By K. Richard Douglas
While there may be a laundry list of reasons why the Internet has been bad for children, there is one very real benefit that often goes unnoticed. The ability to teach, train and inform brings valuable content to kids that can benefit them in many ways.
One platform for this content is the video-sharing service YouTube. While thousands of these videos are only created for entertainment, others fulfill the promise of providing educational and informative content that points to the more atypical value that is possible.
One of those value-added YouTube channels is the NextJenn TechMom Inc. channel. It has been providing content for five years and is tied to actual in-person training sessions, teaching kids about science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM).
“The purpose of NextJenn TechMom Inc. is to provide an opportunity for all kids and parents to develop a beginner-level knowledge of STEAM in a safe environment. We give students and parents the tools to build, test, and play, applying engineering concepts through projects and activities. All kids deserve a safe place to discover the world around them,” says Jennifer Chester, a BMET II in Houston, Texas.
She says that this is her fifth year as the NextJenn TechMom.
Children are more likely to pay attention to STEAM if a parent works in a related field. This means that a lot of kids don’t fully appreciate the opportunities that could lie ahead if they get on this path. Chester says that children learn not only what they are taught in a classroom but what they are surrounded by daily.
Chester’s own love of electronics and engineering led to a lightbulb moment and the realization that kids could enjoy these topics as well.
“My love for the craft prompted me to do electronics kits and build robots on YouTube. I realized that my children began to show an interest in what I was doing and that they were learning so much by doing my projects with me soon after; it blossomed into outreach to all kids that might like learning about electronics and engineering too. I sincerely enjoy seeing the lightbulb come on in a child that has learned and applied that knowledge to make something remarkable,” she says.
Much More than Videos
The NextJenn TechMom STEAM education experience morphed into an in-person experience.
“It started as just videos I did with my kids, and I was in a meeting where someone said the chances are more significant when a parent is in the field of science or technology, so I thought, why not try to bring this into other households and to other families. I currently create videos for YouTube and host in-person classes on the second Saturday of every month at the recreation center at Bear Branch Park for the Woodlands Parks and Recreation,” Chester says. “Each class covers engineering principles, and in the last month, we have a Young Inventors Workshop Event showcasing everything the kids have learned, and they get to apply the knowledge by building a large project.”
The hands-on experience gives kids exposure to engineering concepts and the world of STEAM that they might otherwise not notice.
“We give students and parents the tools to build, test and play, applying engineering concepts through projects and activities,” Chester says.
As an example, she says that a recent class was about DC motors.
“In this class, the children got the opportunity to not only learn how a DC motor works but they build their own DC motors. With the DC motor they made, they could see how the electricity reacted when it entered a magnetic field, they discovered how to change the direction the motor would turn, etc. Next week we are learning about sound, sensors and microphones, and I can’t wait to see what they discover,” she says.
During the last month of classes, there is something called the “Young Inventors Workshop Event.”
“The Young Inventors Workshop is an event where we take the culmination of all of our knowledge throughout the year and build a large project. In the future, I would like to get companies involved and have them send mentors to see what the students have learned and give mentors an opportunity to teach. This will help bridge the gap between education and career,” Chester says. “In my classes, I try to get the parents involved along with their children because I am a believer that parent involvement is pivotal in a child’s learning. If the parent is engaged in what we are doing, so are the children.”
Chester ought to know how science and math-minded parents can influence their children.
“My father, Jesse L. Chester Jr. – my business partner – was a chief master sergeant bomb technician in the United States Air Force. He also majored in engineering technology, and my mother was a math teacher. They both were inspirations for what I do now as a career and for what I do as NextJenn TechMom,” she says.
As a biomed, Chester summarizes what she does on the job succinctly.
“I take care of people by taking care of the medical equipment around them,” she explains. “As a biomed, I get the unique opportunity to repair, maintain and install machines and care for people simultaneously.”
It is clear, she also cares about the future of kids.
What advice would she give to other HTM professionals or anyone else thinking of starting their own YouTube channel or teaching courses?
“The advice I would give to other HTM professionals is: 1. Don’t wait for the perfect time! Get started, 2. If it’s something you love, plant seeds, be a mentor and grow more of it! 3. Call me and we can do it together! 4. Refer to number 1,” she says.
Since most of the kids in Chester’s classes are still young, none have had the chance to declare a STEAM-related area as a focus of college studies yet. Chester doesn’t push them, but just allows them to enjoy what they learn.
“I like to think what I do is a gentle nudge for young minds to think big and never stop learning about the world around them. Good knowledge is power, no matter where it comes from, whether it be a college professor, a day at the park, a good book or the lady across the street who taught me all about earthworms. My purpose is to show the next generation of learners what I know and introduce them to a world they may have never considered because nobody showed them,” she says.
Find the NextJenn TechMom Inc. videos at youtube.com/@nextjenntechmominc/videos.
