Packback Questions

Packback Questions is an inquiry-driven discussion platform.

On Packback, students ask the discussion questions, giving students a space to develop their ideas, take an active role in learning, and practice writing.

Packback’s A.I. Instant Feedback and Moderation ensure that the discussion stays on track, helping educators spend less time managing the discussion and more time engaging with students.

What’s inside Packback Questions?

The Packback AI-Enabled “Digital TA”

Packback acts as an instructor’s “Digital TA” to help them manage discussion communities with ease, so instructors can spend less time managing discussion, and more time engaging with students.

Powerful Engagement Tools for Instructors

Packback provides instructors a powerful set of features for engaging, guiding, redirecting, and celebrating their students through the discussion in online or face-to-face courses.

Best-in-Class Discussion Features

From flexible discussion editing tools, interaction features like “Sparks” and Critical Debates, to fun features like our avatar builder, Packback has been designed to create delightful discussions.

Photograph of Dr. Paul Hillman
“I feel very much like I am leveraging my time with Packback. There are many things I do as an instructor that take a lot of time and have a little impact. But there are far fewer things I do that take a little time and have a large impact. Packback is certainly in the latter category.”
Paul HillmanAffiliate of Practice Professor of Management, Grand Valley State University
Watch Professor Hillman’s Webinar with Packback

Packback’s “Digital TA” Capabilities

A graphic showing a sample student's post with a banner indicating that it has been "moderated", overlaid by a message from the Packback system showing that the post had been moderated for being closed ended. The automated "Moderation Notification" from Packback contains a buttton with the call to action, "Edit and Republish for Credit".

Instant Feedback

With Packback’s Instant Feedback, students receive feedback on their writing and post efficacy while they type, giving students feedback at the exact moment when it can be applied.

Explore Instant Feedback

Content Moderation

Packback’s Digital TA supports instructors with content moderation to ensure the discussion community remains respectful and effective, saving instructors hundreds of hours every term.

The Curiosity Score

The Digital TA assigns each post a “Curiosity Score” using a proprietary algorithm that assesses post quality in four dimensions: curiosity, credibility, communication, and convention.

Dr. John Locke on Packback’s Instant Feedback:

Photograph of Dr. John Locke
“Meaningful discussion is a critical part of our work to ensure a high-quality online learning experience. [Packback’s Instant Feedback] provides students with the kind of immediate feedback that technology can offer at scale – and enables faculty to dive deeper into substantive, engaging discussions that cultivate both curiosity and confidence.”
Dr. John LockeCoordinator, Technology Enhanced Learning and Distance Education
SUNY Plattsburgh
Read Dr. Locke’s Comments in full

Engagement Tools for Instructors

A graphic showing a sample student post, overlaid with a sample piece of "Praise" feedback from their instructor. The Praise feedback says, "I love seeing you connect our class discussion to your own field of study, and asking your peers to think about other real-world applications of course concepts! This is a great example of pulling in real-world examples to help mmake your question mmore tangible for your peers!"

Custom Instructor Feedback

Instructors on Packback can leave public “Praise” feedback or private “Coaching” feedback on posts.

Praise feedback is visible to the whole class, so all students can see and learn from it, increasing the impact of the feedback.

Automated Participation Scoring

Grading discussion participation is simple on Packback.

Instructors can choose their participation requirements and deadlines, and have participation scores calculated automatically each assignment period for every student.

Insight Reports & Recommended Actions

Each deadline period, instructors receive a digest of insights about the performance of their discussion communities.

Along with these reports, Instructors receive suggested actions each week that make it easy to maintain high engagement throughout the term.

Dr. Jeffery A. Masters on the insights Packback provides instructors:

Photograph of Dr. Jeffery Masters
“Packback sends me an email each week with suggested posts to “feature”, which is great. I use this platform to get a sense of the “weather” in my class: What are my students’ skill levels; what are their weak points; what are they interested in? With Packback, I can understand the “personality” of my class, and tailor my teaching examples and content accordingly.”
Dr. Jeffery A. MastersAssistant Professor of Biology
University of Louisville
Watch Dr. Masters’ Webinar with Packback

Best-in-class Discussion Capabilities

A graphic showing the Critical Debates feature on Packback. A student reply is shown, overlaid by two other posts. One post is labeled as a "Counterpoint" and the other is labeled as a "Supporting Point".

Counterpoints & Supporting Points

Students on Packback can reply to peers’ responses with “Counterpoints” or “Supporting Points” to constructively debate their peers.

The platform guides students with prompts to help them engage in effective and constructive debates.

Powerful, Accessible Post Editing Options

With Packback’s mobile-responsive, accessible editor, students can:

  • Upload Images and GIFs (with prompts to add Alt text)
  • Embed Videos and Images (with prompts to add Alt text)
  • Insert Code Blocks
  • Insertion formulae using LaTeX

Edit & Republish Option for Moderated Posts

If a student’s discussion post is Moderated, that isn’t the end of the road for the post!

Students receive a coaching email with feedback on what to improve in the post. They can then edit and republish for credit, supporting Mastery Learning.

Plus, a range of features designed specifically for supporting interaction and engagement on Packback, including Custom Avatars (custom profile image builder), Sparks (to show a student that their post ‘sparked’ your curiosity), the Learner Leaderboard, and more.

The Packback experience from the perspective of student and TA, Jaida Sloan:

Photograph of Jaida Sloan
“Students have a sense of community within Packback that they just don’t have elsewhere. It’s given them to the opportunity to get to know each other. It helped them increase their level of writing, but also helped them build community they just don’t have anywhere else right now.”
Jaida Sloan Student and TA
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Hear Jaida speak in a webinar on the Packback Student Experience

Schedule a demo of the Packback Platform

Schedule a 1:1 demo with a Packback team member to see the Packback Platform through a personalized walk-through by video call.

Or if you prefer, you can create an account on Packback to explore the platform.