Platform for tutors
A lesson lasts an hour, but learning goes on all week. Skillok covers the time between lessons — materials, homework, checking, and a history of the student's progress. To be clear from the start: there is no interactive whiteboard or video calling, so run the lesson itself in the tool you already use.
In this article
How it works#
Each student gets a private repository, and you invite them by username. In the repository:
- materials — notes, worked examples, tables and formulas in markdown, photos and files;
- homework — as issues: the task, a due date through a milestone, a topic label;
- the student's solutions — they upload a file or a photo, write the answer in a comment on the issue, or push changes with git if they are learning to program;
- your check — comments on the issue, or a review of a pull request marked "approved" or "changes requested".
Everything is saved with dates: two months later you can see which topics were covered, where the mistakes were and how the solutions changed. That is handy to show to parents.
Formulas, code and diagrams#
For maths and physics, formulas are written in LaTeX and look typeset. For programming there is highlighted code, and in challenges a solution in Python or JavaScript is checked automatically. For any subject there are tables and diagrams.
Self-checking without you#
Put a challenge in the student's repository — stages with questions that are checked automatically: pick an option, type an answer, ordering, matching, fill in the blanks, flashcards. The student practises between lessons, sees at once where they went wrong, and questions come back to them for review on a schedule. You can turn your lesson note into questions with the "Practice" button. You get no summary log of results — the student shows their progress themselves. Why testing yourself works is explained in active recall.
What is missing#
- an interactive whiteboard and video calls — run the lesson in your usual service and keep everything that comes out of it here;
- lesson scheduling and payments;
- email notifications — the student sees new homework in the inbox on the site;
- a mobile app — the site is adapted for phones.
What it costs#
Repositories, issues and challenges you build by hand are free. One owner can have up to 25 repositories; if you have more students, create an organization or keep several students in one repository in separate folders.
Where to start#
Create a private repository "Student name — subject", add a README with the lesson plan and open the first homework issue. Invite the student — and start the next lesson by going through what they did during the week.
Try it on your own task
Create a repository — history, issues and pull requests from day one.
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