PlanIt

Inspiration

As students, we have all had weeks where everything feels overwhelming, we have multiple assignments, tests, and extracurriculars all piling up at once. We often found ourselves stressing over how to simply start, or struggling to fit everything into our jam packed week. From those experiences, we were inspired to build PlanIt: a tool which helps students manage their workload, create realistic plans, and feel that they are in control rather than overwhelmed. In the age of AI, students are very likely to use AI to complete work for them when they feel intimidated by an assignment. PlanIt works with them.

What it does

The app tells you to upload an attachment of an assignment, whether thats a picture or a pdf format, etc. After you submit it, you then enter the due date of the assignment. Then, it analyzes the assignment and breaks the assignment into multiple chronological parts that tell you the estimated time to complete each part. With the due date you gave it, the app will tell you how to organize and manage your time to effectively while also making you fully understand the assignment to prepare you for future assessments.

How we built it

We first built the outline in python, and executed it using nextjs.

Challenges we ran into

The group was pretty uncoordinated at first and it was difficult to settle and decide on an idea since we had multiple to choose from. Our code also had some errors at times and it was pretty frustrating when we couldn't figure out the issues right away, but we managed to mitigate our errors and get the app up and running for the most part.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Building a functional prototype in a short amount of time that can take real assignments and turn them into step-by-step task lists

Creating a tool that encourages students to do work themselves rather than juts relying on AI to complete it for them

Learning new technologies and applying them successfully in a short period of time

Collaborating effectively as a team, even when we felt overwhelmed by the pace of the hackathon

What we learned

How to break down a big idea into an achievable project within a time frame

The importance of designing with the user’s mindset in mind

How to integrate AI in a way that supports learning rather than replacing that effort you can put in

The value of clear communication and teamwork when creating projects under pressure

What's next for PlanIt

PlanIt plans on soon becoming partners with and integrating with learning platforms, such as Google Classroom, to make it more convenient and accessible to a wider audience.