The Packback Blog

Featured Articles

Making Change At Scale: Why I’m Joining the Team at Packback

Kimberly Blanchet, former Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at SUNY OCC, has joined the Packback team as an Academic Innovation Consultant. With over 7 years of experience making decisions that impacted the future of education for students at Post University and Onondaga Community College, Kimberly is now looking to support innovation in technology used to scale accessible, equitable, and effective learning experiences for students nationwide. Read her thoughts on why she made the move to join Packback.

Read more “Making Change At Scale: Why I’m Joining the Team at Packback”

Packback’s “Anti-Racist Discussion Pedagogy Guide” featured in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

In a recent article in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, staff writer Sara Weissman offers the Anti-Racist Discussion Pedagogy guide as a resource for instructors across disciplines who are looking to facilitate an anti-racist dialogue in their classes.

Read more “Packback’s “Anti-Racist Discussion Pedagogy Guide” featured in Diverse: Issues in Higher Education”

New England Board of Higher Education Cites Intrinsic Motivation in Students as a Key Element of Successful Online Instruction

A recent article by Dr. Richard Pattenaude, chancellor emeritus of the University of Maine System, and KarenAnn Caldwell, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Connecticut, recognizes that creating an online learning environment in which students find motivation internally is necessary for engagement. Among the list of ways professors can encourage students to push themselves are inquiry-based discussion forums, namely Packback.

Read more “New England Board of Higher Education Cites Intrinsic Motivation in Students as a Key Element of Successful Online Instruction”

Recent Articles

Campus Technology highlighted Packback’s new “Instant Feedback” feature

Packback recently released “Instant Feedback“, a major step forward in the responsiveness and range of the AI-based feedback provided to students while they write their discussion posts. Campus Technology recently covered the new feature in the story, “Online Discussion Platform Adds AI-Powered Feedback Tool.”

Read more “Campus Technology highlighted Packback’s new “Instant Feedback” feature”

Packback mentioned in a recent OpEd by Dr. Rich Pattenaude about the future of online learning

Dr. Rich Pattenaude, chancellor emeritus of the University of Maine System and president emeritus of Ashford University, recently published an OpEd, “If Online is the “New Normal,” Fully Online Colleges Can Teach Us a Lot.” The piece covers what all institutions can learn from fully online institutions to successfully manage the semester ahead in a post-COVID-19 world.

Read more “Packback mentioned in a recent OpEd by Dr. Rich Pattenaude about the future of online learning”

Creating Change-makers through Inquiry

Paolo Freire’s influential text, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” still holds the same truth and applicability to our modern education system as it did at its time of writing. This article explores the new relevance and urgency Freire’s work has taken within the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, and begs the question, “How can education be used to enforce equity, rather than uphold systems of injustice?”

Read more “Creating Change-makers through Inquiry”

Introducing Packback’s Instant Feedback

On July 8th, 2020, Packback released a major new feature, Instant Feedback, which elevates the detail, responsiveness, and depth of feedback provided to a student while they write their posts on Packback. This new feature represents a major step forward in the use of AI to support Mastery Learning at-scale through instant, non-punitive feedback, and clarity on how students can improve their discussion posts.

Read more “Introducing Packback’s Instant Feedback”
Posted by Posted inNews

Research on Packback’s Efficacy Highlighted in Recent OpEd by Mick Starcevich, Former President of Kirkwood Community College

Mick Starcevich, former President of Kirkwood Community College, recently published on an editorial in The Evolllution on the urgency for instructors to begin planning for high leverage changes they can make to their courses now to help ensure their courses are ready for possible remote delivery come fall.

Read more “Research on Packback’s Efficacy Highlighted in Recent OpEd by Mick Starcevich, Former President of Kirkwood Community College”

Packback Instructor, Dr. Thomas DeWitt, featured in Forbes

Dr. Thomas DeWitt, Marketing instructor at Michigan State University, was recently featured in a piece in Forbes to share his experience as an instructor transitioning to online instruction and how he is continuing to innovate under the new constraints driven by COVID-19.

Read more “Packback Instructor, Dr. Thomas DeWitt, featured in Forbes”

Request a Demo of the Packback Questions Platform

Curious to learn more? One of our friendly strategy consultants will be excited to meet you and discuss your course learning objectives. We will provide a free consultation to see if Packback would be a good fit for your class!

Request a Packback Demo