High School Open Curriculum Guide

Paperless Debate & CardMirror

What is CardMirror?

Debate Template is a Google Docs extension for paperless debate. It imitates some of the features from Verbatim, which only works with a full version of Microsoft Word that supports VBA macros. Debate Template can be a useful option if you don’t have access to a version of Microsoft Word compatible with Verbatim.

The written manual for CardMirror can be found here; a playlist of video tutorials on how to use CardMirror by the creator can be found here. These materials are very comprehensive and recommended for learning more about how to use CardMirror. The following section below can help figure out which version of CardMirror you may want to use, but everything there is also covered in the manual.

Installation

The desktop version of CardMirror can be installed on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. This is the recommended way to use CardMirror if possible. Installation instructions and links to files for different devices can be found in the manual.

If you are unable to install CardMirror because of administrator restrictions or permissions, try installing CardMirror Lite, which is designed for more locked down devices such as school computers.

Browser Web App (No Installation)

If you are unable to install the desktop version of CardMirror on your device (such as a Chromebook), you can use a web version of it at https://cardmirror.app/ (see here in the manual for the recommended way to “install” the site as a web app).

If your device blocks access to the web version, try using the web version of CardMirror Lite at lite.cardmirror.app

Paperless Debate Circuit Norms/Rules

This section is less to cover tips for how to use paperless debate tools (which the CardMirror videos and manual cover in depth), but for paperless norms that debaters are expected to know going into tournaments. Some of the notes below (such as how to send speech docs over email and organize files on your computer) are also covered in some ENDI videos; if anything in here is confusing, you can watch an ENDI tech video here.

Sending your speech docs

Before you start any speech, if it has any evidence at all, it should be sent out to everyone in the round via email chain. The speech doc you send should have only the cards in the speech you are about to give, highlighted exactly as you intend to read it. You should NOT send the entire file that includes what you are reading or many extra cards that you will not actually read. If your speech contains analytic arguments, you are not required to send them (the CardMirror manual has details on how to efficiently distinguish analytic arguments from evidence and save separate copies for your use versus to send to opponents and judges). If you end up reading a piece of evidence that you weren’t expecting to/didn’t have in the speech doc when you started your speech, you must send out the additional evidence as soon as you finish your speech.

You save a copy of your speech (which CardMirror should make easier) and send it out as an email attachment. Don’t copy/paste the speech into the body of the email or send a link to an online doc (you can’t upload either of those to the caselist wiki after the round!).

The affirmative team for the round should set up the email chain before the debate, with all 4 debaters and the judge included. The email subject should indicate the tournament, round, and teams (ex. Midtown Round 2 North Atlanta KM vs Creekside LS). The initial email should include an attachment of the 1AC.

During the round, depending on the judge, you may have to use prep time while you send your speech doc, so it’s important to be familiar with how to save, find, and attach your speech doc to emails efficiently.

MARKing cards

If you can’t get through everything you’ve highlighted in a specific card and want to skip to the next one during your speech, you must indicate where you are stopping in the card by marking it. Say “mark the card at [whatever word you stop at]” and use the Mark function (see “read mode” in the CardMirror manual for how to mark cards) to visually indicate on the doc where you marked it. If you do not do this while reading and need to mark cards manually, you can go back and do this after the speech or have your partner mark it while you speak. If you mark cards during your speech, you should immediately send a marked copy of the speech to everyone after you finish. CardMirror gives you the option to save a marked copy of your speech doc to make this easier (you must mark the cards before saving).

Note that you MUST read every highlighted word in a card; if you stop early, you must mark it (and you need to know which specific word you stopped at). If a card is not highlighted, you must read every underlined word. Ideally, you will not mark cards during your speech, but it’s important to know how to do so to keep the round moving efficiently and preserve the integrity of your speech doc.

Download Settings

Make sure that you know how your browser handles downloads, as this is the way you’ll save other people’s speech docs to your own computer during rounds and when prepping before rounds. If you are using a web version of CardMirror, you will also need to know where your browser is saving your speech docs so that you can send them in the email chain.

In Google Chrome, go to your browser settings, then the Downloads menu to check.

By default, Google Chrome will send all downloads to a specific folder (typically your Downloads folder). You can change the default download location here.

The optimal solution is for the browser to ask where to save each file before downloading, which will have to be toggled on manually. There are similar settings in other browsers, such as Firefox and Safari.