Lindsey and Patrick Masterson saw a need. So the Peterborough couple found a way to fill it.
With students switching to remote learning and parents now the sole educator of their children, Lindsey Masterson saw what a lot of parents were saying. There were requests put out there for more content to keep their children busy at home.
And it gave her – and then them – an idea. Why not create a centralized place where children could learn something new. The Mastersons, who both have web development backgrounds, spent a few long nights writing the coding for Remote Teachable Moments.
“It was developed because of our community,” Masterson said.
The new website was originally just going to be for a friend group, but Masterson said her husband kept pushing for more. So late last week it was opened up to the world, including a Facebook and Instagram page.
Masterson said it’s really a hub for live remote learning. It’s a place where kids can learn, and people can teach. And that’s the beauty of it, all the content is user generated.
Adults who have a special skill or talents can sign up to teach a class as frequently as they want to, and children can decide what they want to learn on any given day.
“There’s no commitment,” Masterson said. “Just choose what you want to do.”
According to the Remote Teachable Moments website, “Imagine you could log into a website and pick something to learn LIVE daily; how to make cookies, science projects, knitting, listening to stories, and so much more.”
So far, classes last weeks included how to use Zoom, essential oils, making a banana nutella smoothie and how to edge a garden bed. Masterson plans to do a Q&A each week as well. But to make this beneficial to all the children needing more educational opportunities to fill their day, there must be people willing to share their knowledge.
“It’s completely user generated,” Masterson said. “It can be whatever us as a community do.”
Not only will it help break up the day of remote learning at home for the students, but it might just give that all-important break to parents before the next lesson.
Her mom plans to do one on felting and Masterson really sees endless possibilities for classes. With each session happening on Zoom and limited to 30 minutes, Masterson envisions that as more than enough time to showcase a skill or even lay the groundwork for an at home experiment.
“It doesn’t have to be very complicated. It can be a simple thing,” Masterson said. “Short and sweet.”
All she needs are people willing to offer their time to fill a crucial role for kids who are missing out on so many opportunities these days.
“The more people that are on there, the more choices there will be,” Masterson said. “It’s finding other people that have time to do those creative things that I don’t have time or know how to do.”
The Mastersons 9-year-old daughter has already taken a number of classes so far, so she has seen its impact and importance.
“Hopefully she will be cooking us dinner in a week or two,” Masterson said.
It was pretty early on after schools closed that Masterson just knew that students weren’t going back this year. So she had this feeling there would be a need. And the live component is what she likes the most about it. Sure, there are a lot of videos out there, but with Remote Teachable Moments kids can ask questions and get that interaction with others that is missing.
“It’s the live piece of it that makes it special,” Masterson said.
The first month’s membership is free and then each additional month is only $5 per month.
For those interested in getting involved, either through teaching or having their children participate in a class, visit https://remoteteachablemoments.com to sign up.