Open Content
Making learning accessible to all.
The Better Conversations Foundation was founded by people from the software industry. The Internet itself was built on open source, and the approach has had a profound impact on how we build software.
We've seen first-hand how open source transformed technology and we know the same principles transform learning in organisations and teams. A similar shift has been happening in learning, science and education. Wikipedia and MIT Open Courseware are great examples of this, as are the increasing number of free and open source academic journals published online.
Open Educational Resources
Part of a global movement
We're part of the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement, a global effort to make learning materials freely available for anyone to use, adapt, and share. The term "open content" was coined by David Wiley in 1998, drawing directly from the principles that transformed software development.
Open content isn't about giving things away for free. It's about recognising that knowledge grows when it's shared, and that improvement is a collaborative effort. That everyone benefits from effective application of the materials and the insights that come from using them.
The 5Rs of Open Content
Open content is defined by five freedoms. Our approach grants you all of them.
Retain
Make and keep your own copies
Revise
Adapt, modify, and translate for your context
Remix
Combine with other resources to create something new
Reuse
Use in your own context, as you need to
Redistribute
Share with others to spread the learning
Learning Philosophy
From course-centric to outcome-centric
Organisational training spans a spectrum. Our open content approach supports movement toward outcome-focused learning.
Course/Trainer Centric
- Classroom-style groups of individuals
- Learning must be translated into work context by the learner
- Structured around a defined schedule
- Focused on knowledge and information transfer
- Emphasis on content delivery
- Success measured by course completion
Outcome Centric
- Shared purpose and collective goals
- Immediately applicable to work
- Flexible to participant needs and context
- Relational and skill-based
- Learners become facilitators of learning
- Success is linked to wider outcomes
Based on Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, Immunity to Change (Harvard Business Press, 2009)
Why It Works
The benefits of open content for learning
Continuous Improvement
Materials are refined through use across diverse contexts. Feedback from facilitators, observers and participants flows back into better resources for everyone.
Lower Barriers to Adoption
No licensing fees or IP restrictions. Organisations can explore the materials before committing, and partners can collaborate without legal complexity.
Contextual Fit
Every organisation can tailor materials to their specific needs, culture, and language while benefiting from tested foundational materials and techniques.
Our Model
Enabled by research, technology and community support
- IP, standard resources, toolset
- Demonstration courses
- R&D and continuous improvement
- Testing and improvement
- Mutual support and resources
- Social connection and learning
- Customisation to context
- Small and large scale innovation
- Benefits from value delivered
What's Available
Free resources under Creative Commons
All our materials are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence. You can use, adapt, and share them—just give credit and share your improvements back.
Course Overview
A high-level summary of the course structure, modules, and what participants will learn.
DownloadCourse Handbook
The participant handbook with all course content, exercises, and reference materials.
DownloadFlight Plans
The detailed instructions for running the course—the most important part of what we make available.
DownloadFlight Plans Source
The source code for generating flight plans. Contribute improvements or translations.
View on GitHubBrowse all our open source projects on GitHub.
Creative Commons BY-SA
All Better Conversations materials are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International. This means you're free to share and adapt the materials for any purpose, even commercially, as long as you give appropriate credit and distribute your contributions under the same licence.
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Download our materials for free, or partner with us for deeper support in bringing Better Conversations to your organisation.