Semantic Public Learning

Evolving the Learn in Public method

In my last post I introduced the Learn in Public method. While practicing it, I noticed gaps in how knowledge creation and sharing works. These gaps revealed an opportunity to evolve the practice into something more powerful. While the core principle of learning openly remains powerful, I have begun developing an approach I call Semantic Public Learning: enhancing Learn in Public with academic rigor and semantic web integration.

Semantic Public Learning builds on Learn in Public’s foundation while adding:

• Rigorous citation practices with proper bibliographies
• Semantic markup for machine-readable knowledge artifacts
• Integration with the knowledge graph through indexable structured data (like schema.org markup for articles)
• Academic standards while maintaining accessibility

This isn’t about replacing Learn in Public, it’s about evolving it for deeper integration into our collective knowledge infrastructure. Just as Dan Abramov moved his blog off Medium ¹to have more control over his content’s permanence and discoverability, we need to ensure our learning artifacts become lasting, findable contributions to the knowledge ecosystem.

The Four Pillars of Semantic Public Learning

To bridge the gap between casual learning documentation and semantic knowledge contribution, we need a systematic approach. Based on my analysis of the research and practice, I’ve identified four interconnected mechanisms through which Semantic Public Learning enhances the Learn in Public approach:

1. Semantically-Enhanced Documentation

Unlike private note-taking, learning in public requires documenting the learning process ²in ways that show thinking progression and can be used for future curriculum planning by both the learner and others. Semantic Public Learning adds structured data and proper markup to ensure machine readability.

2. Citation-Backed Explanation

Following Feynman’s principle, learning in public demands learning by simplifying ³, breaking concepts into core components while making them accessible. Semantic Public Learning enhances this with proper citations and references, bringing academic credibility to accessible writing.

3. Community-Validated Refinement

Learning by teaching effects occur even with non-interactive audiences ⁴, but boundary conditions include having sufficient prior knowledge and the ability to generate high-quality explanations. Public feedback enables continuous improvement of both understanding and explanation quality.

4. Knowledge Graph Integration

Artifacts produced by learning in public become semantic knowledge networks ⁵that allow analysis of connections between different disciplines and concepts. Semantic Public Learning ensures these connections are machine-readable and can be properly indexed (using semantic HTML tags like <article>, <cite>, and microdata).

Practicing Semantic Public Learning: Real-World Examples

These examples showcase aspects of an evolved version of learning in public, each demonstrating elements that Semantic Public Learning aims to integrate:

Academic Twitter: Researchers sharing work-in-progress, methodology questions, and “failed” experiments contribute to learning in public by making the typically private research process visible and collaborative ⁶. Academic Twitter creates informal peer review networks ⁷where knowledge is rapidly shared and validated, though the ephemeral nature of tweets limits long-term semantic integration.

Citation Style Language (CSL) Project: The CSL project ⁸exemplifies open source documentation with academic rigor, maintaining over 10,000 citation styles with 1,000+ unique contributors ⁹. The project creates semantic, machine-readable citation formats and demonstrates transparent version control, extensive documentation, and community-driven development. While excellent for citation infrastructure, it focuses more on tools than documenting learning journeys.

NileRed’s Chemistry Experiments: YouTuber NileRed ¹⁰documents his chemistry experiments in real-time, showing failed attempts and explaining his reasoning process on his YouTube channel ¹¹. Originally, Nigel only wanted to keep the documentation for personal reasons but in March 2014 decided ¹²to share his experiments with the world, transforming personal lab notes into public learning resources. His videos reveal the iterative problem-solving that leads to understanding, though they lack formal citations and bibliographies.

Mozilla Developer Network (MDN) Web Docs: The MDN Web Docs ¹³demonstrate massive collaborative documentation. Each page shows contributors and modification dates, uses semantic HTML, and creates a living knowledge base. However, it rarely includes formal citations to academic sources or bibliographies.

3Blue1Brown’s Mathematical Explanations: Grant Sanderson ¹⁴transforms abstract mathematical concepts into visual narratives, documenting his journey of understanding while creating resources that help others grasp complex topics through his YouTube videos ¹⁵. He explains ¹⁶concepts ranging from linear algebra to neural networks with a highly visual approach, offers his Manim visualization library ¹⁷as open source, and includes extensive references in video descriptions. From the mentioned examples, this comes closest to Semantic Public Learning, combining accessible explanation with source attribution.

This Post as Semantic Public Learning: This very post demonstrates Semantic Public Learning in action. Notice the inline citations linking to sources, the complete bibliography at the end, and the semantic markup of meta information that makes this content discoverable and citable by others. The citation tools I’m developing as part of this project will enable this integration for Hugo Blox, to aid in creating knowledge artifacts that are both human-readable and machine-discoverable.

What Makes Semantic Public Learning Different

Semantic Public Learning occupies a unique space in the knowledge-sharing ecosystem. Unlike structured curricula that follow predetermined paths, it embraces the learner’s authentic discovery journey while adding layers of discoverability and verifiability. Think of it as sitting between traditional blogging and academic publishing, maintaining higher citation standards than typical blog posts while removing the high entry barriers of academic journals.

You don’t need formal peer review to share your learning journey. Peer review happens organically through reader comments and community engagement. What remains crucial is grounding your insights in evidence and acknowledging sources. That’s why you’ll find proper citations with hyperlinks throughout my posts, along with a complete bibliography at the end, bringing academic rigor to accessible writing.

The key differentiator: Semantic Public Learning creates machine-readable, discoverable, and verifiable knowledge artifacts that can be:

• Found by search engines and AI agents
• Cited by others with confidence
• Built upon systematically
• Verified through source tracking

The Broader Impact

When individuals practice Semantic Public Learning, their personal learning journeys become contributions to what researchers call knowledge commoning ¹⁸, an iterative process between knowledge curation and dissemination guided by community demand and uptake potential.

This creates compounding benefits:

• For Learners: Enhanced understanding through public accountability and community feedback
• For Communities: Accessible knowledge resources that lower barriers to learning
• For Knowledge: Dynamic, interconnected networks that reveal new connections and applications
• For the Future: AI-discoverable knowledge that can be integrated into emerging systems

The Semantic Public Learning Movement

We’re at a unique moment. Knowledge-sharing is becoming the preferred method ¹⁹over traditional learning interventions, with employees increasingly training at their own pace and supporting each other through knowledge-sharing in multiple formats.

Semantic Public Learning harnesses this shift by making individual learning processes visible, valuable, and findable to others. It transforms the traditional model where learning happens in isolation and knowledge remains trapped in individual minds or unsearchable formats.

Instead of asking “What do I need to learn?” Semantic Public Learning asks: “How can my learning process create lasting, discoverable value for others while accelerating my own understanding?”

Your Semantic Public Learning Challenge

Semantic Public Learning isn’t just a concept, it’s a practice to embrace. The most powerful way to grasp its potential is to experience it yourself.

Here’s your challenge: Pick one thing you’re currently learning and document it with semantic rigor to create a lasting, citable resource. It could be:

• A complex concept you’re struggling with at work
• A skill you’re developing in your free time
• A research question you’re investigating
• A book or paper you’re working through

Start with these steps:

1. Choose a specific concept you’re actively learning (not something you already know)
2. Write a clear explanation as if teaching someone new to the topic
3. Add proper citations for every source that informed your understanding
4. Include semantic markup (proper headings, meta descriptions, structured data)
5. Share your questions and confusion points openly
6. Publish it publicly on your blog, GitHub, or any platform that supports proper formatting

Share your learning experiment: Use #SemanticPublicLearning or #LearnInPublic when you post about your learning journey so others can discover and learn from your process. Whether on social media, your blog, or any platform where you share knowledge, make your learning visible and findable.

The knowledge you’re about to discover will not just belong to you. It will belong to everyone who might benefit from watching you discover it, now and in the future.

Join the Semantic Public Learning Journey

Speaking of making knowledge tools accessible: I’m using Hugo Blox for managing my blog and have been developing enhanced citation and bibliography features along with semantic integration capabilities. These tools powering the citations you see throughout this post, enable the semantic integration that makes Semantic Public Learning possible. All of these tools together form a framework that I’ll be sharing over the coming weeks. Follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, or Medium to be the first to know and see Semantic Public Learning in action. You can also have a look at the Semantic Public Learning project page, it serves as a living document that tracks the journey as it develops. For best integration, you can also add the RSS feed of my blog, to always stay up to date without the need for a social media account. Comment below, share your perspectives, and help make it the interactive process it’s meant to be. Your questions and insights often become the catalyst for my next learning breakthrough.

Remember: every expert was once a beginner who learned in public. By adding semantic layers to our learning, we ensure that knowledge remains discoverable for future learners. See you in the comments!