OWL's Position: Open Source in Education

Owner: Director of Orgazational Strategy & Learning (DOSL) – with input from all Directors Audience: All OWL staff, partners, and stakeholders

Fueling Radical Collaboration and Transformative Innovation

Open Way Learning, believes that the most transformative educational change happens when learning communities operate as open source networks—intentionally built cultures where collaboration, transparency, and shared purpose are not afterthoughts but foundational values. These networks are not imposed top-down; they emerge and thrive when individuals are empowered to contribute, remix, and improve ideas together in service of a greater mission.

Our stance is shaped by real-world insights from fields outside of education—particularly engineering and software development—where continuous improvement and collaborative innovation are the lifeblood of progress. In these fields, professionals depend on open, networked cultures to stay relevant and resilient. We see no reason why education should be any different.

Yet in too many schools, educators are still expected to operate in silos, disconnected from one another and from the communities they serve. Dysfunctional professional learning communities (PLCs), where voices are silenced or participation is coerced, do not count as true networks in our view. Instead, we promote networks that are:

• Transparent – where information flows freely and decisions are openly understood;

• Collaborative – where ideas are co-created, not owned;

• Inclusive – where diverse voices shape direction and design;

• Adaptive – where learning communities are responsive to evolving needs and insights;

• Rooted in shared purpose – where the “why” is not just stated but lived out through collective action.

These conditions are the cultural DNA of high-functioning, open networks. When embedded authentically, they turn learning ecosystems into powerful engines of innovation—where the creativity of one sparks a better version from another, and where iteration is the norm, not the exception.

Why Open Source?

We draw deep inspiration from the open source movement. Originally rooted in software development, open source is not just a technical model - it is a philosophical stance on how progress happens: through radical collaboration, transparency, and shared stewardship.

Just as open source communities like Linux transformed the digital economy by crowdsourcing improvements and democratizing access to knowledge, we believe schools can do the same in transforming education. Imagine an educational system where ideas are freely exchanged across buildings, districts, and disciplines - where educators, students, and communities are co-designers, not passive recipients, of the learning experience.

In open source communities, “the code talks.” That is, the merit of an idea is visible through its impact and its ability to be improved upon by others. This ethos mirrors our own approach to innovation in schools: ideas are made better not by gatekeeping, but by open exchange and adaptation.

What This Looks Like in Education

Open source networking in education means that teachers are not isolated practitioners, but networked professionals - learning and growing alongside peers both within and outside of their schools. It means students are seen not just as consumers of knowledge, but as contributors to a learning ecosystem. It means communities are not merely consulted, but embedded in the ongoing co-design of education.

It also acknowledges a seismic shift in access: where once knowledge was restricted to the privileged few, today’s learners hold unprecedented power through the technology at their fingertips. The same device many schools ask students to put away is, in fact, a portal to an almost boundless, living library of human understanding. We believe we must teach students how to harness this access - to contribute to it, critique it, and build upon it. That is how we prepare them for agency in a networked world.

Real-World Models

One of the most compelling real-world examples of open source collaboration at scale is Red Hat, a North Carolina-based company that built its entire business around open source software solutions. From its early days, Red Hat embraced the open source philosophy with a simple but powerful business model: “The code is free, we add the value.” Instead of selling proprietary software, Red Hat supported organizations in using and customizing free, community-developed code - especially Linux - to meet their specific needs, with enterprise-grade support, security, and scalability.

In 2019, Red Hat was acquired by IBM for $34 billion - one of the largest tech acquisitions in history. While now under the IBM umbrella, Red Hat continues to operate with a notable degree of independence and maintains its commitment to open source principles. Its role within IBM underscores a broader shift: even traditional, legacy companies now recognize that the open source model is not only viable, but essential to modern innovation.

Red Hat’s continued success illustrates a key lesson for education: openness and excellence are not in conflict. In fact, openness fuels excellence by inviting continuous improvement through broad participation. When diverse contributors are empowered to remix, adapt, and build upon shared tools or ideas, the result is often more relevant, resilient, and responsive solutions. That’s the power of a true network - and it’s exactly the kind of culture we aim to cultivate in education.

As our co-founder Ben Owens has written in Education International and OpenSource.com, this model is not theoretical. It is already happening where networks are given space to grow, and where educators step into roles as open collaborators, not compliance officers.

Our Commitment

At OWL, we are committed to modeling and scaling open source culture in every aspect of our work. We:

• Share our tools and frameworks openly;

• Co-design solutions with—not for—our partners;

• Elevate practitioner voices over program branding;

• Promote open-ended collaboration across traditional boundaries;

• Provide infrastructure for networks to form, grow, and sustain themselves beyond our direct support.

We do this because we believe that the most effective way to change school culture is by connecting, not controlling—by seeding networks that nourish bold ideas and unleash collective genius.