Free · no signup · open materials · your work to keep
You have watched enough tutorials.
Today you build something real.
Months of videos, and still not sure you could do it on your own? Pick one of 20 practical AI build paths, work through real examples with real tools, and finish with something you made yourself and can explain. Free, and no account needed to start.
- 20 build paths
- 250 activities
- 39 free resources
- ~127 hours of practice
- Works offline
- 20build paths, each ending in something you can show
- 250activities, with worked examples and evidence checklists
- 39free tools that need no account
- 127hof estimated practice, at your own pace
01 — The build collection
Something you can test, explain, and keep.
Each path is a short sequence of real experiments with real tools, not a lecture. Completion means a self-reported practice record — not a verified qualification, accreditation, or a promise of employment.
AI, without the guesswork
What a language model actually does, where it stops being useful, and how to check its work instead of trusting it.
The work you already do
Documents, data, email and meetings — the tasks that eat a week, done with a model beside you.
Make a small useful thing
A form, a page, a workflow. Something that runs, that you wrote, and that you can fix when it breaks.
Read a number honestly
Where the figure came from, what it leaves out, and how to say what you are unsure about.
Know when not to use it
The part most courses skip: the cases where a model makes the work worse and a person should decide.
AI from zero, in plain words
Large-print safe steps for seniors, a grown-up-and-child path for kids, and a glossary with no jargon in it.
02 — New: 50 guided experiments
Make a little. Learn a lot.
Prompt experiments, source checks, creative briefs, useful data and everyday workflows. Every activity has its own cover, illustrated guide, worked example and evidence checklist.
A guided experiment is twenty minutes long. It has one thing to make, one thing to check, and one question you should be able to answer afterwards.
Check a claim before you repeat it
time 20 minutes · no account
you make a two-line correction, in your own words
you check one primary source, fetched yourself
evidence [ ] source link [ ] what it actually says [ ] what changed
// and the question: where would this have gone wrong if you had trusted it?
03 — 39 free tools
Learn-by-doing workshops, no signup.
A tool field desk, an honest tools directory, side-by-side comparisons, a five-question finder and a library of 60 prompts to practise on.
Field desk
Pick a task, get a practice prompt built for it.
Tools directory
What each tool is good for, and where it is not.
Comparisons
Side-by-side, honest, including the boring differences.
Tool finder
Five questions, one shortlist, no email required.
Prompt library
60 prompts to practise with, each one explained.
LLM guide
Language models explained without a single sales claim.
Glossary
The words, in plain language, in one page.
Practice packs
Handbooks and standalone HTML workspaces for offline work.
04 — How it works
Your pace. Your progress. Your copy.
- 01
Start without an account
Explore activities and keep local notes. Sign in only when you want your work across devices.
- 02
Work through a path
Real examples, real tools, one activity at a time. Download the standalone HTML workspace if you want to work offline.
- 03
Keep the evidence
Each path ends with your own project and a rubric you score honestly. Keep the file — it is the only thing a future employer can actually check.
- 04
Ask when you are stuck
An optional cloud tutor, using your own provider key if you prefer. Your key is used for that request and is not stored.
05 — Access should not define your potential
Useful practice, wherever providers leave gaps.
For people across underserved and excluded regions. Check country eligibility, language, identity requirements, cost, quotas and data terms before choosing a service. Use legitimate available alternatives — never false residency or restriction bypasses.
Downloaded lessons and fictional fixtures remain useful without a live provider. That is deliberate: a connection should not be the price of learning.
- ✓The learning material is genuinely free Activities, original handbooks and practice packs are free to read and download. No payment required. External AI providers have their own quotas, costs and terms.
- ✓You can learn without an account Local notes, no sign-in. An account is only needed for cross-device saves and connecting your own provider.
- ✓You can work offline Download the standalone HTML workspace and the practice pack before disconnecting. Live cloud inference needs a connection.
- ✓No advertising trackers First-party learning analytics record named progress events — not keystrokes, private prompts or API keys. You can export or delete your account data.
06 — Honest about what this is
Not a qualification. Practice you can show.
"The best way to understand a tool is to make something with it — and know where it stops being useful."
Progress and rubric scores are learner self-reports. Keep your actual project evidence, and do not present the completion indicator as verified certification.
Independent subject-matter review is still pending. Code is MIT, original lessons are CC BY 4.0.
Is the material really free?
Yes. Activities, original handbooks and practice packs are free to read and download. No payment is required. External AI providers may have their own quotas and costs.
Can I learn without an account?
Yes. Explore and keep local notes without signing in. An account is for cross-device saves and the learner-owned provider connection; browser drafts do not sync automatically.
What can I use offline?
Download a standalone HTML workspace and the practice pack before disconnecting. The HTML includes activities, editable notes, review questions and the capstone rubric. Keep edits by downloading an updated copy.
Is this accredited?
No. Open Practice is independent, non-degree and non-accredited. Completion is a self-reported practice record, not verified assessment.
Do I have to give you an API key?
No. All core practice works without one. If you connect a provider, your key is used only for that request through the platform and is not saved in an account, browser storage, downloads or analytics.
Make something useful. Keep learning from it.
Free, no signup, no card, and everything you make stays yours. Start with one twenty-minute experiment today.