Frequently asked questions

Deskpad Learn is a writing workspace for schools, where students write their essays with a Socratic AI tutor called Sage built in, and teachers can see how the writing came together. It is the product Deskpad builds for classrooms, and it is completely free for schools to use.

Sage works like a patient tutor sitting beside a student, asking questions that move their draft forward and helping them find their own next idea. When a student asks it to write something for them, it guides them toward writing it themselves, so every idea and every sentence stays the student's own.

When a teacher reviews a submission, they see the student's writing alongside a full transcript of every conversation the student had with Sage, in order and with timestamps. That gives a teacher the context behind a piece of work, so they can grade and give feedback knowing how the student actually got there.

Deskpad Learn approaches this through transparency. Because every conversation a student has with Sage is saved and visible to their teacher, the way AI was used in a piece of work is already out in the open. We are also developing additional tools to give teachers an even fuller sense of a student's authentic writing, and those are on the way.

Deskpad Learn is completely free to use. Students never pay, and keeping it that way for them is at the heart of why Deskpad exists.

Yes. You can set an assignment to run in Google Docs, and students will use the Deskpad Learn add-on to work with Sage and submit their work without leaving the document. You can find the add-on and a setup walkthrough in the Google Docs menu.

Yes. Deskpad Learn is built to meet FERPA and COPPA standards, student work stays private, and nothing a student writes is ever sold or shared for advertising.

Teachers can create an account and set up a class in a few minutes, with no help needed from IT. The Setup Guide walks through the whole process, from making your first class to grading your first assignment.