How it works
Extract what you know. Organize it into a graph. Publish it in whatever shape fits.
This page describes the model InstructOS is built on. The tools that make it usable are in development.
Extract, organize, publish
Extract
Most expertise is never written down. The first step is getting it out: what you would tell someone on their first day, what they get wrong, what they need to know before the next thing makes sense. You do not need a curriculum to start; you need what you already know.
Organize
Split what you extracted into mini topics, the smallest pieces that make sense on their own. Then connect them: this one depends on that one, these two are alternatives, this one is optional. Those connections are the knowledge graph.
Publish
Choose a shape. A lesson is one mini topic or a few. A course is a path through more of the graph. A mini degree is a longer, structured sequence of lessons that covers a whole area. All three come from the same graph.
What a mini topic is
A mini topic is the smallest unit of the graph: one thing a learner can understand, practice, and show they have understood. It has a name, an explanation in your words, and links to the mini topics it depends on. It is small enough to finish in one sitting and specific enough to be checked.
An illustration
In a woodworking course, "reading grain direction" is one mini topic. "Planing without tear-out" depends on it. A lesson could teach just the first; a course would teach both, in that order; a mini degree would place both inside the whole subject.
One graph, three shapes
A lesson, a course, and a mini degree are not three products. They are three views of the same graph.
"Mini degree" is our own term for a structured sequence of lessons. It is not an academic degree and does not confer accreditation, credit, or a credential. The diagrams show the model, not a product screen.
How learners move through it
Because the structure is a graph, a learner is not locked to one order. The graph shows what depends on what, so "what should I learn next" has an answer that fits the learner, not just the syllabus. That is learning at the speed of need.
- Start where you already have footing. Pick the mini topic you half know, not page one.
- Skip what you already know. If the prerequisites are covered, the graph does not make you repeat them.
- Follow the links to what comes next. Every mini topic points at the ones it unlocks.
Where things stand
In developmentHave a subject in mind?
If you already know what you would teach, tell us. Early conversations shape what gets built first.