What I find most helpful about Packback is three things. First, it allows me to create alternative assignments for credit that make students think. In the age of online instruction, students often just read, search, and choose an answer that they find online or in an online text. There is little true learning or critical thinking involved. Packback makes them think and craft an answer to a prompt. Second, by scoring assignments immediately, it allows me to separate the best students from those who are just going through the motions. The best students will come back and recraft their answers based on the preprogrammed rubrics or by comparing their scores to other students on the leaderboard that week. And finally, it allows me to teach large sections the way I want to, without depending on the department or college for support. This is especially true when these resources are hard to come by and finite.

I like that my students receive feedback, and that they receive guidance on asking good questions and providing good responses.

One of the biggest benefits I've experienced with Packback is the real-time coaching it provides students as they write. Before adopting Packback, I used discussion boards within our LMS for large-enrollment courses. While I always wanted to provide meaningful feedback, it was simply impossible to do so quickly enough for every student. By the time I responded, the learning opportunity had often passed. Packback has changed that. Students now receive immediate, actionable feedback while they are drafting their posts, giving them the opportunity to revise and improve before they submit. When students truly engage with the feedback, the improvement in the quality of their writing, critical thinking, and scientific reasoning is noticeable. Rather than waiting for me (the instructor) to point out weaknesses after the assignment is complete, they can make adjustments in real time.