Pro/Con.org

Pro/Con Website
As an information specialist I am often asked to gather resources to support teachers in their instruction of a difficult unit or topic.  When the sixth and seventh grade teachers got together with me this year to discuss their upcoming projects on debating, I was left wondering what I could get my hands on to help them.  Obviously, I began by searching the print library to see if there was anything of use for a debate in 2011.  While we did have some materials, I came to a tough realization that I will talk about in my next blog.  This led me to look at our digital resources.  ECSD has an extensive collection of electronic resources available to them thanks to the selections by our District Library Media Coordinator.  However, I found it difficult to find any peer-reviewed argument and looking at two sides of an issue sites.  EBSCO host has one but it is only funded through the high schools; additionally this site is geared a bit high for middle school.  So this left me in an obvious conundrum.  I needed a better resource for my teachers to help their students succeed in this learning target.  I did have resources, but they are better suited for gaining background knowledge, not digging into the hear of issues.  That was when my master teacher, Mary Liebl, told me about a site she had used once called Pro/Con.org   This site has it all.  From interesting topics, they have 42 currently, to a rating system for the "experts" it has on its site.  I have recommended this site to other media specialists and all have found it highly useful.  It is a free, peer reviewed, site that is geared towards students researching topics for debates.  There are Youtube videos, ways to get in touch with authors and creators, excellent citations and links to official studies that raise the interest level and usability all the way to college.  This website has it all.