This glossary defines the terms you use when using the Cloud Academy learning platform provides links to articles for more information. 

A * B * C * D * E * F * G * H * I * J * K * L * M * N * O * P * Q * R * S * T * U * V * W * X * Y * Z

B

Bookmarks

Many people like to bookmark content in the training library as a way to create a queue of training. People also bookmarks particularly useful items to study when preparing for a certification exam. When you find a piece of training content that you would like to be able to review again later, you can bookmark it.

C

Certificates of Excellence

A certificate is proof that you completed a learning path in Cloud Academy. Certificates are a great way to show your skills, demonstrate your knowledge, and build your credibility when you include them in your resume and LinkedIn profile.

Courses

A course is a content type you can find in the training library. A course is typically made up of a series of video lectures followed by a knowledge check quiz.

D

Dashboard

The dashboard is the first screen you see when you log in to your account. This is the starting point for training in Cloud Academy.

E

Enroll

To commit to completing a learning path by a particular date. When you enroll in a learning path (and not just start it), the platform can send you reminders to work on the content and give you updates on whether you are on pace to complete it on time.

Exams

An exam is a tool to check your knowledge of a topic. Exams are an effective way to assess your skills in a particular focus area. Exams can help you understand critical areas to invest in training.

H

Hands-on Labs

Labs are Cloud Academy's interactive learning tool. While tutorials may tell you or show you information, labs offer you practical, hands-on experience. Our labs integrate with live cloud environments, like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

I

Invite Guest

This tool lets you share one course each with up to 10 invitees who don't already have an account. Your invitee will have seven days to complete the course you share for free!

K

Knowledge Checks

A knowledge check is a short, 3-to-5 question quiz that appears at the end of most courses. The questions in the knowledge check specifically cover the content in the course so you can check your understanding of the concepts.

L

Lab Challenges

A lab challenge sets up a scenario and challenges you to solve a problem. Beyond just taking a test to answer questions about using a technology, lab challenges let you show your problem-solving skills, all in a secure sandbox environment with no additional costs, no new accounts, and no test instances to clean up at the end.

Learning Paths

Learning paths are objective-driven learning experiences that combine the theory, technical knowledge, and hands-on practice to master skills using industry-leading technologies and major cloud platforms.

M

Mobile App

The Cloud Academy mobile app lets you continue your online learning from your desktop to your mobile device. Some users do all of their Cloud Academy learning through the app exclusively. The mobile app is available for iOS and Android.

P

Playground Labs

Lab playgrounds are a kind of lab — Cloud Academy's interactive learning tool. Playground labs provide a safe and secure sandbox environment for you to explore your own ideas, follow along with Cloud Academy courses, or answer your own questions through experimentation. While other types of labs have associated objectives, playground labs simply offer a chance to explore for an extended period of time without needing to install the software.

Programs

A program is a tool enterprise team managers and administrators can use to automate the process of assigning of training materials. If you are a team member in an enterprise account, you see the programs you are assigned on the dashboard.

Q

Quizzes

A quiz is a tool that checks your knowledge of a small subject area within a larger topic. A quiz has a maximum of five questions. Multiple quizzes might appear in the course of a learning path to help you make sure you're retaining the information. You can also find quizzes in the training library

S

Skill Profile

The Skill Profile summarizes your level of mastery of the skills for which you've completed assessments. If you complete a quiz, exam, or lab challenge that assesses a particular skill, the Skill Profile shows a score for that skill based on your performance on the assessments. See How Cloud Academy Calculates Skill Scores for details on how the system calculates the scores.

Smart Assessments

A smart assessment is a test to evaluate your proficiency with a particular job role skill. This type of test gets to a reliable score by adapting the question difficulty based on your performance on previous questions. 

Smart Skills

Smart Skills represent technology competencies that you need for your job. Smart Skills are a special kind of skill that are measured by Smart Assessments and taught by programs.

T

Training Plan

A training plan is a tool to schedule and manage completing one or more learning paths and exams. Training plans give you centralized control of the training experience for teams or members on the Cloud Academy platform.

V

Video Player Controls

When you start a video course in Cloud Academy, the video begins playing in a video player. When you hover your mouse over the video player, tools appear overlaid on the video.