> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://examind.gitbook.io/v1/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://examind.gitbook.io/v1/feedback-machines/get-started.md).

# Get Started

What a Feedback Machine is, what it can evaluate, and how you and your students reach it — through Canvas or direct login.

Feedback Machines is a system that harnesses leading-edge AI models — such as those from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI — to auto-grade and provide detailed, criteria-aligned feedback on qualitative student work: essays, memos, case studies, presentations, EXAMIND Simulations, and more.

You configure a **Feedback Machine** by giving it your assignment instructions and a grading rubric — or have one generated for you. It then evaluates each student submission against those criteria, returning both a grade and detailed feedback tied to your criteria.

{% hint style="success" %}
**No rubric yet? You don't need one to start.** Feedback Machines can generate a rubric for you to the highest pedagogical standards. Just direct it on the qualities that matter for your learning outcomes, and it turns them into a complete, criteria-based rubric you can review and adjust.
{% endhint %}

## How you and your students reach it

You — and your students — can use Feedback Machines two ways:

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Using Canvas</strong></td><td>Reach Feedback Machines from your Canvas course — no separate login for students.</td><td><a href="/v1/feedback-machines/get-started/using-canvas.md">Using Canvas</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Without Canvas</strong></td><td>Sign in directly at feedbackmachines.com — no LMS required. The quickest way to try it yourself.</td><td><a href="/v1/feedback-machines/get-started/without-canvas.md">Without Canvas</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Feedback Machines is a separate product from the EXAMIND Platform**, with its own setup — configuring one doesn't configure the other. Its only built-in **LMS integration** is **Canvas**; with any other LMS (or none), use **direct login** (see [Without Canvas](/v1/feedback-machines/get-started/without-canvas.md)).
{% endhint %}

## What it can evaluate

Feedback Machines works with any assignment a student can submit as text, `.docx`, or `.pdf`, including:

* Essays and reports
* Business memos and emails
* Letters
* Case studies
* Negotiation preparation documents
* Negotiation reflections
* Presentation decks (as `.pdf`)

Beyond the text itself, Feedback Machines can evaluate **images and visuals inside PDFs**, and **document formatting in `.docx` files** — margins, font types and sizes, footers, footnotes, and the like. For the full picture of what each format carries, see [What a Feedback Machine Can See in Submissions](/v1/feedback-machines/build-a-feedback-machine/what-a-feedback-machine-can-see.md).

## Two ways to use it

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Iterative feedback" %}
Students submit a draft and receive immediate pedagogically optimal feedback aligned with your learning objectives, then revise and resubmit. You can track how many drafts each student submits and how their work improves across iterations.

This mode is built for [skill development](/v1/our-approach/why-iterative-feedback-works.md) — the more feedback-and-revision cycles a student goes through, the more their work tends to improve.
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Auto-grading" %}
Feedback Machines grades qualitative assignments at scale, producing scores and feedback aligned to your criteria. When configured properly, Feedback Machines exceed human-level inter-rater reliability (e.g. 0.9+ on Quadratic Weighted Kappa).

See [Bulk Grading Assist](/v1/feedback-machines/bulk-grading-assist.md) to create submissions for a whole class at once, and [Review, Adjust & Approve Results](/v1/feedback-machines/review-adjust-and-approve.md) to check and release the grades.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

{% hint style="info" %}
One machine can do both. A machine shows students an improvement-oriented **Feedback** view while they're drafting and a final **Results** view once you approve — and you decide which of those each student gets, and when. See [What Students See](/v1/feedback-machines/use/what-students-see.md).
{% endhint %}

## Feedback Machines and EXAMIND assessments

Feedback Machines can also auto-grade assessments in the EXAMIND Platform. Once a Feedback Machine is linked to an assessment, it evaluates each student's work against your criteria. Three assessment types can be linked:

* [**Essay**](/v1/examind-platform/build/assessments/assessment-types/essay-assessments.md) — the student's written response.
* [**Simulation**](/v1/examind-platform/build/assessments/assessment-types/simulation-assessments.md) — the student's interaction with the AI.
* [**File Upload**](/v1/examind-platform/build/assessments/assessment-types/file-upload-assessments.md) — the PDF or Word files the student uploads.

Once the integration is switched on for your institution, you link a machine yourself from the assessment builder (**Link Feedback Machine**) — no need to involve us for each assessment. Each assessment links to its own machine. When feedback is ready, a **See Feedback** button on the review opens it in Feedback Machines — for you, and for students during their self review window; what students see there is [controlled in the machine](/v1/feedback-machines/use/what-students-see.md).

{% hint style="info" %}
This is a **separate integration** from the Canvas LTI above. Linking a Feedback Machine to an EXAMIND assessment happens inside the EXAMIND Platform and doesn't require Canvas. If **Link Feedback Machine** is greyed out, the integration hasn't been enabled for your institution yet — [contact us](mailto:support@examind.io) to have it activated.
{% endhint %}

## Next step

[Build a Feedback Machine →](/v1/feedback-machines/build-a-feedback-machine.md)