As Google Skills platform is going online I wanted to share a sneak peek at the Google education platform evolution and what’s going to be next.
Google has acquired Qwiklabs back in 2016 when it was one of the best to the time platforms for practicing real-world skills that one can use and apply in work.
I started using the platform back in 2018 when preparing for my first Professional Cloud Architect certification and use it now as well! That’s quite a time for an online platform and to be honest I love the changes that were introduced over time.
By the way, in my opinion GCP certification exams are one of the best there on the market that really test your knowledge and experience.
Qwiklabs to Google Cloud Skills Boost to Google Skills
Since my initial experience with Qwiklabs the platform has grown and eventually became Google Cloud Skills Boost.
Skills Boost introduced dedicated learning paths and a whole set of new labs and experiences. Moreover Certification Paths were introduced, they allowed you to have a deep dive into a particular cloud specialization with a lot of hands-on activities.
The Skills Boost catalog has over 1300 labs in every aspect of cloud learning you can think of.
But what’s the next step in Google online learning?
Google Skills
As an evolution of the platform, Google Skills provides all the materials that were hand-crafted for Qwiklabs and Skills Boost but also adds new gamification features to the learning.
It encourages friendly competition with new learning Leagues that are based on earned points in the platform. I’m on my way to the Gold league now 😄 I was able to experience the new features a bit earlier being a GDE and part of the Beta platform launch.
You can also unlock new Achievements and hit Learning streaks to promote consistent learning habits and celebrate your learning milestones.
All these features together make learning a bit more fun and the experience more enjoyable overall.
To top it up Google incorporates even more learning opportunities into the new platform with nearly 3000 courses and labs in one place — now including content from across Google Cloud, Google DeepMind, Grow with Google and Google for Education.
Check it out at skills.google today!