Every student gets a linked parent account, and parents ask me what's in it more than almost anything else. So here's the whole list, including the part you might not love.
What you can see
- Progress by week: which weeks are open, what's done and what they're working on right now.
- Their badges and their title. There's a badge for each week, and the title only ever moves up.
- Where each write-up stands: drafting, submitted, almost there or passed.
- What's coming up: live sessions, due dates and demo day.
- Whether the ethics agreement is signed, and the place you sign it.
Every week you also get a two-line update, built from what your kid actually did: what the week covered, and what they did in it. It shows up in your account and in your inbox when the next week opens. It's generated from their activity, so I can't pad it (and neither can your kid).
What you can't see
You see where a write-up stands, not what's in it, and not what I said about it. The same goes for the one private thread your kid has, which is with me, about their own write-ups and the week 7 disclosure. You can ask me about anything in it. You also can't see their notes, the student forum or any other student.
Students can't message each other. The forum is the only place they talk to each other, I review every post before it goes up, and you can turn the forums off for your kid.
The write-up part is the one parents push back on, so here's why. Notes and drafts are where kids try out half-formed ideas and write things like "no idea what this header does." That's the good stuff. It's also the first thing to go the minute they think a parent is reading over their shoulder. Passed and "almost there" tell you how it's going without making them perform for you.
Talking to me
You get a private conversation with me, and your kid doesn't see it. Use it for anything: a schedule clash, a missed session, a worry you'd rather not raise in front of them.
You pick which emails you get. If your kid forgets their password, you can reset it from your account and hand them a temporary one. One parent account covers all of your kids in the course, and a second guardian can have their own.
The full rundown is on the parents page.
