The Packback Blog

Recent Articles

How accessibility impacts people with disabilities

Features

All Things Accessibility

I’m Viktor Köves, a front-end engineer and accessibility specialist at Packback. I am incredibly passionate about accessibility and believe that accessibility is a moral obligation, legal obligation, and a civil right. Despite the many laws and regulations in place, I find pervasive gaps in accessibility – whether it’s at my local train station or on the online ordering portal of a popular fast casual chain restaurant that specializes in bowls and burritos. ?

I wasn’t always passionate about nor an expert on web accessibility. So my intention is to share a bit of information on accessibility, and how designing technology with accessibility benefits all of us!

The Future of Education: AI Learning Tools for Students and Teachers

The education landscape is rapidly evolving due to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). AI learning tools are being used in classrooms, giving students new learning opportunities and helping teachers educate. As the pioneers of Instructional AI, Packback is leading the way providing powerful AI feedback for every student and every teacher.

Stories

How Will AI Impact Education in 2024?

2023 was certainly a banner year for AI. It exploded and seemingly dominated almost every conversation; from home, to the workplace, to the classroom, it was basically unavoidable. I don’t know about you, but it also was a topic of conversation around the dinner table during the holiday season, and let me tell you, there were some wild opinions shared (looking at you Uncle Mark).

For Educators

How to Create an AI Policy for Your Classroom

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, “artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT are appearing in classrooms across the country and teachers are scrambling to learn how to create AI policies for their classrooms”.

You’ve probably heard that exact sentence millions of times, and for good reason. While these generative AI chatbots can help students brainstorm ideas or explain concepts, they also raise concerns about academic integrity and plagiarism. As an educator, creating a clear AI policy for your classroom is crucial.

Packback's Impact on Academic Achievement

Pedagogy

How Packback Ensures Regular and Substantive Interaction for Academic Accreditation

Higher education accreditors like WASC Senior College & University Commission (WSCUC) and The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) require colleges and universities to demonstrate regular and substantive interaction (RSI) between instructors and students in order to maintain accreditation. This becomes even more important when it comes to online courses where face-to-face engagement is limited.

Faculty Spotlight

How Packback Made Me a Better Teacher

Hello everybody, my name is Treston Smith and this is my Packback story.

I started teaching as an adjunct instructor at Sam Houston State University in the Fall of 2021. When I first started, I was given two online sections of a junior level History of Psychology course and an in-person Introduction to Psychology course. When I began organizing and structuring my courses, I knew that I did not want to teach a class that was only focused on exams. I hated exam focused classes as a student and knew that the research showed that it was not as effective as allowing students to use alternative avenues to demonstrate their understanding of course material.

Features

From Curious Rookie to Managerial Maestro: Billy Gorman’s Packback Success Story

At Packback, we love to celebrate victories both large and small, and at this moment, we’d like to recognize a pretty large victory for our newest Assistant Sales Manager, Billy Gorman. Billy’s story at Packback is truly one of hardwork, passion, dedication and determination and we’d like to take a moment to shine a light on Billy’s story and his road from University Outreach specialist to Assistant Sales Manager.

Features

From Textbooks to AI-Driven Education with Packback CPO, Jess Tenuta

Last week, Packback CPO and Co-Founder, Jess Tenuta was featured as a guest on the Edtech Insiders Podcast. Jess joined hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell to talk about the latest developments in the world of EdTech and more specifically, AI and the impact it’s having in the classroom. You can listen to the full episode here.

Professor Stories

I’m Keith Hollowell, and This is My Packback Story

In the fall of 2012, I was hired as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University to teach an introduction to literary analysis course at the undergraduate level. The purpose of this class is to teach students the skill of claim-based literary analysis.

Announcements

We’re Going All In: Introducing Our New AI-Powered Writing Assistant – Delivering Instant AI Feedback to ALL Students – Writing Lab

Writing Lab is a powerful direct-to-student AI writing feedback platform designed to help students develop writing skills and confidence outside of the classroom.

Before we reveal the recipe to our secret sauce (the “what” of Writing Lab) let’s rewind six years and explain “the why behind” Writing Lab.

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