Motivation management with GradeFix

Gradefix is a Web-based organizational tool aimed at students who want to organize their schoolwork in a virtual assignment book. Users simply add their assignment info, and Gradefix prioritizes the projects that need their attention. Could this be simpler than a hard-copy day planner? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

Gradefix separates schoolwork into four categories: homework, reading, quiz study, and exam study. Sorely lacking is scheduling for lab work and study groups, two activities that most college students likely would add to their schedules. In that regard, Gradefix seems suited more to the high school crowd.

After adding a new task, Gradefix will plot out when you need to work on it based on when it's due, how long you think it will take, and your total daily time budgeted for homework. Work is presented by week, with color coding for each class. One obvious problem with this system is that some assignments might need to be done in one sitting, and can't be split up.

What's cool about Gradefix is that missing an assignment automatically re-arranges the the rest of your priorities. The tool will automatically put the missed task at the top of your daily queue, and adjust how much additional time needs to be spent to make up for a lost day.

Gradefix is an interesting take on project management, but compared to a hard-copy day planner, I think it's asking too much for students to log in and input assignments every day when they'll likely have to write them down in class anyway. I'd also worry about reliability -- will the service be running when I need it? Gradefix is fairly easy to use, but as far as building strong study skills, I don't think it beats writing things down on a piece of paper.