Cloud services, such as Microsoft Azure, are updated frequently. This leads to issues for Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs) when they teach courses, because lab steps change frequently as the service changes. Due to the frequency of the changes and the fact that there may not be any notification when changes occur, it can be difficult for the course development team to rapidly identify and address any lab changes.
To address these issues, we are using GitHub to publish the lab steps and lab scripts for courses that cover cloud services like Azure. Using GitHub allows the course’s authors and MCTs to keep the lab content current with Azure platform changes. Using GitHub allows the MCTs to provide feedback and suggestions for lab changes, and then the course authors can update lab steps and scripts quickly and relatively easily.
When you prepare to teach these courses, you should ensure that you are using the latest lab steps and scripts by downloading the appropriate files from GitHub.
This user guide is for MCTs who are new to GitHub, and it provides steps for connecting to GitHub, downloading and printing course materials, updating the scripts that students use in labs, and explaining how you can help ensure that this course’s content remains current.
Note: It is strongly recommended that MCTs and Partners access these materials and in turn, provide them separately to students. Pointing students directly to GitHub to access Lab steps as part of an ongoing class will require them to access yet another UI as part of the course, contributing to a confusing experience for the student. An explanation to the student regarding why they are receiving separate Lab instructions can highlight the nature of an always-changing cloud-based interface and platform. Microsoft Learning support for accessing files on GitHub and support for navigation of the GitHub site is limited to MCTs teaching this course only.
GitHub should not be used to discuss technical content in the course, or how to prep. It is specifically to address changes in the labs.
Note: To address general comments about the course and demos, or how to prepare for the course, please use the MCT forums.