How Do Students Use Packback?

Summary

Packback is an educational platform that fosters inquiry, autonomy, and mastery in learning. It encourages students to ask open-ended questions, reflecting on class concepts and real-world events. The platform's AI provides live feedback to enhance posts and checks for issues like plagiarism and inappropriate content. Posts are moderated to ensure quality, and students can earn credit by editing flagged posts. Packback also facilitates peer interaction through responses and feedback mechanisms, aiming to build a culture of reflection and curiosity.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Packback is an educational platform that emphasizes the importance of developing inquiry, autonomy, and mastery skills in students.
• 🤔 Inquiry is about the process of reflection and asking open-ended questions, which fosters deeper understanding and engagement with the subject matter.
• 🏆 Autonomy encourages students to take ownership of their learning, allowing them to make choices and decisions about their educational journey.
• 📈 Mastery is about providing feedback that focuses on growth and revision, rather than punishment, which helps students improve and excel.
• 📝 Students on Packback are encouraged to ask discussion questions that are open-ended and cannot be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no'.
• 🔗 Connecting class concepts to real-world events or posing thought-provoking questions to classmates is a recommended approach to generate great questions.
• 💡 If students struggle to think of a question, they can use their readings and lectures as a resource to spark curiosity and generate ideas.
• 📊 Packback AI provides live feedback to help students improve their posts, pushing them to achieve higher levels of understanding and engagement.
• ⚠️ Posts on Packback are automatically checked by AI for potential issues such as plagiarism, inappropriate content, and low-quality responses.
• 👀 Flagged posts are reviewed by a moderator to ensure that no post is moderated without careful consideration and human oversight.
• 📩 If a post is moderated, students receive a notification with a reason and the opportunity to edit and republish their post without penalty before the deadline.
• 🔄 After posting a question, students can sort the feed to find and respond to questions that interest them, adding to the discussion and learning from their peers.
• 🗣️ In Packback, students can give and receive feedback in various forms, such as public praise, private coaching messages, or by adding a 'Spark' to acknowledge a thought-provoking post.
• 🎯 The ultimate goal of using Packback is not to ask perfect questions but to cultivate a habit of reflection and inquiry, encouraging fearless curiosity in learning.

Q & A

What is the core belief of Packback regarding education?

Packback believes that a great education equips learners with the skills and confidence to ask big questions in various aspects of life, including school, future careers, and the world.

What are the three main focuses of Packback's platform?

The three main focuses are inquiry, which involves reflection and asking questions; autonomy, which is about ownership and choice in one's learning; and mastery, which is about feedback aimed at growth and revision rather than punishment.

How are the discussion questions on Packback characterized?

The discussion questions on Packback are open-ended, meaning they cannot be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no' and do not have a single correct answer.

What is the purpose of asking open-ended questions on Packback?

The purpose is to encourage students to think critically, connect class concepts to real-world events, and engage in meaningful discussions with classmates.

How can students find inspiration for questions on Packback if they are stuck?

Students can look back at their readings and lectures from the week to help spark their curiosity and find inspiration for questions.

What kind of feedback do students receive as they type their posts on Packback?

Students receive live feedback from the Packback AI, which provides tips on how to improve and push their posts further.

What does the Packback AI automatically check for in student posts?

The Packback AI checks for plagiarism, close-ended questions, posts about class logistics, profanity or abusive language, and low depth responses.

What happens if a post is flagged by the Packback AI?

Every flagged post is reviewed by a moderator to ensure careful review before any action is taken. If moderated, the student receives a notification with the reason and the option to edit and republish the post.

How can students earn credit for their posts on Packback after being moderated?

Students can earn credit for their posts by editing and republishing them before the deadline, without incurring any penalties.

What are the different ways to respond to a post on Packback?

Students can add a response to the original question or reply to another student's response with a counterpoint or supporting point.

What are some of the ways to give and receive feedback on Packback?

Instructors may give public 'Praise' or send private 'Coaching' messages. Posts can be 'Featured' in the weekly digest email. Students can also add a 'Spark' to show that a post has sparked their curiosity.

What is the ultimate goal of using Packback according to the script?

The goal is not to ask perfect questions but to build a practice of reflection and inquiry, encouraging students to be fearlessly curious and learn about both the class and themselves.