Labs enable hands-on practice in a secure, temporary environment. This article details each type of lab found on the Skills platform.
Who can use this?
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| Learners: | + | + | + | ||
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| + Available as a plan add-on. | |||||
| Learn more about Skills legacy plans, updated plans, and roles. | |||||
About labs
Each lab includes challenges with step-by-step instructions and access to pre-configured, live environments right in your browser.
Use labs to practice and apply what you've learned from Skills courses. For example, say you're learning Python. You've watched multiple courses and taken a Skill IQ. Labs serve to fill that hands-on need to practice and apply your learning in a real-world environment.
Labs are a great way to connect prior skills and knowledge to newly learned skills and knowledge. You can find labs paired with associated content in select Paths. For leaders, labs also serve as a good assessment tool—add a lab to a company channel to serve as a practical exam for your learners.
Types of labs
There are three main types of Skills labs: code labs, IT ops and security labs, and cloud labs.
- Code labs belong to the data and software development categories. These are guided labs in an in-browser coding environment that checks your work along the way as you complete tasks. See Code labs to learn how to use these labs.
- IT ops and security labs, on the other hand, open a live environment in a new browser tab. These are self-guided and timed with options to extend your time. See IT ops and security labs to learn more.
- There are two different types of cloud labs:
- Google Cloud self-paced labs powered by Qwiklabs. These direct you outside the Skills platform to a Qwiklabs environment. See Google Cloud self-paced labs for details.
- Hands-on cloud labs by ACG. These are available to Skills plan with access to labs. Read Hands-on labs to learn more.
Finding labs
To find labs in Skills:
- Click Hands-on in the navigation menu.
- Click the Hands-on Labs tab.
- Click Browse labs.
From here, you can use filters to select:
- Data or Software Development categories for code labs
- IT Ops or Security categories for IT ops and security labs
- Cloud category for cloud labs
You can also find labs in the following areas within Skills:
- The Browse all page (opens in new tab) or the search bar
- Use Filters to select Labs as the content type.
- From within select Path pages (opens in new tab) that contain labs
- If you've started a lab:
- On your Home page (opens in new tab) under Continue learning
- On your History page (opens in new tab)
Note: Google Cloud self-paced labs are indicated with a Google Cloud icon. ACG Hands-on labs are indicated with an A Cloud Guru icon. The rest are Pluralsight-created IT ops, security, or code labs.