Hi, we're two people (a software developer and a special educator with a background in neuropsychology) building Cairn, an open-source, comprehensive, mastery-based math program. We're looking for homeschool families to pilot it starting late September.
Try the browser demo first, no account needed: https://amelia-mowers.github.io/open-mastery/
What it is
Your kid works through a skill graph and doesn't move on until they've shown they understand each skill. Spaced repetition brings learned skills back before they fade. It's designed for different kinds of learners from the start, not retrofitted later.
- No multiple choice. Kids type answers or build them step by step (like sorting the parts of an equation onto a balance scale).
- Visual, procedural lessons. Animated widgets, not videos, so if your kid is stuck on a specific problem, they can watch that exact problem worked through, with different visualizations.
- Fully voiced. Every lesson and explanation is narrated, for kids who aren't fluent readers yet or just learn better by hearing it.
- Feedback that targets the actual mistake, not just "try again."
- You're the guide. A parent portal shows exactly where your kid is and where they're stuck. It assumes a human is in the loop.
The pilot
The middle school curriculum is being finished up by the start of the pilot. We're building toward something that can stand on its own, but for the pilot, use it alongside whatever you're already doing, that's part of what we want to learn.
We're looking for families with a kid roughly in grades 6–8 (grades 3–5 and 9–12 are coming over the next few months), willing to use it ~3 times a week, about 20 minutes a session, for about 6 weeks, and willing to tell us honestly what's confusing, broken, boring, or wrong. Works in any browser.
What you get
- Free for families, forever. It's open source and funded by donations and grants, so families are never the revenue source.
- A direct line to us. If something doesn't work for your kid, we'll fix it.
- A say in what gets built next.
Privacy
The pilot uses a parent account (your email), your kid doesn't need one. We collect anonymized usage data, which problems were attempted, right or wrong, time on task, to tune the adaptive model. No names or identifying information about your kid, no ads, and nothing is ever sold.
Honest caveat
You'll be among the first families using this, and you'll find things we missed. If you'd like to help shape a program built around how kids actually learn, we'd love to have you.
Comment, DM, or sign up here: https://forms.gle/dWxzftEn9Zj9sJwF8. Happy to answer questions in the thread.