1. Helping students finish
their homework in a
timely manner
KG and JH
S

2. Research shows the amount of
time spent on homework varies
with ethnicity.

3. As well as age and grades,

4. Finally, it shows how students
procrastinate
Two weeks to complete an assignment. Deadline: Monday 800AM.
When do students hand in their submission?
0-1
1-2
2-3
3-4
4-5
5-6
6-7
7-8
8-9
9-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20 20-21 21-22 22-23 23-24
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Maximum: ~9 % of all students submitted
their solution in the hour before midnight
Data: 811 student submissions on 8 different assignments from the courses
Introduction to Computer Networking and Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing.
Michael Müller, http:/ / micha.elmueller.net
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported

5. Kendall’s typical homework
experience

6. Kendall can’t keep track of all her
assignments
Students like Kendall often
struggle with keeping track
of their assignments as
well as completing them in
a timely manner. There are
many different reasons for
these problems to occur.

7. To Kendall, completing all her
homework on time is very difficult
S She is busy
S She can be lazy
S She isn’t too organized
S She doesn’t have the best work ethic
S She gets distracted easily

8. After talking with Kendall, we decided to interview
other high school students, this is what we found.

9. After meeting Kendall, we decided
to interview other high school
students and this is what we
found.
S
90% of students would use an app that helps them keep track of
homework and time-management
S
80% of students keep track of their homework in a handwritten notebook
S
70% of kids keep their phone with them while doing homework
S
100% of students spend over 90 minutes on homework
S
70% of students get distracted by their phone or internet during homework

10. Kendall has tried the following
options to help her with her
homework.
S The app, MyHomework-
This lets you track your
homework assignments
and classes. You add
the assignments and
when it is due as well
as priority level. You
can also set reminders
to do your homework.

11. The Second App
S MyGradeBook
allows you to track
your grades and
homework
assignments as
well as allowing
your parents
access your
grades.

12. The Third App
S StudyBlue allows you
to create your own
flashcards and you
can share with peers.
It also can track what
cards you have
mastered and allow
you to spend more
time on the other
cards. Cards can be
text, images or audio.

13. Then we quickly came across this
question
How can we help students keep track of their assignments
and help them with time management?

14. We came up with 3 solution ideas
that could benefit Kendall as well
as other students
S An application that blocks a set list of websites until you have
completed/marked all of your homework as complete
S A web application that you can add friends/classmates to in
order to figure out what your homework is for a class even if
you missed it/forgot to write it down.
S An app that denies web access as well as text messages
unless they are from your parents during the time you are
doing homework.

15. Our Aha Moment
S We then quickly realized that the main reasons kids don’t
do their homework are:
Not remembering what’s due, laziness, and
miscommunication
We then started to implement these three core elements
into an application that would relieve all of these problems...

16. How this idea works
S This app has three major features. It is able to block texts
on your phone, as well as block certain websites you
might use to procrastinate. It also is a calendar that you
can mark your assignments down in. The final feature is
that you can add your classmates to the calendar and
they can also mark homework assignments and add
notes and details.

17. Citations
S
"App-studyblue." INTO Higher Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014. http://blog.intohigher.com/studying-abroad/10-of-the-best-free-apps-forstudents/attachment/app-studyblue/
S
"Organization & Time Management Android Apps for High School and College Students | OT's with Apps." OTs with Apps. N.p., n.d. Web. 06
Feb. 2014. http://otswithapps.com/2012/08/06/organization-time-management-android-apps-for-high-school-and-college-students/.
S
"Reviews." My GradeBook : Student Grades. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.roxannebrittain.rbrittaingradebook.
S
"Perry County District Library." Homework Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2014. http://www.pcdl.org/homework.
S
McDowell, Gayle L. "COMPANIES WHO GIVE CANDIDATES HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS: KNOCK IT OFF!"
Http://www.technologywoman.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2014. http://www.technologywoman.com/2013/09/18/companies-who-givecandidates-homework-assignments-knock-it-off/.
S
"MICHA.ELMUELLER." MICHAELMUELLER RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2014. http://micha.elmueller.net/2013/06/when-do-studentssubmit-assignments/.
S
"How Much Time Do American Kids Spend Doing Homework?" Http://www.tino.us. N.p., 31 Dec. 2010. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
http://www.tino.us/2010/12/.
S
Ryan, Julia. "How Much Homework Do American Kids Do?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/how-much-homework-do-american-kids-do/279805/.

18. Appendix

19. Name: Anna O.
Age: 14
Location: Chicago, Illinois
About Anna-­ Anna is a Freshman in High
School. She dances on Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Sundays, and manages her
schoolwork despite dancing 3 days a week.
Homework Goals-­ She wants to get her
homework done in a more timely manner
without getting distracted.
Homework Frustrations-­ Anna gets
distracted by her phone and the internet. She
also doesn’t always have time for all her
homework. When she doesn’t turn in her work
on time, it is sometimes because the printer
doesn’t work or she can’t access the file.
Homework Activities-­ Anna keeps track in a planner provided by the school. She usually has
her phone with her during her homework. She likes having her homework online. Usually has 2-­3
hours of homework a night.

20. Name: Arielle K
Age: 15
Location: Chicago, Illinois
About Arielle-­ Arielle is a sophomore in High
School. She dances on Mondays and Thursdays
and manages all her schoolwork in a timely
manner before doing any of her other activities.
Homework Goals-­ Doesn’t have any, maybe a
better time management system but that’s really
it. Take less time to stay organized, she already
takes 4 hours a day to get all organized.
Homework Frustrations-­ There is a lot of
homework that she needs to complete within a
short period of time and she sometimes gets
flustered with all the work and responsibility.
Homework Activities-­ Keeps track in a planner provided by the school. Usually has her phone
on but puts it away when she is doing her homework. She likes having her homework in a
planner. Usually has 5-­6 hours of homework a night.

21. Name: Emily B.
Age: 16
Location: Chicago, Illinois
About Emily-­ Emily is a sophomore in High School. She
dances every day of the week and manages her schoolwork.
Homework Goals-­ She wants to get her homework done in a
more timely manner without getting distracted.
Homework Frustrations-­ Gets distracted by her phone and
the internet. Sometimes doesn’t have time for all her
homework.
Homework Activities-­ Keeps track in a planner provided by
the school. Usually has her phone with her during her
homework. She likes having her homework in a planner.
Usually has 1-­2 hours of homework a night.

22. Name: Hannah J.
Age: 14
Location: Chicago, Illinois
About Hannah-­ Hannah is a Freshman in High School.
She dances on Thursdays and Sundays and manages
all of her schoolwork.
Homework Goals-­ She wants to get her homework
done in a more timely manner without getting distracted.
Homework Frustrations-­ Gets distracted by her phone
and the internet. Sometimes doesn’t have time for all her
homework. She sometimes forgets the homework.
Homework Activities-­ Keeps track in a planner provided
by the school. Usually has her phone with her during her
homework. She likes having her homework online.
Usually has 2-­3 hours of homework a night. She has
alarms and notifications on her phone for homework,
starting at 7:30 PM she has alarms go off on her phone
reminding her to complete all of her homework.

23. Name: Samantha W.
Age: 14
Location: Chicago, Illinois
About Samantha-­ Samantha is a freshman in High School. She
dances every day of the week and manages her schoolwork.
Homework Goals-­ She wants to get her homework done in a more
timely manner without getting distracted.
Homework Frustrations-­ Gets distracted by her phone and the
internet. Sometimes doesn’t have time for all her homework.
Homework Activities-­ Keeps track in a planner provided by the
school. Also the assignments are on a website called Haiku. Usually
has her phone with her during her homework. She likes having her
homework in a handwritten notebook. Usually has 2-­3 hours of homework a night.

28. Design 1

29. Design 2

30. Design 3 (the one we chose)

31. Design 4

32. Design 5