It seems the idea of Packback it is similar to the Discussion on Canvas. Am I right?
Answer
Yes, Packback is a Discussion Board but different from a normal Canvas discussion board. Packback is very good at getting students to write at a higher level and encourages critical thinking. Students receive ratings as they write which helps them to write a more in-depth and thoughtful discussion board post. Packback does use AI to tutor students in their writing but the student does all the writing.
However, the Mesa CTL Director told me that Packback discussions do not count as RSI for online learning because they are not led by instructors; students ask the questions. Here is how Packback describes it: "The key difference in the Packback model is that students ask the discussion questions rather than the instructors. Through this model, students don’t just learn through writing replies; they learn by formulating novel questions about course concepts." Even though it's not RSI, it's still a good pedagogical strategy because it is student-focused and the student gets to discuss what matters to them as it relates to the course content.