PARLAY

Description of the tool

  • Parlay is an online discussion platform that allows students to interact with each other and their teacher both virtually and in person.

How to access the website

  • To get started, first you need to go to parlayideas.com and browse the topics in Parlay Universe. You could browse by topic area and find out all the different collections that best suit the needs of your class or you could browse the featured roundtables collection where there are lots of different discussions that are aligned to what is going on in the world. 

How it works

  • Parlay consists of three main parts. The first is the Parlay Universe which is a topic library with thousands of discussion topics that are made by teachers all around the world as well as the Parlay team. You can use these discussions in your own classrooms as they are or you can make any adaptations to best suit the needs of your class. You can also create your own discussion. 

  • In the second part, you run an online roundtable which is an online written discussion where students respond to the prompts you create. 

  • The last piece is the live roundtable which is the part when students take part in verbal discussion.  

How it can be used in the classroom

  • Parlay is a discussion platform where students can interact with each other as well as with their teachers both online and face-to-face. Teachers can select a RoundTable topic for students to discuss.

  • Each RoundTable topic typically includes a couple of discussion questions and modifiable content that students must respond to. The content within the RoundTable topic can be multimedia or text-based, and can be edited or supplemented by the teacher. Almost all existing RoundTables already include some form of multimedia content and discussion questions.

  • After selecting a roundtable topic from the universe,  you just click USE THIS TOPIC and in this way you get a copy of that discussion.

  • If necessary, you can easily make any edits and you can even change peer feedback questions. 

  • Once you assign the RoundTable to your class by sharing the link, students review and respond to the prompts, engage in peer feedback via comments, and then at the end, they take part in a "live" discussion.

References: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M25FRUWP4UU