Instructify

I’ve got to be honest: one thing that bugs me (perhaps too much) about Soshiku, a brand-new web site that helps students keep track of their homework, is that it’s ad-supported. Must students constantly be marketed to while they’re trying to learn? It’s bad enough that some schools make deals with fast food franchises. But to be fair, the “Ads by Google” that appear at the bottom of the assignment list are discreet, and so far they point to sites that seem relatively legitimate (learninghub.com, tutor.com) instead of to paper mills. And there are many pluses to Soshiku.

For one thing, the interface is big, bright, clean, and simple, with both a calendar and a list of assignments that show when assignments are due. Although Soshiku’s site says that the tool is for “high school or college assignments,” even first- and second-graders could probably use Soshiku, and that might help them develop good organizational habits early. For another thing, Soshiku allows students to have partners for homework assignments, and it can send assignment reminders by e-mail or text message. Assignments can be either “public,” “private,” or “partners only,” which is a good range of options.

Also, whoever develops Soshiku seems to be responsive to user requests, as is apparent from the very active Soshiku blog. There are only about a thousand people using Soshiku right now, which on the one hand means that it’s a relatively untested product, but on the other hand means that you can easily make your voice heard.

One potential obstacle to using Soshiku is that all courses and assignments have to be entered manually, which will probably get old very quickly. But otherwise the site might be a very good option for web-savvy but organizationally challenged students. And who knows? Maybe they’ll appreciate the opportunity to spend some money to “Get Help Now From an Online Tutor.” -AMANDA FRENCH

Soshiku

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