2022 Virtual Bowl: What Faculty Coaches Need To Know

The Zoom Code: Expectations for All Match Participants on Bowl Weekend

1. Locations/Basic Equipment:
a. Teams are together in their school classrooms and rely on the communication setups for remote/virtual classes using an array of equipment options: desktop computers, laptops, large screens, projectors, microphones, webcams, speakers and headsets. Tablets and iPhones not supported.
b. Reliable high-speed internet connection is extremely important.
c. If there are other wifi users at team locations not involved in the Bowl, they should be advised prior to any matches to limit their use of other streaming services, e.g., Netflix, YouTube, and downloading of large files or updates, e.g., movies, games.
d. Quiet space free from distractions during matches is necessary, as the Bowl depends on talking and discussion. Further, students are wearing masks during matches. For this reason, good audio is critical.  
e. Prior to Bowl weekend, arrangements have been approved by all participating schools to allow student teams to be together in classrooms for all matches. Given these arrangements, the use of secondary communications (messaging/chat app) during matches is not permitted. If, however, faculty and/or philosopher coaches are at other locations, they are permitted to use these tools ONLY before and after matches to communicate with their teams.

2. Expectations:
a. Any unnecessary open windows in browsers on classroom and all other computers used for matches should be closed, so there are no extra sounds/notifications.
b. All team and individual audio and video should be tested and working before each match.
c. Because students are gathered as teams in their classrooms or at the same location, teams enter a match with their school name and team number (if applicable) appearing at the bottom of their screen. Example: Constance Billard School for Girls/Team 1.
d. Faculty and Philosopher Coaches enter a match with first and last name, school and role appearing at the bottom of their screen. Example: Professor X/Xavier Institute/Faculty Coach.
e. Students should be on mute all of the time unless speaking (Coaches have a listening role only during matches). In addition, all student teams, judges, producers and moderators should have their video on. 
f. While matches are taking place, they will be recorded. This allows a play-back option for match judges if there is no judge quorum, which means 3 judges did not hear the full match. The Virtual Bowl, however, is a private event and will not be streamed, circulated or published online.
g. All participants need to read and follow The Virtual Ethics Bowl Honor Code.

The Virtual Ethics Bowl Honor Code: Expectations for Students and All Coaches On Bowl Weekend
 
The Virtual Ethics Bowl requires several ethical habits, expectations and efforts by students and coaches to give all teams and students a fair chance and opportunity to be and do their best. We are confident all students and coaches will exemplify ethical behavior and be true to these expectations:    

1. No use of outside notes. One exception: Students should have access to or a copy of all 16 of the case studies (without any notes) during matches.
2. No use of the internet or any other education/knowledge resource for information-gathering or fact-checking during matches. 
3. No use of other physical resources aside from blank paper and pen/pencil.
4. No communication with outside individuals/groups not admitted in matches or involved in the competition. 

Please remember your obligations to your community, to your team, to other teams, and to everyone affiliated with Ethics Bowl.   

Attention Faculty Coaches: Why TUESDAY, January 25, 2022 should be on your calendar.

1. On January 25th by midnight, faculty coaches will deliver final team rosters for the 3 opening round matches to A2Ethics organizers. If your school has 2 teams, you will have 2 lists. No school with 2 teams, however, is permitted to mix their teams. You are allowed 2 to 5 students at the Zoom table with 2 alternate students per match. You may list more than 7 students on your team roster(s); if your team (s) moves on to the quarterfinal, semifinal and final, students listed on your roster for a given team are eligible to participate. Whatever your final decisions based on these rules, you must provide A2Ethics organizers a list of students as well as the coaches authorized to be on the Zoom call for all matches. These lists must be carefully and clearly formatted. For students: School/Team Number/First and Last Name. For student alternates: First and Last Name/School/Team Number/Alternate. For coaches: First and Last Name/Faculty or Philosopher Coach. Once these rosters are sent to A2Ethics organizers, there will be no changes accepted. If roster students or coaches are not available for the match for which they are listed, no new substitutions will be permitted.

2. By January 25th, please have a discussion with your student teams and agree to follow the Virtual Ethics Bowl Honor Code. At the same time, make sure your students know what day and when their matches are going to take place.

3. To reiterate: the team rosters coaches provided to A2Ethics organizers for the 3 opening rounds are critical. Each match Bowl producer and moderator will admit only roster qualified students from the Zoom waiting room to participate in a match. Upon admission for a match, the producer will ask the students their names and check them with the roster list supplied by the faculty coach.

Essential, Imperative and Vital Faculty Coach Responsibilities: Providing the Case Studies and the Information on Zoom Access to a Match

1. You will need to make sure that every participating student has ALL16 case studies in front of them on their computer screens or in a printed copy at the beginning of and during their matches. The 2022 Bowl case studies are located here: https://www.a2ethics.org/2022-michigan-high-school-ethics-bowl-case-stu… (You may want to create a separate case study document without author bios and study questions).

The moderator will not read the selected case studies. The moderator will identify the case number and title of the case that teams will present. The moderator will read and repeat the match case question and the producer will type it in the Zoom chat section at the beginning of the match. Please remember that entering the Case Question for a match is the ONLY purpose for the Zoom chat function in the Virtual Bowl. The case question will remain in chat during the match. The chat function should not be used by anyone in the competition during the public segments of the match. Ever.  

2. A2Ethics organizers will send the faculty coach the link to access the Zoom call. This access link will be provided to the faculty coach ONLY. Students and the affiliated philosopher coach will not receive this information. It is the sole responsibility of the faculty coach to give the Zoom link to students and the philosopher coach. Please inform your students that the producer will begin to admit roster qualified students gathered as teams (and you and the philosopher coach) from the waiting room 10 minutes before each match. 

3. When the 3 match judges are accounted for by the producer and moderator, matches will start at the publicized EST time in the schedule. If a team member or coach is not present and checked in when the match is set to start, the moderator will not wait for them to start the match. Whoever is at the Zoom table, when the match begins represents the team. For example, if one of the designated "active" students is not present, then it is possible for the team to insert an alternate, in which case the alternate is now an "active" member of the team. There will be no substitutes once the match begins. 

Coaches During The Match: Listeners Only

The faculty and philosopher coaches have the best listening "seats" in the Ethicsverse. You get to watch your students excel. In our opinion, this is coaching as it should be. And it is what happens with the in-person Bowl. No play-by-play instructions or signals from the "wings," or more likely the bench, during a match. With one big difference from the in-person Bowl. You do not control when one or both of the alternates is "activated" to speak at the Zoom table (If your team has one or two alternates). Your students at the Zoom table will make this decision, according to the Bowl alternate student guidelines. You have prepared your students well. Now they make their own decisions, based on what they have learned from you and each other.

To reiterate, during a match:  

1. You are a listener or observer. You will not be able to unmute yourself at any time, participate or communicate with any student in the competition while the match is going on. Your video will not be on. 
2. If you are cut off, you can continue to try to get back on the Zoom call throughout the match.  
3. Of course, BEFORE and AFTER your students' matches, you may talk together if you are in or near the classroom where they are located. Or if you are in another location, you can communicate with them via a secondary communication tool, e.g., messaging app. You are their best motivators, cheerleaders, counselors and advice-givers.   

Alternate Student Role in the Virtual Bowl  

It is important to understand why alternates are...important. We want to give as many students on a team the chance to participate in the Bowl.The 2022 Virtual Bowl rules allow two alternate students who can substitute for a missing/absent roster designated "active"student or replace an "active" student already at the classroom Zoom table after the match has begun.

The role and the rules: 

1. Designated alternates are silent team members. They do not TALK during public sections of the match, such as the presentation, commentary, response, and judge questions---UNLESS and UNTIL they are "activated." There is one exception: alternates can TALK and participate during the 2 minute team conferences.

2. At the start of a match, if there are students listed on the roster as active members of a team for a match, but are absent or do not show up for whatever reason, any of the alternate students on the roster for that match can become "active" team members. In this instance, once there are more than 2 and up to 5 active members of a team at the Zoom table, no substitutions are allowed. For example, if the absent student arrives later, and the match has already started, they will not be allowed into the match. That student, however, can participate in the team conferences.

3. For student replacement decisions that occur during a match, one student is selected by the coach, prior to each match, to announce the change publicly to the moderator and producer. The moderator announces this replacement decision to all participants. There will be no stoppages in the timing of the match when this announcement occurs. 
 
 a. In the Virtual Bowl where student teams are in the same classroom and location, there are two circumstances when alternates enter the match and are "activated": first, when a student already at the Zoom table must leave because of illness. Second, when or if a student has to leave because of an emergency. In these circumstances, the alternate will be "activated"  and seated with other team members at the Zoom table. The student designated to relay this decision reports to the moderator, who in turn announces this decision to all participants. As an "activated" team member, the former alternate is now allowed to fully participate, and to take the talking place of the "deactivated" student throughout the rest of the public sections of the match. If the "deactivated" student is actually able to recover or handle the emergency before the match ends, they are NOT allowed to take a talking role again. They can, however, continue to participate in the team conferences.

4. Coaches and students should be careful and not take advantage of the alternate role and rules, which is easier to do in a virtual Bowl. A student already in a match who has to exit should use the conference time to tell the team that they can't continue. This will allow for a less disruptive transition. At the same time, a student should not suddenly appear on screen at the Zoom table and claim, "I am filling in for a student who had to leave." Because coaches are nearby or in the classroom, they need to make sure that during a match, the only students who should be in the match are on the roster for that match and that if they have to leave, but return before the match is over, do not take a speaking role. The Bowl organizers liken the inattention and indifference toward this rule as similar to the penalty in other competitions known as "having too many players on the field."

d. If more than 2 members of a 5 person team must exit the match while it is in progress, the remaining students at the Zoom table simply carry on, and "activate" both alternates if they are present and on the roster for the match.

Virtual Bowls: A Chance to Create New Traditions  

We truly hope that everyone affiliated with the Michigan High School Ethics Bowl has not lost family, friends and colleagues during the pandemic.

We also wish that we could all be together for the Michigan Bowl’s 9th season. And to celebrate each student's talents and everyone in our community committed to learning about public ethics in a democracy.

Over the years, we have established several fun traditions unique to the Michigan Bowl: an opening ceremony and introduction of the teams; prizes for the best team name; team photos; and the swag of the season. The winner of our annual Michigan Bowl is the state champion and holder of The Hemlock Cup. The Michigan Ethics Bowl champions are treasured ambassadors, representing Michigan in the annual National Bowl in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The 2022 National Bowl is set to take place on April 8-10, 2022.

We will all be cheering on the 2022 Michigan Ethics Bowl champions!

Even if several of our traditions are on hold, we continue to think of new ways to celebrate philosophy and ethics in our state.

Before the 2022 Bowl weekend, A2Ethics organizers are hosting a Zoom gathering of teams on 2 consecutive evenings: Wednesday, February 2nd and Thursday, February 3rd. These welcome events will feature student team-created videos and their respective team songs showcasing and introducing their school and teams. These 20 minute events will give everyone the chance to meet and celebrate young philosophers and student ethicists participating in the Michigan Bowl. Finally, the welcome gathering will offer a chance for the many volunteers at the Bowl an opportunity to thank the students and coaches---AND to vote for and award a $150 prize for the Best Team Song accompanying each video.