Feedbacker

Quick Summary

Feedbacker generates structured, rubric-aligned feedback for student assessments. Create your rubric using the built-in editor or using your preferred tool (such as Excel, Google Sheets, or institutional templates), then follow one of two workflows: upload a completed rubric and student submission for written work, or add comments live during presentations and vivas. All generated feedback is editable before release. You remain responsible for academic standards and final judgement throughout.

What is it?

Feedbacker is a rubric-led feedback tool designed for higher education (but works in other settings, too).

It generates structured, criterion-aligned feedback based on the rubric you define — regardless of how that rubric was created. You may build rubrics directly in Feedbacker, or prepare them externally using spreadsheets or existing institutional formats.

You remain fully responsible for academic standards, judgement, and final output.

How it Works

Feedbacker supports two common assessment workflows:

Workflow A: Marking a submitted piece of work (e.g. essays, reports, dissertations)
Workflow B: Marking live performance-based assessments (e.g. presentations, vivas, practical work)

Both workflows centre on the rubric you create — but they are prepared differently.

Step 1: Create Your Rubric

You may create your rubric in one of two ways:

Use the built-in spreadsheet-style editor inside Feedbacker: Create a rubric in the tool
Create your rubric using your preferred software (e.g. Excel, Google Sheets, or institutional templates) and export it as a PDF for use during marking.

The built-in editor is provided for convenience, but it is not required. Many educators prefer to design rubrics using familiar tools before uploading them to Feedbacker.

However, how you complete the rubric depends on your workflow.

Workflow A: Submission-Based Assessment

Use this when marking written coursework or submitted assignments.

Preparing the Rubric

For Workflow A, you should complete the rubric fully before marking. See this example.

This applies whether the rubric was created inside Feedbacker or externally.

This means:

Defining all assessment criteria
Defining grade boundaries or performance levels
Adding descriptive comments in each relevant row and column

These pre-written rubric comments are what Feedbacker uses to generate structured feedback when analysing student submissions.

The more clearly defined your rubric comments are, the stronger and more specific the generated feedback will be.

Marking Process

Export the completed rubric as a PDF (from Feedbacker or your external tool).
Upload the rubric PDF when marking here.
Also upload the student submissions as PDFs.
Select Get Feedback.

Feedbacker will produce:

Criterion-aligned commentary
Structured explanation of performance
Clear areas for development

All output is fully editable before release.

Workflow B: Live or Performance-Based Assessment

Use this when assessing presentations, vivas, or other live work.

Preparing the Rubric

For Workflow B, you define:

Assessment criteria
Grade boundaries or performance levels

However, you do not pre-fill comment cells. See this example.

You may prepare this rubric inside Feedbacker or externally and upload it for use during assessment.

Comments and marks are added live during the assessment itself.

Marking Process

Use the rubric inside the tool during the live session (or work from your prepared rubric).
Enter marks and add comments in real time.
Once complete, export the commented rubric as a PDF.
Re-upload the completed rubric PDF here to generate structured feedback.

Feedbacker will use your recorded marks and live comments to produce structured, criterion-aligned student-facing feedback.

All generated output remains fully editable before release.

Key Principles

You define the rubric — using any tool you prefer.
Feedbacker works with both internally created and externally prepared rubrics.
You determine the standards.
Workflow A uses pre-written rubric comments.
Workflow B uses live-added comments.
All generated feedback is reviewable and editable.
Feedbacker supports academic judgement — it does not replace it.

Good Practice

To get the most from Feedbacker:

Use whichever rubric creation method best fits your workflow.
Write clear and specific rubric criteria.
Avoid vague performance descriptors.
Review generated output before sharing with students.
Retain final records in accordance with institutional policy.

Examples

Below gives some examples of how you might use Feedbacker

Workflow A: Submission-Based Assessment

Below is an example of a rubric complete with pre-written comments which Feedbacker can use to generate structured feedback when analysing a student's submission.

Get feedback from such a rubric and student submissions here:

Submission-Based Assessment

Workflow B: Live or Performance-Based Assessment

Use an example similar to the rubric below when assessing presentations, vivas, or other live work.

Get feedback from the live-assessed rubric here:

Live Assessment