About Models + Patterns
Models + Patterns is a learning platform for energy-efficiency professionals who want to get hands-on with the tools and technologies that are making the world more efficient.
Most e-Learning courses are the same. They focus on text and videos, maybe some standard assessments like multiple choice...the usual stuff. That's fine, but in the technology-heavy fields of the energy transition (say, building energy modeling), simple remediated content doesn't go far enough.
Models + Patterns is different. Most courses are built around interactive activities and simulations, directly in your browser. This means you can try things out, make mistakes, and learn by doing, all without spinning cycles installing lots of software or wrestling with data files.
Really there's just a few simple principles that guide Models + Patterns's approach to learning:
- Open courseware
- Interactive content
- Work product
- Community
Open Courseware
Models + Patterns courses have most of their base content released under creative commons. You can download the course materials, modify them, and share them with your colleagues and students. Models + Patterns tries to add features that help learners find and share content, and we encourage you to remix and reuse the materials.
Interactive Content
"Another slide deck disguised as a course! Arrrrrgh! My eyes are bleeding!" Traditional page-turner courses can be boring. Models + Patterns courses try to put interactivity first, with simulations, activities, and hands-on tools integrated into the learning experience.
Work Product
Models + Patterns courses are designed so that you building something during the course that will continue to be useful after the course is finished. Maybe that's a working prototype model, or the shell of a data analysis tool you can continue to build on.
Community
Learning is better with others. Models + Patterns encourages you to share your work, discuss approaches, and learn from your peers.
Models + Patterns Guiding Principles
- Open All base courseware is released under Creative Commons (or something similar).
- Interactive Learning sticks better with rich interactivity and simulations.
- Productive You should be left with something that continues to be useful after the course is finished.
- Community We grow fastest when we share what worked.
Who's behind this?
I'm an independent software dev based in Melbourne and I've been designing software products and launching e-learning programs for more than two decades. Over those years, I've interacted with all kinds of engineers, scientists, architects and energy-efficiency professionals ... all of them working hard, all of them trying to make the world a better place.
These groups often create powerful tools -- simulation engine plugins, data analysis libraries, visualization toolkits -- but often their work goes unnoticed or underutilized. Sometimes this is due to lack of awareness. Or lack of good documentation. Or because people don't have the time or resources to learn how to use them effectively.
Models + Patterns is an attempt to change that. By creating interactive, hands-on, software-first learning experiences, I want to help energy-efficiency professionals to get immediate experience with the tools and techniques that can make a real difference. It's the platform I wish I had access to when I built COMFEN and was struggling with Radiance commands and EnergyPlus IDF files. Models + Patterns is friendly, practical, and sufficiently nerdy about software and tech.
If you like learning about new libraries, asking "what if it did this", and trading notes with people who build things (like energy models), you're in the right spot.
How does Models + Patterns support itself?
While basic courseware is free, Models + Patterns charges for things like access to enhanced interactions and simulations.
These fees help us pay for hosting, pay for CPU cycles for simulations run in the cloud, earn a profit, and keep the energy-efficient lights on so we can bring you more great content.
Let's keep the conversation going
If you have a course idea or curious questions about how I'm building Models + Patterns, reach out. I read every message.