Educator Developer Blog

6 MIN READ

Learn Cloud: Simplifying Cloud Deployments for Students and Educators on VS Code

Microsoft

Jul 24, 2024

Have you ever wanted to deploy your code to the cloud, but felt overwhelmed by the complexity and options? As a student or educator, the learning curve and multitude of choices can make cloud computing seem daunting. Do you wish there was an easy way to grasp the basics of cloud computing while working on your own projects or teaching your students? You're not alone. Many learners and teachers face these challenges.

That's why we created Learn Cloud. Learn Cloud guides you through the process of deploying your code to the cloud with easy-to-follow steps, interactive explanations, and customized recommendations. Whether you're working with an existing codebase or starting from a beginner-friendly starter project, Learn Cloud will help you and your students get apps up and running in the cloud in minutes.

With Learn Cloud, you can:

Use a ready-made template to create a simple web app or use your own code.
Choose the best cloud service for your app.
Follow a step-by-step tutorial that walks you through the deployment process, based on your operating system and language stack.
Learn the key concepts and terms of cloud computing.
Access your app from any browser or use vscode.dev and github.dev to edit your code online.

Key Benefits for Students and Educators:

Simplified Learning: Breaks down the cloud deployment process into manageable steps, making it easy to understand.
Customized Recommendations: Suggests the best cloud services and configurations based on your project's needs.
Beginner-Friendly Projects: Offers starter projects designed to introduce cloud concepts in an accessible way.

Learn Cloud is more than just a tool. It's a learning experience that will help you master the fundamentals of cloud computing and make your first deployment a breeze. Ready to get started? Read on to find out how to install and use Learn Cloud and see some examples of what you can build with it.

Pre-requisites

Visual Code 1.83.0 or above. Install Visual Studio Code for FREE

To get started, you need to install the Learn Cloud extension on Visual Studio Code. On your VS Code side bar, click the extensions icon and type ‘Learn Cloud’ in the search bar.

Select the extension from the search results and click install.

Learn Cloud VS Code extension

Once the extension is successfully installed, an extra icon will appear on your side bar as shown in the image below. Click it to open Learn Cloud, and this will open 2 sections

Roadmap – Contains a general content outline.
Instructions – Contains the step-by-step guided learning materials, with resources for each milestone in the roadmap.

Learn Cloud roadmap

Learn Cloud walks you through 5 key milestones, and we’ll briefly look at each:

[0] Introduction

Cloud computing is a powerful and flexible way to access computing resources over the internet. It allows you to scale up or down your applications, store and process large amounts of data, and use various services and tools without having to manage the infrastructure yourself. In this part of the roadmap, you will learn the basics of cloud computing and how it can benefit you as a developer or a learner. This is a short and easy introduction that will prepare you for the next steps.

[1] Setup Azure Account

Now that you know what cloud computing is and why it matters, you are ready to take the next step: creating your own Azure account. This will give you access to a world of cloud services and resources that you can use to build, deploy, and manage your applications. You can create a free Azure account and you will get $ 200 Azure credits to explore and experiment with Azure for 30 days, at no cost to you.

Note: If you are a student, you can get even more benefits from Azure. You can sign up for a free Azure for Students subscription, which gives you $100 Azure credits every year while you are a student, as well as access to over 25 free Azure services.

After you create your Azure account, you will learn some key cloud concepts that will help you understand how Azure works and what it can do for you.

Set up an Azure account

[2] What is Azure PaaS

In this section, you will learn how to deploy your web app, explore the different Platform as a Service (PaaS) options that Azure offers and learn how to choose the best one for your app. You will also discover the difference between static and dynamic web apps and how they affect your deployment strategy.

Introduction to Azure PaaS

But that's not all. You will also see how you can enhance your web app with other Azure resources that add more functionality and features to your app. By the end of this milestone, you will have a clear understanding of the deployment services and resources that Azure provides and how to use them effectively.

More Azure services

[3] Deploy to Azure

Get ready to launch your first web app to Azure in Milestone 3! Whether you are a beginner or an expert, this roadmap will guide you through the steps and choices you need to make to deploy your app successfully.

This step gives you 2 deployment options:-

Deploy from a starter sample, by selecting your programming language of choice

Deploy on Learn Cloud using a Starter sample

If you don't have your own code yet, no problem! Learn Cloud gives you access to a variety of sample projects created by Microsoft and the community. You can choose a project based on your favorite programming language, framework, tools, and more.

After you pick a project, the extension will show you how to set up azd on your local machine and deploy the project to your Azure account with one click. You can also explore the code and the Azure resources to learn how the project works and what you can do with it.

2. The other option is to deploy from your own code on GitHub.

Deploy from your code in GitHubImagine deploying your code to Azure with just a few clicks. That's what you can do with App Spaces, a powerful Azure service that scans your GitHub repository and automatically picks the best Azure service for your web application. Based on your code structure, App spaces will deploy your web application to either a Static Web App or Azure Container App handling the deployment for you and letting you focus on your code.

Deployment through App Spaces

[4] Azure Tools

Are you ready for more? The final module of this course will blow your mind with the amazing tools that Azure offers to take your code to cloud journey to the next level. You'll learn how to use other relevant services on Azure that can supercharge your web application's performance, security, scalability, and functionality.

Learn cloud - Azure tools

But don't stop there! You can share your ideas, feature requests and report bugs by contributing to the project on GitHub.

You have seen how easy it is to create, deploy, and manage web applications on Azure using various tools and frameworks. You have also gained hands-on experience with the code to cloud workflow and best practices shared on Learn Cloud. Now you have the skills and knowledge to build your own web applications on the cloud and take advantage of the benefits that Azure offers. Whether you want to develop a personal project, a professional portfolio, or a business solution, Azure has the right tools and services for you.

With Learn Cloud, you'll gain practical experience in cloud computing, empowering you to confidently deploy your projects and enhance your learning or teaching journey. Get started with Learn Cloud today and bring the power of the cloud to your educational experience!

Don't miss this opportunity to explore the endless possibilities that cloud computing can offer you. You'll be amazed by how much you can achieve with Azure.