Inspire self-motivated, critical thinkers through inquiry-driven discussion.
Packback is a different kind of online discussion that teaches students how to ask effective, open-ended questions.
Better Discussion
More rigorous discussion: 2X more posts on Packback contain a source citation compared to the LMS, shown in multiple studies.
More active threads: Threads on Packback received 1.3X more responses per question compared to LMS discussion in a recent study.
Longer posts: Posts on Packback were shown to be longer on average than posts in LMS discussion in a recent study.
Improved Outcomes
More A’s and B’s, and fewer D’s, F’s, and W’s: Students on Packback showed statistically significant increases to positive grade outcomes when compared to students using the LMS for discussion in the same course.
Improved student satisfaction: In Spring 2020, 91% of students responded positively when asked if they prefer Packback to LMS discussion.
Happier Instructors
Instructors spend less time grading, and more time engaging: Average instructors on Packback spend just 15 minutes per week on Packback performing “discussion management” tasks.
Instructors who try Packback, stay with Packback: 90% of professors who try Packback keep using Packback for their course in future semesters.
Instructors at over 300 institutions in the US and Canada proudly use Packback
A fundamentally different way to do online discussion.
Packback’s solution is not just technology. Packback provides a research-backed pedagogy and implementation model, an easy-to-use platform, and dedicated support resources for instructors and students to ensure that every class gets consistent results.
Pedagogy
Packback’s discussion implementation pedagogy is based on seminal research in the fields of online discussion, mastery learning, and student motivation.
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“My students love the autonomy they have over their work in the discussion; as a result, they have become empowered learners.”
~ Rebecca Nieman, Business Instructor at San Diego Mesa College
Platform
Packback’s platform uses AI to scale instant 1-to-1 student feedback, automatically moderate the discussion community, and support grading for any size class.
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“Grading discussion postings has become drastically less time consuming, which has always been a challenging process in the past.”
~ Crystal Scheib, Anthropology Instructor at Harrisburg Area Community College
People
Technology alone is never a solution. Every instructor is paired with a dedicated member of the Packback team who ensures that Packback delivers on engagement goals for their course.
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“The Packback software is great, but it might actually be the least interesting part to me. The most interesting part to me is the relationship I’ve built with the people from the Packback team, who care to create better education.”
~ Dr. Bryan McCarthy, Philosophy Instructor at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg
Blending AI feedback with instructor feedback to deliver the best student outcomes
With Packback, instructors spend more time engaging with students and providing meaningful feedback, and less time managing and moderating the online discussion. Packback’s “Digital TA” automatically reviews every post to ensure it meets community guidelines, sends instructors recommended top posts, assigns a Curiosity Score to each post, and more.
Packback is secure, accessible, reliable, and able to be integrated with your Learning Management System.
Secure & Reliable
Packback adheres to FERPA requirements and uses PCI-compliant practices for checkout and billing. Packback’s infrastructure is reliable and boasts over 99.9% uptime.
Accessible
Packback undergoes regular voluntary audits to ensure that our site aligns with ADA accessibility requirements. We strive to adhere to the AA level of the WCAG 2.0 guidelines.
Integrated
Packback is an IMS Global Alliance Partner and offers an LTI 1.2 integration that enables Single-Sign-On experiences for our partner schools.
Join thousands of instructors who are championing inquiry-driven learning in their courses with Packback
900,000+ Students
Over 900,000 students have used Packback, with over 350,000 students using Packback in 2020 alone.
22+ Million Posts
Over 22 million student discussion posts have been submitted on Packback, with over 9 million posts submitted in 2020 alone.
3,500+ Instructors
Over 3,500 Instructors have used Packback with over 2,600 instructors using Packback in 2020 alone.
