Skip to main content

How To Guide: Acai Feedback Coach 2.0 (beta)

Dayne
Updated

Acai Feedback Coach 2.0 helps students write clearer, more constructive feedback in Peer Review, Group Member Evaluation, and self-assessment flows across FeedbackFruits assignments. This guide explains how to:

  • Enable Feedback Coach 2.0 as a teacher

  • See what students experience

  • Adjust settings and preferences

  • Troubleshoot common issues

If you are looking for a general description of what the feature is and how data is processed, see the overview article and the transparency note.

 

Requirements and availability

Before using Acai Feedback Coach 2.0:

  • Your institution must have Acai Feedback Coach 2.0 enabled.

  • You must be using a supported FeedbackFruits activity, such as:

    • Peer Review

    • Group Member Evaluation

    • Activities that include self-assessment flows (for example, self-assessment in Peer Review, Assignment Review, or dedicated self-assessment tools)

If you do not see the Feedback coach option in your activities, please contact your FeedbackFruits representative or institution admin to request access.

 

Enabling Feedback Coach 2.0 in an activity (teacher)

You can enable Acai Feedback Coach 2.0 per activity.

 

Step-by-step: Peer Review or Group Member Evaluation

  1. Open your course in the LMS

    Navigate to the course where your FeedbackFruits activity is located.

  2. Open the FeedbackFruits activity

    Click the activity (for example, a Peer Review or Group Member Evaluation assignment) to open its configuration.

  3. Go to the Given reviews module

    In the activity setup flow, locate the module labelled Given reviews.

    This is where you configure how students give feedback to their peers or group members.

  4. Find the “Guiding students” section

    Within the Given reviews module, scroll to the section called Guiding students.

  5. Enable “Feedback coach”

    • Look for the option or toggle labelled “Feedback coach”.

    • Turn the toggle on to enable Acai Feedback Coach 2.0 for this activity.

    • Review any available settings or descriptions that appear below the toggle.

  6. Save your configuration

    Continue through the setup flow and save or publish the activity so that the coach becomes active for students.

Once enabled, all students in that activity will have access to Feedback Coach 2.0 while giving feedback.

 

What students see when using Feedback Coach 2.0

After you enable the feature, students will encounter Acai Feedback Coach 2.0 while writing feedback.

 

During Peer Review / Group Member Evaluation

  1. Student opens the feedback form

    • The student accesses the FeedbackFruits activity from the LMS.

    • They open the review interface where they write feedback for another student or group member.

  2. Feedback Coach appears in the feedback window

    • Students see “Feedback Coach” in the feedback area once they begin to type.

    • In Peer Review, the coach may also appear in the sidebar, depending on your configuration.

  3. Real-time coaching as they type

    • As the student writes, Acai processes their text and returns suggestions.

    • Suggestions may include:

      • Prompts to be more specific or concrete

      • Encouragement to connect comments to the rubric criteria

      • Ideas for making feedback more constructive and balanced

  4. Students remain in control

    • The coach does not automatically change what students write.

    • Students can:

      • Use the suggestions directly

      • Adapt or rephrase the suggestions

      • Ignore the suggestions if they prefer

  5. Continuous updates

    • As students edit or add to their feedback, the coaching messages update so they can refine their comments before submitting.

In self-assessment flows

In assignments where students reflect on their own work (for example, self-assessment in Peer Review, self-assessment of skills/work, or Assignment Review):

  1. Students open the self-assessment section.

  2. As they type reflections, the coach provides suggestions that encourage:

    • Honest self-reflection

    • Specific examples

    • Balanced recognition of strengths and areas to improve

 

Student preferences and opting out

Even if a teacher has turned the feature on for an activity, students can decide whether they want to use it.

 

How students can disable / enable Feedback Coach

  1. Open FeedbackFruits preferences

    • From within a FeedbackFruits activity, students can access their preferences or settings (location may vary by LMS integration).

  2. Locate the Feedback Coach setting

    • Find the option related to Acai Feedback Coach or AI coaching.

  3. Toggle the feature on or off

    • Turn the setting off to stop seeing coaching suggestions.

    • Turn it on again at any time to resume using the coach.

This allows students to choose the level of AI support that feels right for them, while still letting teachers enable the feature at activity level.

 

Best practices for teachers

To get the most out of Acai Feedback Coach 2.0:

  • Explain the feature to students

    • Let students know that an AI coach is available to help them write better feedback.

    • Emphasize that they remain in control and can choose how to use the suggestions.

  • Connect the coach to your rubric and criteria

    • Encourage students to look at the criteria or rubric while writing feedback.

    • The coach works best when students are actively trying to address those criteria.

  • Model good feedback

    • Provide example comments that show the level of detail and tone you expect.

    • Use these examples in class or in your assignment instructions.

  • Encourage reflection on the coaching

    • Ask students what they changed based on the coach’s suggestions.

    • Consider adding a short reflection question, such as “How did Feedback Coach help you improve your feedback?”

 

Troubleshooting

Students do not see Feedback Coach in an activity

Check the following:

  • In the activity setup

    • Confirm that you have enabled “Feedback coach” in the Given reviews → Guiding students section.

  • At the institutional level

    • Confirm with your FeedbackFruits representative or institution admin that Acai Feedback Coach 2.0 is enabled for your environment.

  • On the student side

    • Ask students to verify that they have not disabled the coach in their FeedbackFruits preferences.

    • Have them refresh the page and try a supported browser (for example, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge).

Suggestions seem off-topic or unhelpful

  • Remind students:

    • The coach is a helper, not a grader. They can ignore or adapt any suggestion.

  • Check your assignment setup:

    • Make sure instructions and criteria are clear and specific.

    • Ambiguous or very broad criteria can make good suggestions more difficult.

  • If the issue persists:

    • Collect a few anonymized examples (screenshots or copied text) and share them with your institution’s FeedbackFruits contact for further investigation.

Technical issues (loading, delays, errors)

  • Ask students to:

    • Refresh the activity.

    • Check their internet connection.

    • Try another supported browser.

  • If problems continue:

    • Contact your institutional support or FeedbackFruits support.

    • Include:

      • Course and activity name

      • Date and time of the issue

      • Browser and device

      • Screenshots or recordings if available

 

Related articles

For more background and policy details, see:

Related articles