Cloud Adventures: 5 Fun, Free Cloud Computing Courses To Try
Take your cloud computing training to the next level with ACG’s Cloud Adventures. Explore 5 free, fun courses with bite-size learning. Check them out!
Jun 08, 2023 • 14 Minute Read
Cloud Adventures is not your average cloud computing training. These courses combine learning science with active engagement to help you master cloud technology.
We want you to have fun while learning the newest in cloud technologies and applications. So to keep things lively and fresh, we’re helping you learn cloud in the best way possible (including using comics like the one below!).
5 Free Cloud Adventures Courses
We’re bringing cloud computing to life. Taking a Cloud Adventures course means that you’ll be watching animations to learn about Amazon Polly, reading comics about Microsoft Azure, and even going on a treasure hunt —All while you are picking up practical knowledge you will use on-the-job!
In this article, we cover each of the Cloud Adventures Courses. And of course, we included a break-down of our 5 free (yes, totally free!) courses you can take to start exploring Cloud Adventures and level-up your cloud skills.
Introduction to Amazon Polly
Start your adventure off by getting to know Amazon Polly, a truly innovative technology for machine learning gurus.
Come alongside author Jess Alvarez to get up close and personal with the Amazon Polly service. This course includes amazing animations that will help you uncover Amazon Polly’s Text-to-Speech (TTS) service, understand how to use it, and demonstrate its functionality in a real-world use case.
And as a bonus for cinema lovers, your training will include watching Amazon Polly be configured to read Nicolas Cage movie reviews from a blog page. After all, why level up in machine learning if you can’t have a little fun with it?
Deploying Basic Infrastructure with CLI in Microsoft Azure
Want to get excited about command line deployments? Well, look no further. Mike Boorman brings comics to life to help you learn what’s new deployment strategies in Microsoft Azure. This course features comic-strip snapshots starring the ‘Deployee of the month’ as he works through different infrastructure deployments.
Designed to be an overview, this course overview can serve as introductory knowledge while also being immediately translatable into practice. With four hands-on-labs, you will learn how to navigate Azure graphical user interface to serve customer requests with ease.
Launching and Updating a Website Using Cloud Run
Get Ready to dive deep into hosting websites on Cloud services. As a very common and popular use of the technology, Cloud Run can help you make development and deployment easier and faster.
You will learn step-by-step, from initially testing your website on GCP to creating a containerized image with Cloud Build, storing it in Container Registry, and deploying it to Cloud Run.
This course does not hold back with a learn-by-doing approach, each lesson is paired with a lab to give you on-the-job knowledge for the topics just covered. A final, all-inclusive hands-on lab is available in both Guided and Challenge mode that encompasses all the past training in a slightly more sophisticated scenario.
An Explorer’s Guide to Azure Data Studio
This list of free courses would not be complete without Azure Data Studio! Azure has become a staple at many organizations –which means now is the perfect time to learn the many benefits Azure can provide to you and your team.
Join Amy Coughlin and Danielle Vansia on a guided exploration of Azure Data Studio (ADS). This course is immersive and thematic. You will gain experience working with the tool and connecting to various data sources — both local and cloud based.
Data storytelling is one of the most sought after skills in tech, which means that learning how to use the unique features of ADS to visualize and share data will be a huge benefit!
Plus, you’ll learn all these skills through A+ storytelling. With a driving narrative, lively visuals, and background music, we guarantee you’ll feel like a real explorer!
Found in Translation: Introduction to Amazon Translate
Join the ranks of Indiana Jones, Nathan Drake, and Laura Croft as a certified treasure hunter. Alongside author Elizabeth Hord and friend Mapp E, you will translate a multi-language treasure map using Amazon Translate. By the end of this adventure, you will be able to use quick translation technology to help your content reach more people in more languages. How cool is that?
Even better, this course connects with several of our other A Cloud Guru offerings, including Introduction to Amazon Polly. You can take both courses (in the order you prefer) to double the fun!
What is the best way to learn Cloud Computing?
- Hands-On Learning
- Bite-Size Content
- Engaging Instructors and Presentation
- Applicable to on-the-job situations
And that’s why our Cloud Adventures offerings are not just your average training –they are a learning experience. A Cloud Guru has combined each of these learning approaches within our curated Cloud Adventures course options. Which means learning cloud has never been easier! Or this fun!
And even better, these courses are formatted for the on-the-job cloud practitioner. With micro or “bite-size learning” experiences, these courses make you enjoy picking up new knowledge you will use in your day-to-day. Cloud Adventures will take you on a journey to master new skills with AWS, Azure, Linux, and more!
What are some other good online Cloud Computing Courses?
Love our free Cloud Adventures offerings? You can take your cloud learning to the next level with a full roster of Cloud Adventures Courses. With 20+ courses and over 30 hours of learning, there’s something for everyone.
If you’re a newcomer with the goal to become AWS Cloud certified, this can be the start of your certification itinerary. If you are on the road to developing a successful multi-cloud strategy, these courses are an excellent place to grow your knowledge. Or maybe you’re a pro looking to close industry skills gaps, we got you covered too!
If you’re ready to get the fun started, you can up for a free ACG account here (it takes less than a minute!), or get the full A Cloud Guru experience with a free 7-day trial.
This is the current learning itinerary for Cloud Adventures [Last updated 11/16/22]. From this list of courses you can curate your own cloud learning experience.
AWS
Faye Ellis teaches how to use AWS Fault Injection Simulator to run chaos engineering experiments in your AWS environment! Hands-on + chaos?! There’s never been a more exciting combo! Note: In the scenario, your boss is a dog (It’s a ruff gig).
An intro to AWS Security Hub with a key focus on security findings. These findings provide insights into the current security posture of an AWS account or across multiple accounts. With a threat emulation exercise, this course lets you learn about and improve your security in an interactive fashion with in-depth labs and even skits!
if you’re looking for new ways to build and interact with serverless applications, look no further!
You’ll learn to deploy basic serverless applications using the AWS CDK, an open-source infrastructure-as-code (IaC) framework. This course has challenges throughout, so you’re able to pick up new skills quickly and easily.
Get to know the architecture of Instance Scheduler with this course. You’ll learn how to apply three different methods to cut costs and tag resources – manually in DynamoDB, through the Scheduler CLI, and with SSM Maintenance Window.
This course will help you the skills and knowledge needed to build your own CloudFormation templates or modify your existing templates to include parameters for your environment. Through the example of building a game with multiple levels, Chris Silva guides learners through a fun case for CloudFormation.
In this course, you will get a brief overview of the comparison of AWS EC2 and Google Compute Engine. With thorough practice in two on-hands-labs, you’ll be ready to deploy
and manage instance groups, and Auto Scaling groups with AWS and GCP.
Want to level up your security in AWS web apps? This course will give you methodology and practice to make sure you’re secure! You’ll get practice identifying issues and writing secure code that you can use in your day-to-day practice.
Amazon Technical Training Topics
In this course, Migrating from on-site PostgreSQL to Amazon Aurora, you'll join Steady Shelly the turtle and Hurry-Up Hank the hare as they learn how to migrate onsite PostgreSQL databases to the Amazon Aurora cloud database.
In this course, Matthew Pearson shows you how to install and configure OpenVPN on Amazon’s EC2 service. Setting up a trusting relationship between client and server is important, but it doesn’t have to be boring! Between clever costume changes and succinct learning recaps, this course will definitely keep your attention!
Azure
This course teaches you how to configure Ansible to manage Azure resources, and how to author Ansible Playbooks for Azure. This course was designed for someone who has hands-on experience working with both Azure and Ansible, and is looking to see how Ansible can be used with Azure. Our favorite part? The über visual mind map that will help you break down the technical details from start to finish.
Take some time to learn a little about containers, Docker, and Azure Container Instances. Then get ready to deploy a simple game server using Azure Container Instances. In this course, you will utilize Minetest, but you could apply this knowledge to deploy almost any game server of your choosing!
If you’ve ever done an escape room activity, then you know that escape rooms are all about problem-solving (or in tech terms, “troubleshooting”). When you have completed this course, you’ll have the Azure IaaS network troubleshooting skills needed to solve real-world Azure networking problems and break out of the virtual escape room!
This course is for the security ninjas! With a sneaky ninja theme and a quiz to test your knowledge at the end, this course will help you pick up the knowledge you need to help secure and isolate your application hosting in Azure.
In this course, Automating Lifecycle Management for Azure File Shares, you’ll learn to custom develop automation for Azure Files. First, you’ll explore mounting Azure Files. Next, you’ll discover leveraging Azure Automation and finally, you’ll learn how to combine these two technologies for a custom cloud development. When you’re finished with this course, you’ll have the skills and knowledge of Azure Files and Automation needed to implement custom cloud developments.
In this course, Troubleshooting Azure Data Factory – The Failed Experiment, you’ll learn to build data pipelines in Azure. This course is called "The Failed Experiment" because you will learn to build pipelines by correcting some of the most commonly encountered mistakes. By learning pipelines through failed experiments, you will have a better understanding of how data pipelines work, how to correct common errors, and most importantly, how to avoid them, yourself.
If you've ever wondered about security or security around AI services or thought, "Hey, I'd like to learn more about that," then you're in the right place. In this course, you’ll get hands-on with securing Azure AI Cognitive Services by configuring network access, securing credentials, and learning several security best practices. This is a step-by-step course, great for learners with about six months of Azure experience!
Linux
Animation. Color Coding. Penguins. Need we say more about how fun this course is? This course will give you an intro to Linux without making you feel overwhelmed. With guided instruction, you’ll be able to practice what you’ve learned with a series of hands-on labs and test your skills on working with various Linux distributions
If there’s one thing that we all wish we were better at it is protecting our inbox. Email greylisting is a method to lower the amount of spam and junk mail that gets into your email inbox. It works by slightly delaying the emails being received and forcing the sender to resend the emails. This course is a practical application that your whole team can use and appreciate!
Terraform
You’ll feel like you are in a video game with this course’s 8-bit theme. Of course, you’ll actually have to deploy the same type of resource into two different cloud environments (either separately or simultaneously) with a Terraform configuration. This course may be your next step to developing a successful multi-cloud strategy!
Kubernetes
Get ready to deploy like you’ve never deployed before! You’ll learn how to use Kubernetes to autoscale quantities, leading to more efficient workflows and happier devops teams!
Vim
When you’re finished with this course, you’ll have the skills and knowledge of a Vim wizard, ready to develop any kind of code without ever having to exit the infamous text editor.
SDS
Successfully sticking to a budget is a premise everyone can get behind. With applications collecting and storing more and more data, it may not be all that surprising that managing local storage can become quite cumbersome. In this course, we will explore how to create your own software-defined storage (SDS) without having to spend lots of money on software.
Choosing the next step in your cloud journey
There’s always something new to learn about in cloud computing. With five new interactive, free courses, you couldn’t ask for a better time to start learning with Cloud Adventures. Sign up for your free ACG account here and start learning!
And by signing up for a free trial to access ACG’s full content library, you have an abundance of choices to choose from. From polishing up your google cloud knowledge to becoming a pro with Ansible or Terraform, the sky's the limit.
