Why a U.S. Navy veteran and data scientist built an AI S.T.E.M. tutor aligned to Virginia SOL for their own kids, and why the avatar whiteboard matters.
The story, the credentials, and the capstone research that became Explanova.
A 4th-grader's long division looks different today than it did in the '90s. Same answer, different method. Explanova teaches the method the classroom is using, so what your child practices at home matches what they are learning at school.
Built by: Data Scientist. U.S. Navy Veteran. Parent of school-age kids.
I am a data scientist and a Navy veteran, and I have spent more than twenty years on the gap between what a machine can answer and what a person can actually learn. I am also a parent watching my own kids do S.T.E.M. homework I did not recognize. Explanova is the tutor I wanted for them.
My 2018 Master's capstone research was about using AI as a bridge between advanced knowledge and everyday learners. It mapped the intelligence lifecycle: raw data → information → knowledge → understanding → intelligence. Most AI chatbots skip to "intelligence": they hand you an answer. Explanova walks the full lifecycle, the same way a tutor walks a kid: expose the data (the problem), surface the information (the method), let understanding form (the avatar whiteboard), and build intelligence through repetition.
The research also argued that ethical AI requires visible reasoning and bias-awareness, seven years before the mainstream caught up. Explanova's "grounded" confidence label, step-by-step whiteboard, and visible method aren't marketing. They're what that research said an AI tutor had to have.
Seven years later, I'm watching my own kids work through curricula whose methods look nothing like the ones I learned. Explanova is that research, rebuilt as a product, for parents and kids who want a tutor that shows every step the way the teacher teaches it.
What Explanova covers today: math from counting through calculus, linear algebra, and statistics (K to 12 and college), science from elementary through chemistry and physics (K to 12 and college), programming in Python and Java (middle school and up), and engineering fundamentals like circuit analysis and statics (high school and up). Adults brushing up are welcome too.
Coach Nova works a problem on the whiteboard, narrating each step as she writes it. Your child can also open a live session and talk to her in real time, stopping her mid-step to ask why.
A learning path, not just loose problems. In grades 3 through 12, your child can follow a math or science topic across grades, practice it until it sticks, and take a short checkpoint quiz before moving on.
Video backup when a topic needs a second voice. After a solve, Explanova can offer an educational video on the same topic. Nothing loads until your child taps to watch it, and the feature is still in beta. Every candidate is screened for safety and grade band first.
Typical tutor / app
Generic or random
Explanova
Aligned to Virginia SOL and Florida B.E.S.T. plus NGSSS. Families in other states get a standard curriculum that most state standards align to closely.
Typical tutor / app
Chat answer box
Explanova
Step-by-step whiteboard with voice narration. Coach Nova works the problem with your child, not for them, rather than handing over an answer.
Typical tutor / app
One child, one subject
Explanova
Every learner on your plan gets their own path, progress, and curriculum setting.
Typical tutor / app
Varies widely, often hard to tell
Explanova
COPPA-aware from day one. We never sell child data or use it for advertising, and we never train our own models on it. No names, emails, or account identifiers are sent to our AI providers.
Typical tutor / app
Billed by the hour, per child
Explanova
One flat monthly subscription, with no hourly or per-session billing.
Typical tutor / app
English only, no per-learner setting
Explanova
Each learner has their own language setting. The live voice tutor speaks Spanish, Chinese, or Hindi as well as English, and can switch mid-session. On-screen step text and menus are English for now.
"Your kids shouldn't fall behind because the math looks different than when you were in school."
Explanova's founder