Inspiration
Schoolwork rarely comes from one place. One teacher posts an assignment online, another sends a message, and another explains it in class. A normal calendar can show the deadlines, but it does not show whether the work can actually fit into the time a student has.
I wanted to build something that looks at the whole week instead of treating every assignment separately. That idea became Loadmap.
What it does
Loadmap helps students turn assignments into a realistic weekly plan.
Students can add assignments manually or paste assignment instructions. Before the text is analyzed, they can review and remove personal details such as names, email addresses, and student IDs.
Loadmap then shows the extracted title, subject, deadline, estimated effort, and requirements. The student can edit everything before saving it.
After assignments are added, Loadmap compares the remaining work with the student’s available study time. It splits larger assignments into study sessions and warns the student when a deadline, busy day, or group of assignments may cause a problem.
How we built it
Loadmap was built with Next.js, React, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS.
The assignment import feature uses a server-side language model to turn unstructured instructions into editable assignment details. The model does not add anything directly to the planner. The student reviews the result first.
The weekly plan is created with TypeScript scheduling logic rather than a language model. It looks at due dates, remaining effort, priority, daily availability, study-session preferences, and the student’s time buffer.
Planner data is stored in the browser for this prototype.
Challenges we ran into
One of the hardest parts was scheduling work without pretending that everything fits. When there is not enough available time, Loadmap has to leave some work unscheduled and explain the problem clearly.
Dates were also difficult. Academic deadlines usually use a date without a timezone, so normal date handling could sometimes move a deadline to the wrong day.
Another challenge was assignment import. Teacher messages can contain several assignments, missing details, or personal information. We had to make the result editable and keep the student in control before anything was saved.
We also had to keep the sample planner separate from personal planner data so testing the sample could not overwrite the user’s own assignments.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud that Loadmap does more than list deadlines.
It checks whether the work fits into the student’s actual availability, divides large assignments into smaller sessions, and shows work that could not be scheduled.
We are also proud of the privacy-review step. Students can remove personal details before the assignment text is analyzed, and extracted information is never saved without confirmation.
The planner also updates when assignments, availability, preferences, or completed sessions change.
What we learned
We learned that deadlines alone do not give students a clear picture of their workload. Estimated effort and available time matter just as much.
We also learned that a language model is more useful for reading messy assignment instructions than for controlling the schedule. Keeping the scheduling rules predictable makes the result easier to understand and check.
Most importantly, we learned that privacy controls need to be visible. A short privacy message is not enough. Students should see what information is being removed and decide what gets analyzed.
What's next for Loadmap
The next step would be improving assignment estimates using feedback from the student about how long similar work actually took.
We would also like to support more file types, improve screenshot reading, add calendar connections, and let students use the same planner across different devices.
A future version could also help teachers see when several classes are placing major deadlines in the same week, without showing private student information.
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