that may influence participation. Addressing these power dynamics can help eliminate any obstacles to equal participation. For instance, moderators can take a proactive role in ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to share their views
It is rejected because the comment is stolen, copied, or similar to it. I have a simple solution to divide the week. To five days, every five countries in a day, and you find a two-day break, and this is a solution to this problem.
I am happy to say my proposal, but this depends on the number of countries participating in this festival. Days of the week are 7... We exclude your leave on Saturday, thus they became 6. If we propose to allocate each day to include some specific countries, for example (Palestine, America, India) on such and such a day, either ( China, Nigeria, Britain) on such and such a day... And it is forbidden for any country to comment on a day that is not designated for it. This will allow everyone a fair opportunity to evaluate and also make it easier for you to work, but all countries must adhere to their specified day for commenting, and I do not know the number of participating countries. If you like the idea, you can divide the number of countries by 6 Days...and you say everyone about this idea....
What do you think, dear experts?
Thanks
It is nice to provide opportunities for others to comment and give an opinion. It is true that I am saddened by the rejection of my comment because of the many comments in my area, but I do not give up. On the second day I send the comments that were rejected and I do not despair. I have a solution that will satisfy everyone, to draw lots between countries and schools to choose between the days in which countries are suspended And the student is on a condition. The first three papers that come out of the lottery will have two days to comment, and so on until the end of the week. As for competitions like the previous number 5, which will be on Monday, all schools will comment on it because the schools that will be with it on Friday will not be able to comment....... What do you think? ???
kingdoms are very old thinking about it some people think it is boring and now nobody needs kingdom.king.queen or even a royal family
the royal family has always inherited power and control
i do not deny that i hate history but i ioved the history that talk about kingdom and a royal family
i think the royal family excited.boring and a little sceary
i think now in the modern world we do not needs a royal family becouse every one in this world have his own life
i hope i can read minds becouse i can know and tell you about what people think about the royal family but i can not also i do not have a royal family in my country so i can talk about the royal family more than this
We thank you for your answers to our questions regarding the rejection of comments, and we hope that there will be a balance in accepting comments from everyone fairly. As for the responses to the comments, we participate in the discussion and comment on the responses of our colleagues to increase knowledge and develop the skill of discussion. I hope that you accept the largest number of comments because there are new ideas that can be strengthened by During discussions and comments, thank you for your support.
Thank you for bringing up this topic. I am disappointed and frustrated that my comments were rejected. I understand that you have many comments to review, and I appreciate your position. However, it is disheartening to see my efforts go unnoticed. I put in my best effort to craft a comment that would receive at least one star, yet it was deleted as if it had no value.
As a marginalized creator, I urge you to prioritize promoting diverse perspectives and voices on the platform. This can be achieved by highlighting underrepresented communities and providing additional support and visibility for creators like myself who often go unnoticed. Additionally, reaching out directly to potential contributors and actively soliciting feedback from users would help ensure that everyone feels welcome and valued.
It is important to note that when our comments are declined, it can be discouraging and demotivating. However, we understand the importance of constructive feedback and will continue to strive for excellence. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Thanks for your feedback trusting_speech, we talk about all the feedback we get weekly and in our Festival review.
We agree that valuing the perspectives of underrepresented communities is very important. Currently, Topical Talkers from your region are the most represented voice on the Hub and have the highest number of spots on the leader board.
What kind of support do you think would be valuable to provide?